The manor roared like it was alive.
Bells tolled from every floor, shaking dust from the ceilings. Magic pulsed through the walls, a heartbeat too loud, too fast. Servants scattered like prey as Elma and Calista sprinted through the narrow servant corridors, boots slick with spilled wine and blood.
"Left!" Calista hissed, yanking Elma down a hallway as a blast of fire erupted behind them, scorching the walls black.
Elma's lungs burned, the shard thrumming under her collarbone like it wanted out. Her veins glimmered faintly with its light, each pulse keeping her upright. She couldn't tell if it was helping her or burning her alive.
"North wing!" she gasped, clutching Calista's wrist. "We're close."
Another bell tolled—closer now.
They turned a corner and slammed into two armored guards. The men barely had time to raise their blades before Elma moved. The shard flared, sending a ripple of force through the air. The guards flew backward like rag dolls, armor crunching against the walls.
Calista didn't flinch. She drove her dagger into the throat of a third guard charging from behind, shoving his body aside.
"You're glowing," she said through clenched teeth, eyes flicking to the faint white light crawling up Elma's neck.
"Not the time!" Elma snapped, though she could feel the shard thrumming harder at the sound of Nitron's bell. It was calling to her. Or warning her.
The hallway narrowed, twisting up into a spiral staircase lined with black steel railings. The air grew colder with every step, their breaths fogging in front of them.
"This place feels wrong," Calista muttered, her dagger glinting in the dim torchlight.
"It's his," Elma said. "Of course it's wrong."
A deafening crack split the air. The wall above them exploded inward, showering stone and sparks. Nitron's voice followed, sharp and clear, echoing through the halls like a curse.
"ELMA."
She froze. The leash was gone, but his voice still made her body flinch.
Calista grabbed her hand. "Move!"
They sprinted up the stairs, boots slipping on rubble. The shard hummed so loud it drowned out the bells. When they burst through the top doorway, they found themselves in a circular chamber lit by hundreds of candles.
The Tower of Teeth.
Black spires jutted from the walls like fangs, curving toward the center of the room where a raised dais stood. On it, a massive obsidian mirror pulsed faintly with silver light, like a pool of liquid mercury trapped in glass.
The shard flared in Elma's chest, pulling her toward it.
"This is it," she whispered.
Calista grabbed her arm. "And what, exactly, are we supposed to do with 'it'?"
Before Elma could answer, the door slammed shut behind them. Chains of black fire slithered across it, sealing them in.
Nitron stepped through the flames like a shadow.
"You think you can take my house from me?" His voice was low, but the venom in it shook the floor. "You think you can run?"
Elma turned to face him, the shard's light bleeding through her skin. "I'm not running."
Nitron's eyes flicked to the shard's glow. He sneered. "Of course. The shard is singing, isn't it? It always did love a martyr."
Calista moved in front of Elma, dagger raised. "You won't touch her."
Nitron laughed. "You think you can stop me? You, little doll?"
The shard's hum sharpened, like it was angry.
Elma stepped forward, brushing past Calista. "You chained me because you were afraid," she said softly.
Nitron's smile faltered.
"You knew I wasn't yours," Elma continued. "Not really. You knew I'd burn you down."
Nitron's hand twitched. Dark fire gathered around his fingers, twisting into serpentine coils. "You won't leave this tower alive."
Elma didn't blink. "Then I'll take you with me."
The shard exploded with light.
The entire tower shook. Candles snuffed out as the obsidian mirror flared to life, its surface rippling like water. Nitron staggered back, shielding his eyes.
"Elma!" Calista grabbed her arm. "What's happening?"
The shard whispered inside Elma's head, clear and sharp: The chain is broken. The throne can fall.
She didn't answer. She raised her hand, and the shard's glow shot up her veins like lightning. The air itself bent around her.
Nitron snarled and hurled a spear of fire. The shard absorbed it midair, shattering it into sparks.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
"Elma!" Calista shouted again, panic cracking her voice.
Elma stepped toward Nitron, light rippling off her skin like armor. "You're done."
Nitron roared, summoning the full weight of his magic. The tower walls screamed as chains of shadow whipped out toward her.
The shard pulsed once. Twice.
Then the chains snapped.
Nitron froze, disbelief flickering across his face. "Impossible—"
Elma didn't give him time to finish.
The shard's power surged through her, and she slammed her palm against the obsidian mirror. The surface shattered outward in a wave of silver energy that swallowed the entire room.
The last thing she saw was Nitron's body thrown backward, flames curling around him like a dying star.
Then everything went white.