The creature's voice echoed through the chamber like a lullaby warped by sorrow. Kael instinctively stepped forward, shielding Lira with one arm.
"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice low, steady.
The skeletal woman tilted her head, the gems in her eye sockets catching the light. "A better question is: What are you?"
Kael's jaw tightened.
She drifted closer her feet not touching the ground. The temperature dropped with every inch of her movement. Lira gripped her blade tighter.
"I remember when your blood was spilled across the altar," the woman crooned. "When the king broke you before your bones had even hardened. And yet… here you stand, unbroken. Why?"
Kael met her gaze. "Because I wasn't the one cursed that day."
The woman's grin widened. "So he told you nothing. Typical."
From the folds of her cloak, she pulled a crown. Twisted metal, black as night, with thorns spiraling from its core. It pulsed faintly alive.
"This," she said, "is the original Blood Crown. Not the replica paraded by your father's court. This one remembers everything. It remembers you."
Kael's breath caught in his throat. The thorns seemed to reach toward him.
"I don't want it," he said.
"It wants you," she replied.
A heavy rumble echoed from behind them. The archway began to crumble, sealing the exit. Lira spun around, eyes wide. "Kael!"
The woman's hand shot out. Chains of shadow burst from the crown, wrapping around Kael's arms and chest, dragging him to his knees.
Lira lunged—but the chains lashed out, flinging her back.
"You don't understand," the woman hissed. "This isn't a curse. It's inheritance. The bloodline was sealed for a reason. You are its key."
Kael gritted his teeth, fighting the pull. The chains dug into his flesh but something inside him pushed back.
Images flashed behind his eyes his friends, the fallen temple, the boy with golden wings. Pieces of a puzzle assembling faster than he could comprehend.
"This legacy," Kael growled, "dies with me."
The crown screamed.
Flames erupted around them black fire licking the stone, devouring everything in its path. The woman screeched, stumbling backward.
And then… silence.
The chains shattered.
Kael stood, the crown smoldering at his feet.
Lira pushed herself up, limping slightly. "You okay?"
He didn't answer at first. His eyes were locked on the broken crown.
"No," he said. "But I think I finally know what I am."