The Blood-Line of Shadows
1407 Words
The question lingered between them.
"What if she's telling the truth?"
Lucien's voice was barely audible beneath the chaos consuming the chapel.
Around them, steel clashed against steel.
Crimson Order assassins battled royal guards.
Magic shattered stained-glass windows.
Blood stained sacred stone.
Yet somehow the entire world had narrowed to a single impossible revelation.
You are not his son.
Aiden looked at Lucien.
The prince stood perfectly still.
Too still.
Like a man afraid that movement might shatter whatever remained holding him together.
For the first time since their paths had crossed, Aiden saw something beneath Lucien's composure.
Not strength.
Not authority.
Not control.
Loss.
Raw and devastating loss.
The king was dead.
The kingdom was falling apart.
And now the very foundation of Lucien's identity had been ripped away.
Aiden stepped closer.
Instinctively.
Without thinking.
"You don't know if it's true."
Lucien laughed softly.
The sound lacked humor.
"Neither do you."
Aiden couldn't argue.
Because the truth was neither of them knew anything anymore.
Not about the prophecy.
Not about the queen.
Not about the beast.
And certainly not about Lucien's past.
Another explosion rocked the chapel.
A pillar collapsed.
Dust filled the air.
The moment shattered.
Reality returned.
Lucien's expression hardened.
The vulnerable man vanished.
The prince returned.
"We find her."
Aiden nodded.
Simple.
Direct.
Necessary.
Because Queen Evelyne possessed answers.
And answers had become more valuable than gold.
The chapel battle ended quickly.
Not because either side won.
Because the Crimson Order disappeared.
One moment they were fighting.
The next they melted into shadows.
Gone.
Like ghosts.
Leaving only corpses behind.
Selene examined one of the fallen assassins.
Her expression darkened.
"They're moving faster than expected."
The creature from the Hollow folded its arms.
"She's accelerating the prophecy."
Aiden frowned.
"What exactly is she trying to do?"
Neither answered immediately.
A terrible sign.
Eventually Selene spoke.
"She's trying to wake the Crown."
Silence.
Aiden had heard the name before.
The Crown of Midnight.
The object tied to the ancient empire.
The object connected to the prophecy.
The object everyone seemed terrified of.
Lucien's silver eyes narrowed.
"You said the Crown was hidden."
"It was."
The creature's voice echoed softly.
"Until now."
The implication settled heavily over the group.
Something had changed.
Something irreversible.
The beast awakening beneath the Hollow hadn't merely broken a prison.
It had activated something much larger.
Much older.
And Queen Evelyne appeared to be at the center of it all.
Hours later, darkness covered Blackthorn Fortress.
Fires still burned throughout the damaged castle.
The wounded filled every available room.
Chaos reigned.
Yet within the western war chamber, silence prevailed.
A massive map covered the central table.
Aiden studied it carefully.
Lucien stood across from him.
Selene leaned against a nearby wall.
The creature remained near the window.
Watching the storm gathering outside.
Thunder rolled across the mountains.
The weather itself seemed disturbed by recent events.
Finally Lucien broke the silence.
"Where would she go?"
Selene immediately answered.
"The Obsidian Cathedral."
Aiden looked up.
"The what?"
The creature sighed.
"An ancient temple."
"Older than kingdoms."
"Older than history."
Aiden didn't like the sound of that.
Not even slightly.
Selene continued.
"The cathedral sits beneath the Ashen Mountains."
"The first kings built it."
Lucien's expression darkened.
"And the Crown?"
Selene nodded.
"Hidden there."
Silence followed.
The destination was obvious.
If the queen sought the Crown, she would go there.
If they wanted answers, they had to follow.
Simple.
Dangerous.
Probably suicidal.
Yet no one suggested alternatives.
The decision had already been made.
Then a knock interrupted the meeting.
A guard entered.
His face looked pale.
Concerned.
"Your Highness."
Lucien turned.
"What is it?"
The guard hesitated.
Then looked directly at Aiden.
"The prisoner from the lower cells requests an audience."
Aiden frowned.
"What prisoner?"
The guard swallowed.
"The man claims to know your father."
The room fell silent.
Aiden felt his pulse quicken.
His father?
Impossible.
His father had died years ago.
Everyone knew that.
The guard continued.
"He says your father isn't dead."
The world stopped.
For several seconds nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Then Lucien's voice cut through the silence.
"Bring him."
The prisoner arrived under heavy guard.
Chains covered his wrists.
His face remained hidden beneath a dark hood.
At first glance he appeared ordinary.
Just another captive.
Just another forgotten soul.
Yet the moment he entered the chamber, the creature from the Hollow stiffened.
Selene's smile disappeared.
Lucien immediately noticed.
"Who is he?"
The prisoner laughed.
A low, tired laugh.
Then he slowly removed the hood.
Aiden's breath caught.
The man looked ancient.
Not elderly.
Ancient.
Long silver hair flowed over dark robes.
His eyes shimmered with strange golden light.
The creature whispered something.
A name.
One spoken with disbelief.
"Malachar."
The prisoner smiled.
"Hello, old friend."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Aiden felt it.
Everyone did.
This wasn't an ordinary prisoner.
This was something else.
Something dangerous.
Something important.
Lucien stepped forward.
"You know Aiden's father."
Malachar looked toward Aiden.
His golden eyes softened.
Unexpectedly.
Almost sadly.
"I knew both of them."
Aiden frowned.
"Both?"
"The father who raised you."
A pause.
"And the father who created you."
Silence.
The words struck harder than any weapon.
Aiden stared.
His mind struggled to process them.
Created?
Not born?
Created?
"No."
The response emerged automatically.
Impossible.
Ridiculous.
Absurd.
Yet recent events had destroyed his ability to dismiss impossible things.
Malachar continued.
"You were never meant to exist."
Aiden felt suddenly cold.
The same words Selene had spoken.
The same warning.
The same mystery.
Lucien's expression hardened.
"Explain."
Malachar smiled.
"You're both asking the wrong questions."
His gaze shifted between them.
Between Aiden and Lucien.
Something ancient flickered in those golden eyes.
Recognition.
Understanding.
Pity.
Then he asked a question.
A simple question.
One that changed everything.
"When did the dreams begin?"
Silence.
Aiden froze.
Lucien froze.
Neither answered.
Neither needed to.
Because both already knew.
The visions.
The memories.
The impossible dreams.
The ruined kingdom.
The ancient king.
The protector.
They had started shortly after meeting each other.
Malachar nodded.
"As expected."
The creature cursed softly.
Selene looked genuinely alarmed.
And for the first time, Aiden realized something terrifying.
Everyone else already knew.
Everyone except them.
"What are we?" Aiden demanded.
The old man looked directly at him.
Then at Lucien.
And finally answered.
"The last two fragments."
The room fell silent.
No one breathed.
No one moved.
"The last fragments of what?" Lucien asked.
Malachar's smile faded.
His expression became grave.
Ancient.
Burdened.
"The Last King."
Thunder exploded outside.
Lightning illuminated the chamber.
The old man's golden eyes gleamed.
"The king never died."
Aiden's pulse hammered.
"The protector never died."
The room seemed to shrink.
"Their souls shattered."
Silence.
"Scattered across time."
A pause.
"And now..."
His gaze settled on them.
"They're trying to become whole again."
Nobody spoke.
Nobody could.
Because if Malachar was telling the truth...
Then everything changed.
The prophecy.
The Crown.
The beast.
Their connection.
Everything.
Lucien stepped backward.
The revelation had shaken him.
Not visibly.
Not obviously.
Yet Aiden saw it.
The prince's hands were trembling.
Just slightly.
Enough.
Then something unexpected happened.
Aiden moved.
Crossing the room.
Standing beside him.
Not because prophecy demanded it.
Not because destiny commanded it.
Because Lucien looked alone.
And somehow Aiden understood that feeling.
More than he wanted to.
Their shoulders nearly touched.
The gravity
The spark
It was smoking between their skin
Neither moved away.
The silence between them felt strangely intimate.
Dangerously comforting.
Malachar watched quietly.
Then smiled.
A knowing smile.
A smile neither man appreciated.
Before anyone could speak further—
A scream echoed through the fortress.
Loud.
Terrified.
Human.
Everyone turned.
A second scream followed.
Then a third.
The sounds multiplied rapidly.
The creature rushed toward the window.
Its face turned pale.
"What is it?" Lucien demanded.
The answer came slowly.
As though the creature barely believed it.
"The shadows."
Aiden's blood froze.
The shadowless corpses.
The escaped entity.
The thing that had emerged alongside the beast.
The creature looked horrified.
"They've found the fortress."
Then the lights went out.
Every candle.
Every torch.
Every flame.
Instant darkness consumed the room.
Aiden felt the temperature drop instantly.
Something moved in the darkness.
Something breathing.
Something ancient.
Then a voice whispered from everywhere at once.
A voice that didn't belong to any living thing.
"We found them."
The shadows had arrived.
And they weren't hunting kingdoms.
They were hunting Aiden and Lucien.
To Be Continued...
- Writer
