Lyra's dagger gleamed under the blood-red glow of the shattered throne room's light. Her hands trembled—but her eyes were steady, locked on Rath's back.
Seven years in darkness.
Seven years pretending to be broken.
Seven years dreaming of this moment.
She threw the dagger.
It whistled through the air.
Rath turned too late.
The blade buried itself deep into his shoulder, making him stumble with a grunt of surprise and pain.
Kael seized the opportunity.
He lunged.
Blood and Memory
Kael's sword came down in a sweeping arc, meeting Rath's at the last second. Sparks exploded between them as steel ground against steel. Kael twisted, his foot catching Rath's heel, sending the tyrant staggering backward.
"You should've killed me when I was a boy," Kael growled, pressing forward. "You thought leaving me alive was punishment. You were wrong."
Rath's eyes flared with something new—hesitation.
Kael pressed in harder, his strikes faster now, more reckless.
Rath parried with gritted teeth, his body now reacting slower with the dagger still in his shoulder.
"You're not the boy I left behind," Rath admitted.
"No," Kael said. "I'm your reckoning."
A Family's Fire
From the rafters, Vess rained arrows down on Rath's soldiers. Merek carved sigils mid-air, unleashing blasts of raw elemental force. Thorn crushed skulls, roaring Kael's name like a battle hymn.
And Elira stood over Lyra, shielding her with one hand, keeping the remaining guards at bay.
"You okay?" she asked quickly.
Lyra, still catching her breath, nodded. "I'm ready."
The Tides Turn
Kael drove Rath into the center of the hall, blade biting deeper with each exchange. Blood now ran freely from both men.
"You wanted to erase my name," Kael said between clenched teeth. "But it's the last thing you'll ever speak."
Rath's eyes flickered.
And then, for the first time, he smiled.
"You still don't understand," he whispered.
He reached into his belt.
Kael saw it a second too late.
A rune-etched talisman.
Trigger of Despair
Rath crushed it in his hand.
A pulse of dark energy erupted outward, throwing Kael off his feet and blasting the others back with a thunderclap of force.
The throne room cracked and groaned. Pillars fell. The very ground shook.
From the crater at the center, Rath rose—his body blackened with shadowfire, eyes glowing red.
The king had become something else.
Something worse.
But Not Alone
Kael tried to stand, vision blurred, ribs shattered.
But then—hands steadied him.
Lyra.
"Together," she whispered.
Kael looked up.
And smiled.
To be continue...