Chapter Eight: Bound Under Crimson Law
1300 Words
Lena woke to silence.
Not the calm kind the dangerous kind that felt watched.
Her eyes opened slowly. The ceiling above her was red stone carved with sharp symbols that glowed faintly, like dying embers. Her head throbbed. Her body felt heavy, as if invisible chains pressed her into the bed.
She tried to move.
Pain shot through her wrist.
“Ah !”
She gasped and turned her arm. A thick crimson band circled her wrist now, carved with the same symbols as the ceiling. It burned against her skin.
“No,” she whispered. “No, no…”
“You’re awake.”
The voice was smooth. Too smooth.
Lena turned her head.
Prince Eldric stood near the window, hands folded behind his back, watching the red dawn crawl across the sky.
“What did you do to me?” Lena demanded, her voice shaking.
Eldric smiled faintly. “Saved you.”
“Liar.”
He chuckled. “Strong words for someone who fainted in the binding hour.”
She struggled to sit up. The moment she lifted her head, the band tightened. Pain crushed her chest, stealing her breath.
She cried out and fell back.
“Careful,” Eldric said mildly. “That band is linked to your heart now.”
Her eyes burned with tears. “Where is Kael?”
Eldric’s smile faded just a little. “Alive. For now.”
Her chest tightened for a different reason. “I want to see him.”
“No,” Eldric said simply.
“You promised protection!”
“I promised survival,” he corrected. “Protection has conditions.”
She clenched her fists. “You’re using me.”
“Yes,” Eldric replied calmly. “Because you are useful.”
Anger flared through her fear. “I won’t help you.”
Eldric walked closer. “You already are.”
He gestured to her wrist. “That band is a Crimson Seal. It limits your power and prevents you from bonding further with my brother.”
Her heart pounded. “You can’t stop the bond.”
“I can slow it,” Eldric said. “Twist it. Hurt him through you if needed.”
Her breath hitched. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, Lena,” he said softly. “I would.”
The door opened.
Kael stormed in.
The shadows around him lashed the walls, cracking stone. His eyes locked on Lena instantly.
“Take it off,” he snarled. “Now.”
Lena’s breath broke. “Kael”
Eldric raised a hand. The guards at the door stiffened.
“Careful, brother,” Eldric said. “One wrong move and she screams again.”
Kael froze.
Lena felt it the pull. The bond strained like a wound being torn open.
“I’m here,” she said quickly. “I’m okay.”
Kael’s jaw clenched. “You’re not.”
He looked at the band. His face darkened.
“You marked her,” he said.
“I claimed her,” Eldric replied. “By law.”
Lena shook her head. “I didn’t agree.”
Eldric turned to her. “You crossed realms. You awakened as a Conduit during the Ball. By Crimson Law, you belong to the crown until dawn of the third day.”
Kael laughed bitterly. “You made that law.”
“And I will enforce it,” Eldric said. “Guards. Leave us.”
The guards hesitated.
“Now.”
They left. The doors slammed shut.
Silence returned, thick and tense.
Kael stepped closer to the bed. “Does it hurt?”
Lena nodded. “When I move. When I think too hard. When you’re near.”
His breath shuddered. “I’m sorry.”
“This isn’t your fault,” she said quickly.
“Yes, it is,” he said. “I should never have let you come near the Ball.”
Eldric watched them like a man enjoying a play. “You see? Even now, the bond strengthens. It feeds on emotion.”
“What do you want?” Lena asked him.
Eldric clasped his hands. “Control. Stability. The realm is breaking. Portals tear open without warning. Creatures cross over. You can seal them.”
Her stomach twisted. “By hurting me?”
“By using you,” Eldric said.
Kael stepped forward. “She will die.”
Eldric met his gaze. “So be it.”
Lena’s voice shook. “You’d kill me to save your throne?”
“I’d sacrifice you,” Eldric said, unashamed. “There is a difference.”
Kael’s shadows surged.
“Touch her again,” Kael growled, “and I swear”
Lena cried out suddenly.
The band flared.
Pain ripped through her chest like fire.
Kael stumbled back, clutching his side as if struck.
“No!” Lena screamed.
Eldric raised a brow. “Interesting. The feedback is stronger than expected.”
Kael gasped, blood at the corner of his mouth.
“Stop it!” Lena begged. “Please!”
Eldric waved his hand. The pain eased.
Lena sobbed, breathless. “You’re hurting him through me.”
“Yes,” Eldric said calmly. “Which means I control both of you.”
Kael forced himself upright. “You will not keep her.”
“I don’t need to keep her forever,” Eldric replied. “Only until she opens the Great Seal.”
Lena’s heart sank. “What seal?”
“The one beneath the palace,” Eldric said. “The one holding the realm together.”
Kael’s eyes widened. “You’re mad.”
“I’m desperate,” Eldric corrected. “And you, dear brother, are cursed. Unfit to rule.”
Kael laughed bitterly. “And you think binding a human will save you?”
“It already has,” Eldric said.
He turned to Lena. “Rest. Tomorrow, you begin training.”
“I won’t,” she whispered.
“You will,” he said. “Because if you resist—”
He glanced at Kael.
Her voice broke. “Don’t.”
Eldric smiled thinly. “Sleep.”
Magic pressed down on her like fog. Her eyes grew heavy.
“Kael,” she whispered.
“I’m here,” he said desperately. “I won’t leave you.”
As darkness claimed her, she felt his hand brush her fingers just barely.
The pain vanished.
The bond pulsed.
Lena dreamed of doors.
Endless doors.
Some led home.
Some led nowhere.
One led into shadow.
She reached for it.
She woke with a gasp.
The room was darker now. Night had fallen again.
Kael sat beside her bed, shadows coiled tight, his face pale.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered.
“I don’t care,” he said.
Her wrist throbbed softly. “They’ll hurt you.”
“They already have,” he said. “Lena… the bond is changing faster than I feared.”
She swallowed. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” he said quietly, “that soon, the court won’t be able to control it.”
Hope flickered. “So we can escape?”
“Yes,” he said. “But only if you trust me.”
“I do.”
His eyes softened. “Good. Because the next time the bond flares…”
He took her hand fully this time.
“…it won’t ask for permission.”
The band cracked.
Light spilled out.
Alarms began to ring across the palace.
Kael cursed. “They felt it.”
Footsteps thundered outside.
Lena’s heart raced. “Kael?”
He looked at her, fear and fire in his eyes.
“Hold on to me,” he said. “Whatever happens next don’t let go.”
The doors burst open.
Magic collided.
And the bond surged violently
pulling Lena into darkness with Kael right behind her.
- Writer
