The upper levels of the undercity were colder than the tunnels below.
Air thinned.
Light dimmed.
The ground trembled beneath Kael's boots as he carried Lira up a narrow stairwell carved into cracked stone.
Her head rested against his chest.
Barely conscious.
Breathing shallow and uneven.
He held her as if she were the last fragile thing in a breaking world.
Because she was.
They emerged into an abandoned underground station — wide, echoing, lit by flickering industrial lamps. Old trains sat derailed on the tracks, metal eaten by rust. Rainwater dripped from the ceiling.
Kael set Lira down gently on a bench.
She winced, curling into herself.
He knelt in front of her. "Talk to me. What hurts?"
"Everything."
Her voice was thin, trembling. "The power in me keeps… reaching for something. Like it wants to escape."
"Then I'll hold it in place," he murmured, placing his hand over her heart.
Blue fire sparked under her skin.
She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
Kael felt it — through the bond — the pain, the fear, the overwhelming desire to not disappoint him.
He pressed his forehead to hers.
"Don't tear yourself apart for my sake."
Her fingers brushed his jaw, shaking.
"I would."
He flinched at the truth in her voice.
Before he could speak—
the world shook.
A thunderous roar echoed through the station.
The lights flickered.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Lira jolted upright. "They're here."
Kael rose, turning toward the darkness of the tunnels.
Footsteps.
Dozens.
Marching in perfect rhythm.
Then they appeared.
The Umbracast.
Not the squad from the sanctum.
These were different.
Larger.
Heavily armored.
Runes carved into their stone armor pulsing with Council power.
And at their head—
a mage wrapped in searing gold sigils.
Kael's blood froze.
"The High Warden."
The mage raised a hand, voice amplified through the cavern:
"Kael Varyn. By decree of the Council, you are sentenced to confinement and extraction. Your companion will be seized for ascension preparations."
Lira's breath hitched. "Kael—"
He didn't take his eyes off the enemy.
"Stay behind me."
She pressed her hand to his back.
Not holding on — anchoring him.
The High Warden smirked.
"How touching. Protecting your vessel."
Kael didn't move.
Didn't blink.
"Last warning, heir. Surrender—"
He shattered the floor.
Shadows erupted upward in a tidal wave, swallowing the front line of Umbracast. The tunnel behind them cracked under the force. The High Warden stepped back, surprised.
Kael moved like a storm given flesh.
Every Umbracast who approached was hurled aside in a blast of black energy. His eyes blazed with violet fire. The shadows writhed around him like serpents, answering his pulse.
Lira watched, breathless, terrified and awed.
But power like that came at a price.
She felt it — through the bond — the strain, the fury, the danger of losing himself.
"Kael!" she cried. "Pull back—!"
He didn't hear her.
Couldn't.
The shadows roared inside him, demanding more, pushing him to unleash everything.
Three Umbracast broke through his defenses and charged at Lira.
She stood — swaying, exhausted — and raised her hands.
Blue light burst from her palms.
A shockwave sent the attackers flying across the station.
Kael froze mid-strike.
Their eyes met.
His shadows twisted around him in a spiral. Her light flickered dangerously under her skin.
Two forces.
Opposite.
Linked.
Destroying each other from the inside.
"Lira," he whispered, breath shaking. "What are you doing?"
She was panting.
Barely able to stand.
"I can help. I can take some of the weight."
"No," he growled, voice cracking. "Not if it kills you."
"You're going to burn yourself out first!"
"And I'd prefer that over losing you!"
The admission hung in the air like a confession torn from his throat.
Her eyes softened.
But something in the bond trembled — a warning.
The High Warden raised his staff.
Kael reacted instantly, pushing Lira behind him as a beam of gold energy shot across the platform. The impact blasted Kael backward, slamming him into a support pillar.
"Kael!" Lira screamed, running toward him.
He staggered, coughing blood.
But he stood.
He always stood.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"You should have stayed dead," he snarled at the Warden.
The Warden's expression tensed.
"You fight like a feral child."
"And you talk too much."
Kael raised his hands—
But before he could attack, Lira crumpled to her knees.
Kael turned sharply. "Lira?"
She pressed her hands to her head, crying out. "Kael—it's waking again—"
Her body arched, power surging uncontrollably. The air around her crackled with blue fire, fracturing the platform.
Kael rushed to her—
caught her—
held her as her power exploded in a spiral of blinding light.
The High Warden laughed softly.
"Yes. Yes. Let it rise. Let the Queen reclaim her vessel."
Kael's fury snapped.
He touched Lira's face—
and their bond flared open, deeper than ever before.
He felt her pain
her confusion
her dread
her desperate desire to be herself
not a Queen
not a vessel
not a weapon
just Lira.
Kael whispered fiercely into her ear:
"You don't belong to the Council."
He pressed his forehead to hers.
"You don't belong to fate."
His hand slid to her heart.
"And you don't belong to my mother."
He pulled her closer—
breath hot against her cheek.
"You belong to you."
Lira gasped—
and her power stuttered—
then bent toward him.
Softened.
Aligned.
The bond steadied.
For a moment, they breathed together. One heartbeat. One will.
Kael rose slowly, lifting her with him.
His voice deepened with something ancient, something awakened by the ritual, something forbidden:
"Touch her again—
and you'll see what the Shadow Heir truly is."
The shadows behind him rose like wings.
Every remaining Umbracast stepped back.
Even the High Warden faltered.
And then—he said the worst thing he could have chosen.
"Your father warned us you'd be sentimental."
Kael froze.
Lira felt the fury ignite inside him like a star.
Oh no.
He whispered, "My father?"
The High Warden lifted his chin.
"He leads the Council now. The city prepares for his ascension. And when the moon bleeds tonight—your vessel will be taken."
Kael stopped breathing.
Lira trembled in his arms.
"…Taken?"
The Warden smiled.
"To fulfill your mother's prophecy. To restore the Shadow Queen."
Kael's eyes went black.
"Over my dead body."
The High Warden raised his staff.
Kael stepped in front of Lira, arms outstretched.
"Stay behind me."
She grabbed his sleeve weakly.
"Kael… I don't want you to die for me."
He looked at her then—
really looked—
as if she were the only real thing left in the world.
"I'm not dying," he said softly.
He brushed his thumb across her cheek.
"I'm becoming what I have to be."
He turned back to the Warden—
and the shadows surged around him like an awakening storm.
It was in that moment—
that Kael Varyn truly ascended.
Not as a king.
Not as a villain.
Not as a weapon.
But as someone willing to burn the world for the girl fate tried to steal.