The East Wing chamber was a gilded cage.
Aurelia Valerius paced the length of the room, her silk slippers whispering against the marble floor. The air was thick, stale—unnaturally still. The mana lamps flickered weakly, casting jagged shadows across the walls. She clenched her fists, her nails biting into her palms. 'This isn't right. This isn't how it was supposed to be.'
Seraphina sat rigidly on the edge of their shared divan, her fingers tracing the intricate embroidery of her dress. Her usual smirk was gone, replaced by a tight-lipped frown. "Stop pacing. You're making me dizzy."
Aurelia whirled on her. "We should be out there, not trapped like—like rats!"
Seraphina's laugh was brittle. "Oh, now you care about being trapped? Where was this urgency when we were carving that ritual circle?"
Aurelia ignored her and strode to the communication crystal embedded in the wall. She pressed her palm against its smooth surface, willing it to activate. Nothing. Not even a flicker. Her breath hitched. "It's dead."
Seraphina's fingers stilled. "What?"
"The crystal. No mana flow."
A beat of silence. Then Seraphina was on her feet, crossing the room in quick strides. She reached for the vault door, her fingers brushing the intricate runes that should have responded to her touch. Nothing. She pushed. The door didn't budge.
Aurelia watched her sister's face pale. "Try again."
"I am trying!" Seraphina snarled, slamming her palm against the metal. "It's—it's sealed. Completely."
Aurelia's stomach twisted. She moved to the arched windows, yanking back the heavy drapes. The glass was warded, shimmering faintly with a web of frost and shadow. Beyond it, the city sprawled under a blood-red sky—so close, yet utterly unreachable.
Seraphina joined her, her reflection ghostly in the glass. "He cut us off."
"Impossible," Aurelia whispered. "The palace mana grid—it's ours. It answers to royal blood."
"Not anymore." Seraphina's voice was hollow.
Aurelia turned on her, fury boiling in her chest. "This is your fault! You rushed the ritual! You said we could control the Abyssal Lord—that Kael would never see it coming!"
Seraphina's eyes flashed. "And you were so sure our blood would protect us! 'He wouldn't dare touch the crown,' you said. 'He'll bow like the rest.'" She scoffed. "Look where that got us."
Aurelia's hands trembled. "We are the crown! The last of the Valerius line! He can't—"
"He can," Seraphina snapped. "He did. And now we're locked in here like—like prizes for his collection."
The words hung between them, ugly and undeniable.
Aurelia's throat tightened. "We were supposed to rule."
"Under a demon's thumb," Seraphina muttered.
"Better than under his!"
Seraphina didn't answer. She turned away, her shoulders stiff. The silence stretched, suffocating.
Then—
A heavy thud echoed through the chamber. The walls shuddered.
Aurelia's breath caught. Seraphina went still.
Another thud, closer this time. Something massive testing the vault door.
Then Kael's voice filled their minds:
"Hello princesses. Enjoying your cage?"
"Surrender and kneel by nightfall, or my harem will take you by force."
Seraphina collapsed to her knees, her breath ragged. "He—he owns the palace grid now? How?" Her fingers clawed at the floor, manicured nails snapping against marble. "We're royalty! We're blood!"
Aurelia didn't answer. She was already moving, her hands tracing the wall behind the largest tapestry—a woven depiction of their ancestors' victory over the Abyss. The threads were frayed, the colors dulled by centuries of neglect.
"Help me," she hissed.
Seraphina blinked up at her, tears streaking her cheeks. "What are you—"
"The tapestry. Pull!"
For once, Seraphina obeyed without argument. The heavy fabric resisted, dust billowing as they yanked it aside. Behind it, the wall was uneven, the mortar cracked. Aurelia pressed her palm against a specific stone, her fingers trembling.
A click.
The wall groaned, shifting inward just enough to reveal a yawning blackness beyond. Cold, stale air rushed out, carrying the scent of damp earth and old iron.
Seraphina recoiled. "What is this?"
"A secret," Aurelia breathed. "One I kept even from you."
"You lied?"
"I prepared." Aurelia's voice was sharp. "While you were busy flirting with courtiers, I studied every forgotten passage in this palace. This tunnel predates even the Valerius line. Kael's grid might not reach here."
Another thud shook the chamber. Closer. Louder.
Seraphina's face paled. "They're coming."
Aurelia didn't wait. She grabbed her sister's wrist and dragged her toward the opening. "We go now."
The tunnel was a throat of darkness, barely wide enough to crawl through. The stone scraped against Aurelia's elbows as she forced herself in, Seraphina whimpering behind her. The air was thick, suffocating.
"Keep moving," Aurelia ordered.
"I am!" Seraphina snapped, but her voice wavered. "It's too tight—"
"Would you rather face him?"
Silence. Then the sound of Seraphina's ragged breathing, the shuffle of fabric against stone.
The further they went, the colder it became. The walls pressed in, the ceiling so low Aurelia's back ached from hunching. Her knees burned, the rough stone tearing through her dress, biting into her skin.
Then—
A whimper. Seraphina's hand clutched at her ankle. "Aurelia, I—I can't—"
"You can." Aurelia twisted, gripping her sister's fingers in the dark. "We have to."
For a moment, they stayed like that, two heartbeats in the blackness. Then Seraphina exhaled, shaky but determined. "Okay. Okay."
They crawled.
The last sliver of light from their chamber vanished behind them, swallowed by the tunnel's throat. The darkness was absolute now, their breaths the only sound.
Somewhere above, the palace groaned.
Aurelia froze.
"Did you hear that?" Seraphina whispered.