Chapter 78: The Prince's Reckoning

The moment Lucian spoke his true name, the fortress groaned like a living thing. Blue fire erupted from the sconces, casting jagged shadows across the stone walls. The hooded figure's grin stretched wider, his elongated fingers twitching in delight.

"At last," he whispered, his voice slithering between the cracks in the stone. "The prodigal son returns."

Aurelia's daggers were in her hands before Kael could blink. "What did you just do to him?"

The figure tilted his head, golden eyes gleaming. "Nothing he didn't already know in his bones."

Lucian—Vladimir—stood frozen, his sword arm trembling. Sweat beaded on his brow as memories Kael couldn't see flickered behind his crimson eyes.

Outside, the howling reached a fever pitch. Something heavy slammed against the fortress walls, sending dust raining from the ceiling.

The hooded figure sighed. "Ah. The huntress grows impatient." He waved a skeletal hand, and the arched entrance sealed itself with a wall of writhing shadows. "Sanctuary is granted. For now."

Kael's corrupted arm throbbed, the black veins pulsing in time with the pounding in his skull. "What happens next?"

The figure turned those unsettling golden eyes on him. "Next, vessel, you learn why the Original fears this place." He gestured to the far wall, where the shadows peeled back to reveal a staircase spiraling into darkness. "Down there lies the first truth. The one that broke the world."

Aurelia made a choked sound in her throat. "No."

Lucian finally stirred, his voice rough. "What is it?"

"The Crown of Shadows," the figure whispered. "Forged from the first betrayal. The weapon that can unmake even an eternal." His gaze locked on Aurelia. "If you dare wield it."

Kael's vision doubled—another vision slamming into him:

—A younger Lucian kneeling before a throne of bone, a circlet of darkness hovering above his brow—

—Aurelia screaming as the same crown melted into her flesh—

—The Original's form unraveling at the edges, her endless scream shaking the foundations of reality—

He came back to himself gasping, his nose bleeding freely. Aurelia was watching him, her black eyes knowing.

"It's the only way," Kael croaked.

The fortress shook again, cracks spiderwebbing across the ceiling. The hooded figure tutted. "Tick-tock, little shadows."

Lucian took a step toward the staircase, then another. His sword scraped against stone as he dragged the tip along the ground, leaving a thin trail of silver in its wake.

Aurelia caught his arm. "You don't know what that crown does to mortals. Let me—"

"I'm not mortal," Lucian growled. "Not anymore." He shook her off. "And neither are you."

The howling outside turned to shrieking. The shadow-barrier at the entrance wavered.

The figure clapped his hands together. "Wonderful! The prince remembers his teeth." He gestured grandly toward the stairs. "After you, your highness."

As Lucian descended into the dark, Kael moved to follow—

—only for Aurelia to yank him back. "No," she said, her voice raw. "The crown chooses its wielder. And if it takes him..." She swallowed hard. "You're the only one who can stop what comes next."

The last thing Kael saw before the shadows swallowed Lucian whole was the set of his shoulders—the same unshakable resolve he'd shown in a hundred battles.

But when the first scream echoed up from below, it didn't sound like Lucian at all.

It sounded like something much, much older