Chapter 6: The Eclipse’s Bargain

The Eclipse's cannons whined, their glow piercing the smoke-choked sky. Kael stood in the rubble of Varynth Keep, Lysara limp in his arms, his scar searing where the shard's power had burrowed into his veins. The air crackled with ozone, the Obsidian Throne's whispers slithering through his mind like poison.

Kill them, it urged. Burn them all.

"Last chance, Bastard!" Mira's voice echoed from the ship. "Hand over the shard, or we'll carve it from your corpse!"

Vessa pressed close, her dagger raised. "We can't fight that ship. Not here."

"We don't fight." Kael passed Lysara to Seraphine. "We bargain."

He stepped into the open, raising his smoldering hand. The scar's glow intensified, casting jagged shadows across the courtyard. "You want the shard?" he shouted. "Then come down here and take it!"

The Eclipse's cannons fell silent. A hatch opened, and Mira descended on a chainlift, flanked by masked Duskwarden enforcers. Her smirk faltered as she eyed Kael's scar. "Looks like the throne's already chewing through you. How's that feel?"

"Like holding a star," he lied. The shard's power was acid in his blood, eroding his focus. "Call off your hounds. Let the others go, and I'll surrender."

Mira laughed. "You don't get to set terms. Matron Illys wants the girl too. The throne's got a taste for her now—she's part of the collection."

Borin hefted his axe. "Over my rotting carcass."

Before blades could clash, Lirael emerged from the shadows, her chains discarded. "Illys always did lack vision." She faced Mira, green eyes sharp. "Tell your Matron the throne chooses its heirs. And it's chosen Kael. Attack him, and you attack the Duskwardens' future."

Mira hesitated, then snorted. "You're a ghost, Lirael. The Matron doesn't fear ghosts."

"She should."

The Ashbringer lunged from the ruins, her dagger aimed at Mira's throat. "Enough prattle! The Burner demands his due!"

Chaos erupted. Duskwarden enforcers fired crystalline bolts, their shrieks piercing the air. Borin tackled Seraphine and Lysara behind a crumbling pillar. Kael grabbed Vessa. "The armory—there's blackpowder beneath the east tower. Blow the supports."

"You'll bury us all!"

"Trust me!"

She vanished into the smoke.

Kael turned to face the Ashbringer. The prophet's wounds had healed, her skin glowing with inner fire. "The throne's power is wasted on you," she hissed. "You're too weak to wield it."

"Then teach me," he said, and unleashed the shard's energy.

The blast hurled them apart. Kael crashed into the keep's wall, stone biting his back. The Ashbringer rose, her flames dimmed but eyes wild. "You dare—?"

A rumble cut her off. The east tower shuddered, then collapsed in a thunderclap of blackpowder and flame. The Eclipse lurched, its hull scraping the falling debris.

Vessa's hand seized Kael's collar, hauling him upright. "Move!"

They sprinted as the courtyard imploded. Duskwarden enforcers scrambled for the chainlift, Mira screaming curses. The Ashbringer vanished into the inferno, her laughter trailing behind.

In the forest beyond the keep, the survivors regrouped. Lysara stirred in Seraphine's arms, her brown eyes dazed. "Kael…?"

He didn't answer. The shard's power was a storm in his skull, the throne's whispers now screams. Kill the girl. Claim the throne. Burn them all.

Lirael materialized beside him, her voice low. "It's consuming you. But I can help."

"Help?" He wheeced, blood trickling from his nose. "You're the reason I'm cursed."

"No." She pressed a hand to his scar. "I'm the reason you'll survive. The throne needs balance—light and shadow, heir and vessel. Lysara can anchor you… if you let her."

Seraphine stepped between them, Dawn Pact steel glinting. "Touch him again, witch, and I'll sever that hand."

Lirael sighed. "You'll need more than prayers soon, Puritan. The Burner isn't finished."

As if summoned, the night erupted in howls. From the burning keep, figures emerged—charred husks with glowing eyes, their bodies fused with shards of obsidian.

"What in the seven hells?" Borin muttered.

"The Burner's chosen," Lirael said. "His true disciples. And they're hungry."

The Burner's disciples lurched forward, their obsidian-clawed hands tearing through the forest like scythes. Kael's scar pulsed, the throne's power coiling in his veins like a serpent. Burn them, it hissed. Burn them all.

"Lysara!" Kael barked. "Stay behind me!"

She didn't listen. Instead, she pressed her palm to his scar. The throne's whispers stuttered, the fire in his blood cooling. "I see it," she whispered. "The throne's hunger. It wants… balance."

Before Kael could respond, a disciple lunged. He swung the shard's energy like a blade, severing its head. The body crumbled, but three more surged from the smoke.

Vessa fought beside him, her daggers finding gaps in the charred husks' armor. "We can't hold them off! We need to run!"

"No." Lirael stepped into the fray, her hands glowing with stolen Duskwarden runes. "The throne's disciples are drawn to him. They'll follow anywhere."

Seraphine hurled a vial of holy fire, igniting a husk. "Then let them follow us to hell!"

Borin grabbed Lysara, tossing her onto his back. "Kid's lighter than a sack of grain. Move!"

They fled deeper into the woods, the disciples' howls echoing behind. Kael's vision blurred, the throne's power gnawing at his sanity. Kill the Puritan. Claim the girl. Become king.

"Fight it," Lysara said, her voice steady despite the chaos. "It's lying to you."

"How do you know?" he growled.

"Because I hear it too."

A disciple tackled Kael, its claws raking his chest. He retaliated with a burst of shadowfire, incinerating it—but the flames spread, devouring trees and earth alike.

The Ashbringer materialized in the inferno, untouched by the blaze. "The throne's madness is a gift, Bastard. Embrace it."

Kael staggered toward her. "What's your stake in this? Why serve a god who abandoned you?"

Her smirk faltered. "The Burner never abandons his children. He—"

A crystalline bolt pierced her chest. Mira stood atop a ridge, the Eclipse hovering behind her, its cannons rebuilt and glowing. "Enough speeches."

The Ashbringer collapsed, her body dissolving into embers. "You… will… burn…"

Mira jumped down, Duskwarden enforcers flanking her. "Matron Illys is feeling generous. She'll spare your lives—if you hand over the shard and the girl."

Kael's scar flared. "You don't want the shard. You want what it's doing to me."

Mira's mask of smugness cracked. "Illys thinks you're a weapon. I think you're a time bomb. Either way, you're coming with us."

Lirael stepped forward. "And if we refuse?"

Mira raised a detonator. "Then I bury the shard under ten tons of Duskwarden explosives."

The forest fell silent. Even the disciples paused, their hollow eyes fixed on the standoff.

Kael laughed. "You're bluffing."

"Am I?" She thumbed the trigger. "You've got three seconds."

"One," Vessa hissed, blade at Mira's throat.

"Two," Borin growled, axe raised.

"Three," Kael said, and unleashed the throne's power.

The explosion never came. Instead, the shard's energy engulfed the detonator, reducing it to slag. Kael seized Mira, slamming her into a tree. "Tell Illys the throne isn't hers to claim. It's mine."

Mira spat blood. "You'll regret this."

"Already do."

He released her, and the Duskwardens retreated, their ship vanishing into the clouds. The disciples, now leaderless, retreated into the smoke.

Lysara slumped against a tree, her breathing shallow. "It's… quiet. The throne's stopped whispering."

"For now," Lirael said. "But it will hunger again."

Seraphine knelt beside her, applying a poultice to Kael's wounds. "You're a fool. And we're all going to die for it."

"Probably." Kael met Vessa's gaze. "You still trust me?"

She sheathed her daggers. "No. But I'll follow you anyway."

Borin snorted. "Same here. But next time, I get to blow something up."

As dawn broke, the group limped toward the horizon, where the spires of the Silent Dominion pierced the sky—a haven for outlaws, and the only place left to hide.

Lirael lingered at the rear, her eyes on Lysara. "The throne marked her too. It's only a matter of time."

Kael didn't look back. "Then we'll beat the clock."