The palace gates slammed shut behind them.
Aira stumbled through the main corridor, her fingers still trembling around the Heart Relic. Leo walked beside her, limping slightly, while Kairo scanned every shadow like it might come alive.
"Why is it so quiet?" Leo asked, voice low.
The halls of the palace were usually filled with laughter, commands, footsteps—life. Now… there was only silence.
Then came a voice. Cold. Commanding.
"You brought that into my palace?"
Everyone froze.
At the top of the staircase stood a tall woman draped in silver and emerald robes. Her dark hair coiled like a crown of thorns. Eyes sharp, unreadable.
Queen Malvera.
Aira stepped forward. "I—"
"You dare walk through my doors with the Heart Relic without permission?" the Queen barked, her tone sharp enough to cut steel. "You risked the kingdom's balance—again."
"We almost died," Leo said. "Can we maybe save the lectures for after a snack?"
Kairo elbowed him. Not the time.
Aira raised her chin. "Vivara was there. She tried to take the relic."
The Queen's nostrils flared. "And now she knows where it is. You've led a storm to my door."
"No," Aira said firmly. "I've brought the lightning to stop it."
A silence passed.
Then Malvera descended the stairs slowly, her every step echoing.
"The relic has bonded to you," she said. "That means two things: one, you'll be hunted by every power-hungry fool across the continent. Two…"
She stopped in front of Aira, lifting her chin.
"…you're no longer just a ward of the palace. You're a threat."
Aira's jaw tightened. "So what now? Chains? A cell?"
"Not chains," the Queen replied. "A collar."
Gasps echoed behind Aira. Even Kairo's hand moved to his blade.
"What?" Leo said. "You're joking, right?"
But the Queen wasn't smiling.
"The Collar of Ash binds the relic's power until it's proven stable. If she loses control—"
"I won't," Aira snapped.
"If—she loses control," Malvera repeated, "she could wipe out the capital in a heartbeat."
"You can't collar her like a beast," Leo said, stepping forward.
"I can," Malvera said, "and I will."
But before she could give the order, the air shimmered again—this time, with the scent of fire lilies and shadow.
A figure walked out of nothing.
Lucien.
Alive.
Leaning against the archway like he owned the place. His dark coat was dusted with ash, his smile slow and venomous.
"Sorry I'm late," he said. "Had to wrestle a god out of my way."
"Lucien," Aira breathed.
Kairo was instantly in front of her, blades drawn. Leo followed, fists clenched.
Malvera's expression faltered, only for a second.
Lucien stepped forward. "Relax. I'm not here to kill anyone."
He paused, eyes locking with Aira's. "Yet."
Aira's fingers dug into the relic, its glow pulsing beneath her grip.
Lucien's eyes flickered toward it.
"So it chose you after all."
"Don't act like you didn't know it would," she said coldly.
Lucien smiled again—almost fondly. "You always were the stubborn one."
"Why are you here?" Kairo demanded.
"To warn you," Lucien said. "Vivara's not working alone."
Everyone went still.
"She's allied with the Queen of Chains," he said. "She's already inside your walls."
Malvera paled.
Aira blinked. "What?"
Lucien turned slightly. "You really think silence in the palace was coincidence?"
Suddenly, a scream echoed through the lower halls.
Then another.
Guards ran past, yelling about broken seals and missing prisoners.
Aira's blood turned cold.
Lucien looked back at her and said, "Told you. The real storm hasn't even started."
Aira barely had time to process Lucien's warning when another explosion shook the palace—this one closer, fiercer. Chandeliers rattled above them, and the golden crest of the High Court fell from the wall with a thunderous clang.
Screams came again. Then steel clashing.
"We're under attack!" a guard shouted, rushing down the corridor, blood on his sleeve. "They've breached the west wing! The dungeons—opened from the inside!"
Queen Malvera's composure shattered for a breath. "Activate the barrier sigils. Now!"
Another guard sprinted in, panting. "We can't, Your Majesty! Someone… someone's draining the core power."
"She's already here," Lucien said darkly.
Aira clenched her fists. "Who is the Queen of Chains?"
Lucien's smile faded. "Her name was Zafira once. Now? She's only known by the chains she forged herself—magic-bound, curse-wrapped. She feeds on fear, binds kingdoms in silence. Vivara freed her. Together… they're hunting relic wielders."
"And I'm glowing like a lantern," Aira muttered under her breath.
Leo stepped in front of her protectively. "Let them come. I've got two fists and a grudge."
Kairo rolled his eyes. "This is why your nose keeps getting broken."
Lucien gave a low whistle. "Still the same circus."
But Aira was focused. Her mind raced.
The relic. The chains. The Queen.
"I need to see the seal chamber," she said suddenly. "If the chains are magical, maybe I can reverse them."
"You think you can undo the Queen of Chains' power?" Malvera asked, stunned.
Aira's voice was firm. "If I can't, I'm not just a threat. I'm a failure."
The Queen stared at her for a long moment, then gave a sharp nod. "Take her. Kairo, Leo, go with her. Lucien…"
"Oh, I'm not leaving," Lucien said, unsheathing a blade that shimmered with runes. "I've got a score to settle."
They moved fast through the halls, dodging smoke and spells as bursts of dark energy cracked the floors behind them.
At one point, Leo tripped and nearly flattened Kairo.
"Get off me, you oaf!"
"It's not my fault the floor attacked my foot!"
"This is not the time!" Aira yelled, dragging both of them by the sleeves.
They burst into the seal chamber—and stopped.
There, standing in front of the cracked stone circle, was a woman.
Her hair was pure white, her skin inked with black runes that seemed to slither. Long chains wrapped around her arms like serpents.
She turned.
Her eyes were silver. Hollow. Ancient.
"Ah," she said, her voice like wind through a grave. "The girl with the relic."
Aira stepped forward. "Zafira."
The Queen of Chains smiled. "No. Queen Zafira. And you… are my chosen vessel."
Chains snapped to life and slithered toward her like hungry wolves.
Lucien threw a dagger—she caught it midair.
Leo raised his fists, heart pounding.
Aira took a breath.
And for the first time, the Heart Relic glowed on it.
The chains snapped through the air like vipers, aiming straight for Aira's neck. But the moment they got within reach, the Heart Relic flashed—a brilliant red pulse exploded outward, knocking the chains back with a metallic shriek.
Queen Zafira staggered slightly, her eyes narrowing. "So… the relic has chosen you. Interesting."
Leo darted forward, throwing a punch charged with raw magic. One of the chains intercepted him midair, flinging him into a column with a groan.
Kairo reached for his twin daggers, the shadows dancing around him, ready to strike. "This lady really needs a timeout."
"I heard that," Zafira said coldly—and with a flick of her finger, the floor cracked open beneath him.
"KAIRO!" Aira screamed, diving forward.
Lucien pulled her back just in time as Kairo disappeared into the darkness with a grunt. "Go! I'll get him!" he yelled before jumping in after him.
"Don't die again, idiot," Leo muttered from the floor.
Aira turned to face Zafira, her pulse pounding. The Heart Relic burned against her chest now—warmer, brighter. She could feel something awakening inside her. Not just the relic's power—but her own.
"You're not taking me," she said quietly.
Zafira smiled with a cruel softness. "I already have."
The chains shot forward again, and Aira threw her hands out, focusing. The relic responded instantly, spinning out red sigils in the air, forming a glowing barrier.
CLASH!
The chains hit the shield and recoiled, parts of them snapping into pieces like broken glass. Zafira hissed.
"You don't know what you're doing," she said, voice sharp with rage. "You don't understand the cost of wielding the Heart. It's not a gift—it's a prison."
"Funny," Aira shot back, "because it's the first time I've felt free."
Zafira's lips twitched in annoyance. She raised both hands, and the chains around her began to spin—faster and faster, creating a storm of metal and magic around her.
Leo coughed from the floor. "Okay, so we're just casually fighting a chain tornado now. Cool. Totally fine."
"Leo," Aira said, eyes locked on Zafira, "get behind me."
He scrambled to his feet, dragging himself behind her just as the storm of chains surged forward again.
This time, Aira didn't just block.
She stepped into it.
The relic glowed red-hot. Her hair whipped around her like fire. The chains wrapped around her arms—but instead of binding her, they melted into sparks, breaking apart in showers of light.
Zafira took a step back. "Impossible—"
Aira's eyes flared with power. "Your chains don't work on someone who already broke free."
With a cry, she threw her hand forward—and the full force of the Heart Relic burst from her chest like a star collapsing in reverse. The light consumed everything, pushing Zafira back—shoving her to her knees.
Outside the seal chamber, the ground trembled.
Then, silence.
When the light faded, the chains were gone. Zafira lay on the floor, her body trembling, barely conscious. Aira stood over her, panting, her entire body glowing faintly.
Lucien reappeared, dragging a bruised and battered—but grinning—Kairo behind him.
"Did we win?" Kairo asked.
Aira nodded. "Round one."
Lucien walked up to the fallen queen. "We chain her this time."
Leo, still catching his breath, muttered, "Can we chain her to the moon?"
Aira gave a small, tired laugh. "Tempting."
As the others gathered, Queen Malvera's guards arrived—shocked to find the Queen of Chains unconscious on the floor, and Aira standing as the girl who had defied fate.
But in Aira's chest, the relic still pulsed.
A warning.
This wasn't over.
Not even close.
.