I was on the very edge of shattering when the chamber windows exploded inward with a deafening crash. In a blurred motion of pure instinct, Richt lunged away from me, snatching the silk bedsheet and throwing it over my body to shield me from the spraying glass and the intruders' eyes.
I scrambled to wrap the fabric around me as Richt reached for the sword he kept perpetually by the bedside. In seconds, he was a whirlwind of steel, clashing with the figures who had vaulted through the broken frame.
"Why won't they fall?" Richt hissed. I watched as his blade carved deep, lethal gashes into their chests and limbs, yet they didn't bleed. They didn't flinch. They kept moving with a jerky, unnatural rhythm.
"Richt! They aren't human!" I shouted, the realization hitting me like a physical blow. "They are the Undead! The ones mentioned in the history of Roxana—corpses animated by the foulest black magic!"
Richt parried a blow that would have taken a normal man's head off. "How do we stop them? They won't stay down! Pati, run!"
One of the creatures broke past his guard, its rotting fingers reaching for my throat. Fear spiked in my chest, and then, the world went cold. My head snapped back as the darkness claimed me again.
The man from my visions stood there, surrounded by an army of shadows. But this time, I wasn't silent. My lips moved of their own accord, speaking an ancient, melodic tongue I didn't know. As the words left my mouth, the shadows behind the man evaporated into white mist.
I snapped back to reality to find Richt's sword arm grazing the creature that had launched itself at me. Blood—his blood—splattered onto the bedsheets.
"Richt!"
"Pati! Leave! Get to safety!" he roared, his voice thick with a terrifying mix of rage and desperation.
I looked at him, fighting so fiercely for a life he claimed not to value. I remembered the words from the vision. I knew what I had to do.
"Richt! Do you trust me?" I cried out.
He glanced back at me, his eyes burning with an intensity that made me catch my breath.
"Of course I do!"
His words gave me the courage I was lacking. Taking a heavy breath, I stood on the bed, my skin beginning to pulse with that strange, golden light. I whispered the incantation:
"In the name of the Creator, let the gates of Heaven open. Let these hollow souls find their rest!"
A wave of pure, white radiance erupted from my chest, sweeping through the room. The moment it touched the attackers, they didn't just fall—they vanished into ash.
Silence fell over the room, broken only by our ragged breathing. I looked at Richt, expecting him to call for the guards or check the perimeter. Instead, he dropped his sword, lunged onto the bed, and grabbed my face, kissing me with a desperation that felt like he was pouring his entire soul into me.
"Pati... that was incredible," he whispered against my lips before claiming them again.
He pushed me down into the pillows. The adrenaline of the fight had turned into a different kind of fire.
Despite the shattered glass, the lingering scent of ash, and the blood dripping from his arm, his hands were back on my body, roaming with a renewed hunger. His fingers found their mark, and I felt my mind slipping away all over again.
He's insane, I thought, even as my arms wrapped around his neck. Who does this in the middle of a massacre?
Suddenly, the door burst open. My father stood there, pale and disheveled.
"Your Highness! The King is under atta—"
Father froze. I tried to push Richt away, my face burning with shame, but he wouldn't budge. He kept his lips pressed to the sensitive skin of my neck, holding me possessively in front of my own father.
"Let the old man die," Richt growled, his voice low and dangerous. "See if I care."
"Your Highness!" I grabbed his hair and forced his head up so he had to look at me. "The King is in danger. You must do your duty. Now."
We stared at each other for a long moment, a silent battle of wills.
Finally, he let out a frustrated huff and pulled away, but not before wrapping the sheet tightly around me again.
"Stay here," he commanded, his eyes flashing one last time. "Do not move. I will send my personal knights to guard this door. If anyone else tries to enter, they die."