Chapter 9 - The Seven Who Should Have Died

# Chapter 9 - The Seven Who Should Have Died

The first coffin opened with a sound like bones breaking beneath the earth.

Then the second.

Then the third.

Deep beneath the Great Basilica of Saint Valerius, seven ancient stone lids began sliding away from their resting places, releasing clouds of silver dust into the royal crypt.

And from each coffin came the unmistakable sound of someone breathing.

Toby stood frozen at the edge of the shattered sanctuary, staring at the black crown-shaped mark spreading beneath the skin of his right hand.

The woman's voice still echoed inside his mind.

Your father was never the true prisoner, Tobias. I am.

He looked toward the enormous mural of Queen Aurelia.

The painted eyes glowed with an unnatural silver light.

"Who are you?" he whispered.

The voice answered immediately.

Someone your family has spent four hundred years trying to forget.

"Toby?"

Elara seized his shoulder.

He turned toward her.

Her face was pale, her eyes wide with fear.

"Who are you talking to?"

Toby swallowed.

"The queen."

Elara looked toward the crimson seal.

"The creature?"

He shook his head.

"No. Someone else."

Before she could question him, a terrible scream echoed from the staircase leading to the crypt.

Mara Veyr staggered backward.

"Father!"

Brother Alden lay unconscious upon the broken wooden door that served as his stretcher. His breathing had become dangerously shallow, and the blood soaking his robes had spread across the floor.

But Mara was no longer looking at him.

She was staring down the staircase.

A figure had appeared in the darkness.

A man wearing a long ceremonial robe embroidered with seven silver stars.

His skin was pale.

His eyes were completely black.

And around his neck hung the rusted chain of the Order of the Seven Blades.

Ser Kaelen turned.

His expression changed.

"Impossible."

The figure stepped into the sanctuary.

Behind him came another.

Then another.

Seven figures emerged from the staircase.

Men and women of different ages, dressed in garments belonging to different centuries.

Some wore armor.

Others wore priestly robes.

One appeared to be no older than fifteen.

All bore the same mark upon their foreheads.

A black crown.

Malrec raised his dagger.

"Who are they?"

Kaelen slowly lowered his broken sword.

"The forgotten guardians."

Queen Seraphine staggered backward.

"No..."

The seven figures stopped before the shattered altar.

Then, as one, they knelt.

Not before the crowned creature rising from the abyss.

Not before Queen Seraphine.

Before Toby.

And their voices joined in a single terrible declaration.

"The Ninth Sovereign has awakened."

Toby looked around desperately.

"I'm not a sovereign!"

The oldest of the seven figures raised his head.

He was a gaunt man with white hair and a long scar across his throat.

"You bear the Crownfire."

"I didn't ask for it!"

"The crown does not ask."

The man rose slowly.

"My name was Lord Edran Solmere. I served the First Dynasty four hundred years ago."

Kaelen stared at him.

"Edran Solmere died during the War of Ashes."

The man turned.

"And yet here I stand."

Malrec tightened his grip around his dagger.

"Necromancy."

Edran gave him a tired smile.

"No, inquisitor. Something far crueler."

He looked toward the six broken chains suspended above the abyss.

"We were never permitted to die."

A silence fell across the sanctuary.

Toby glanced toward Mara.

She had spent twelve years imprisoned inside one of the coffins.

But these people had been trapped for decades.

Some for centuries.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

Edran's expression darkened.

"We were chosen to sustain the prison."

"The seven chains?"

"Yes."

He extended one pale hand.

Beneath his skin, tiny silver symbols moved like living insects.

"Each guardian surrendered a portion of their life to the covenant. Our bodies were preserved. Our minds were bound to the stone."

Mara covered her mouth.

"Just like me."

Edran looked at her.

"Almost."

His voice became softer.

"You were never meant to be one of us."

Mara froze.

"What?"

"The covenant requires seven guardians, each bound to a different royal generation."

He looked toward the broken coffins.

"But you carried only a borrowed fragment of royal blood."

Mara's breathing quickened.

"Then why did they imprison me?"

Edran hesitated.

"Because someone needed a place to hide you."

Brother Alden stirred weakly.

Mara turned toward him.

"Father?"

His eyes opened.

He looked at Edran.

Then his face filled with horror.

"You..."

Edran lowered his head.

"Hello, Alden."

The old monk struggled to sit upright.

"No. You died."

"That is what they told you."

Alden began shaking.

Toby watched the exchange.

"Do you know him?"

Alden's voice was barely audible.

"He was the man who ordered me to surrender Mara."

Near the shattered altar, Lord Cassian Voss struggled to stand.

His throat was bruised where the black chain had nearly strangled him.

Elara rushed toward him.

"Father!"

He looked up.

For a moment, relief crossed his face.

"Elara."

She knelt beside him.

"Can you walk?"

"Yes."

He tried to rise.

Pain forced him back to one knee.

Elara caught his arm.

"You need help."

Cassian gave a bitter laugh.

"After everything I've done, you still worry about me?"

She looked away.

"I haven't forgiven you."

"I know."

"But I don't want you dead."

Cassian studied her face.

Then he whispered, "You are more like your mother than you realize."

Elara's expression tightened.

"Then tell me where she is."

Cassian hesitated.

The imprisoned Lysandra remained suspended far below the sanctuary, inside the golden cage.

Elara had seen her.

He could no longer pretend otherwise.

"Blackthorn Palace," Cassian whispered.

Elara frowned.

"But she's here."

Cassian shook his head.

"Not all of her."

A terrible silence followed.

"What does that mean?"

He looked toward the golden cage.

"Her body is in Blackthorn Palace."

Elara stared.

"And that?"

"Her consciousness."

Elara felt cold.

Cassian continued.

"After the failed sacrifice, the royal council separated her spirit from her body. They believed she knew how to destroy the covenant."

Elara's voice trembled.

"Who ordered it?"

Cassian closed his eyes.

"King Edric."

She looked toward the abyss.

"The king who supposedly died eleven years ago?"

Cassian nodded.

Elara swallowed.

"Is he alive?"

Cassian opened his eyes.

"Yes."

"Where?"

His expression became grim.

"Blackthorn Palace."

Elara felt her heart pounding.

"Then why did he pretend to die?"

Cassian looked toward Toby.

"Because the throne was never meant to remain empty."

The seven guardians began moving toward the abyss.

Edran raised both hands.

Silver light emerged from their bodies, forming a circle around the seventh chain.

The crowned figure beneath the sanctuary roared.

"TRAITORS!"

Edran did not turn.

"We have served long enough."

The creature's black crown ignited.

A wave of darkness struck the guardians.

Three staggered.

One fell to his knees.

But the silver circle remained intact.

Toby felt the mark on his hand pulse.

The woman's voice returned.

They cannot hold him for long.

He looked toward the mural.

"Then tell me what to do."

Find the truth.

"What truth?"

The truth about the first queen.

Toby clenched his fists.

"Everyone keeps telling me that!"

The voice fell silent.

He looked toward Edran.

"Who was Queen Aurelia?"

The ancient guardian turned.

For the first time, fear crossed his face.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"She spoke to me."

Edran went still.

The silver circle flickered.

"Impossible."

"Why?"

Edran looked toward the mural.

Then he whispered, "Because Queen Aurelia has been dead for four hundred years."

Toby shook his head.

"She said she was imprisoned."

Edran's expression changed.

"No."

He stepped toward the boy.

"Tobias, listen carefully. Whatever is speaking to you is not the first queen."

Toby felt anger rising.

"Then who is it?"

Edran looked toward the crowned figure.

"The thing we imprisoned."

Toby stared.

"But that thing is already down there."

Edran shook his head.

"Only part of it."

The words struck Toby like ice.

Edran continued.

"Four hundred years ago, Queen Aurelia divided the entity into two halves."

"Two?"

"One was bound beneath the kingdom."

He pointed toward the crowned figure.

"The other was sealed within the royal bloodline."

Toby slowly looked down at his hand.

The black crown mark pulsed.

Once.

Twice.

Edran's expression became filled with dread.

"The second half has been waiting for a child powerful enough to awaken it."

The woman's voice whispered inside Toby's mind.

Do not believe him.

Toby staggered.

Edran stepped closer.

"The Crownfire was never merely a gift."

Toby's voice trembled.

"What is it?"

Edran lowered his head.

"A prison carried from generation to generation."

The sanctuary began shaking again.

The crowned figure beneath the abyss raised its head.

Its black crown was repairing itself.

One broken spike after another slowly returned.

Ser Kaelen looked toward Edran.

"How do we stop the succession?"

Edran's expression darkened.

"The crown must be destroyed before the ninth vessel is completed."

Seraphine stepped forward.

"Destroyed how?"

Edran hesitated.

Toby felt dread rising.

"Tell me."

The ancient guardian looked at him.

Then he whispered, "The vessel must die before the crown fully awakens."

Elara froze.

"No."

Kaelen lowered his head.

Seraphine covered her mouth.

Toby stared at Edran.

"You mean me."

Edran said nothing.

Elara stepped between them.

"Absolutely not."

Edran's expression was sorrowful.

"If the crown completes its awakening, the two halves of the entity will reunite."

"And if they do?" Malrec demanded.

Edran looked toward the abyss.

"The prison will cease to exist."

The crowned figure laughed.

"At last, someone understands."

Toby backed away.

He had spent his entire life believing he was unwanted.

Now everyone seemed to want something from him.

His blood.

His power.

His death.

He looked toward Elara.

She was trembling with anger.

Then he looked toward the golden cage holding his mother's consciousness.

Lysandra was crying.

And beneath the darkness, his father's face appeared for one brief moment.

Alaric looked at him.

His lips moved.

But no sound emerged.

Toby felt something inside him break.

"Why does everyone keep deciding whether I live or die?"

Nobody answered.

He raised his marked hand.

"Why doesn't anyone ask me?"

The golden flames returned.

Edran staggered backward.

"Tobias, control yourself!"

The boy shook his head.

"No."

The fire spread across his arms.

"I won't let you kill me."

Elara reached toward him.

"Toby—"

"And I won't let you kill my father!"

The flames erupted.

The silver circle shattered.

The seven guardians were thrown backward.

The crowned figure roared with triumph.

"YES!"

Toby screamed as the black mark spread across his chest.

The woman inside his mind began laughing.

At last, my child.

The sanctuary trembled.

The seventh chain cracked.

A single black spike appeared above Toby's forehead.

Elara screamed.

"Toby!"

He turned toward her.

For one instant, his eyes were no longer hazel.

They were silver.

Ancient.

Cold.

Then he collapsed.

When Toby opened his eyes, he was no longer inside the basilica.

He stood in a vast white hall.

There were no walls.

No ceiling.

Only endless light.

Before him stood a woman wearing a golden crown.

Her long silver hair flowed over a white gown.

Her face was beautiful.

And terribly sad.

"Welcome, Tobias."

He stepped backward.

"Who are you?"

The woman smiled.

"Queen Aurelia."

Toby shook his head.

"You're lying."

She looked wounded.

"Why?"

"Because everyone says you're dead."

Aurelia lowered her gaze.

"Everyone has been told many things."

Toby clenched his fists.

"Are you the monster?"

The queen looked at him.

For a long moment, she said nothing.

Then she whispered, "I was."

Toby froze.

"What?"

Aurelia approached.

"Four hundred years ago, I made a terrible mistake."

She raised one hand.

The white hall transformed.

Toby saw a battlefield.

Thousands of soldiers lay dead beneath a burning sky.

At the center stood a young woman wearing a golden crown.

Aurelia.

She was crying.

"I wanted to save my people," the queen whispered.

The vision changed.

Aurelia stood before a black gate.

Beyond it waited something vast and shapeless.

"I made a bargain with a power I did not understand."

Toby watched as darkness poured from the gate.

It entered Aurelia's body.

She screamed.

The vision shifted again.

Seven knights surrounded her.

Silver chains bound her wrists.

Aurelia fell to her knees.

"I discovered too late that the power was not a servant."

The queen looked at Toby.

"It was a hunger."

The battlefield vanished.

The white hall returned.

Toby stared at her.

"Then why are you inside me?"

Aurelia's expression darkened.

"Because I separated my soul from the creature before it consumed me completely."

Toby frowned.

"Edran said the second half of the monster was inside the royal bloodline."

Aurelia nodded.

"He believes that."

"Isn't it true?"

The queen hesitated.

"Not entirely."

Toby felt his heart pounding.

"Then tell me the truth."

Aurelia approached.

"The Crownfire is not the monster."

She touched his forehead.

"It is the only thing that can destroy it."

Toby stared.

"Then why does everyone want to kill me?"

Aurelia's eyes filled with tears.

"Because the royal council has spent four hundred years protecting the wrong prisoner."

In the sanctuary, Toby's body lay motionless.

Elara knelt beside him.

"Wake up."

His skin was cold.

The black crown mark had spread across his chest.

Seraphine examined it.

Her face grew pale.

"The succession is accelerating."

Kaelen looked toward Edran.

"How long?"

The ancient guardian hesitated.

"Minutes."

Elara seized Toby's hand.

"No."

Mara stepped closer.

"There must be another way."

Edran shook his head.

"The crown must be stopped."

Malrec raised his dagger.

Elara turned.

"Don't you dare."

The inquisitor hesitated.

His eyes moved toward Toby.

Then toward the abyss.

He slowly lowered the weapon.

"I have already sacrificed too many children."

Edran's expression hardened.

"Then the kingdom will die."

A voice answered from behind them.

"Not necessarily."

Everyone turned.

Queen Seraphine stood beside the broken altar.

In her hands was the small golden key she had shown Toby earlier.

She looked toward the seventh chain.

"The Crown of Ashes can be removed."

Edran froze.

"Impossible."

Seraphine shook her head.

"No. The ritual exists."

Kaelen stared at her.

"Your Majesty..."

She looked at him.

"You know what it requires."

The knight lowered his head.

Elara looked between them.

"What ritual?"

Seraphine closed her eyes.

"The crown can be transferred to another living vessel."

Silence.

Mara stepped forward.

"Who?"

The queen looked toward the seven guardians.

Then toward Toby.

Finally, she whispered, "Someone who shares his blood."

Elara felt cold.

She slowly looked down at her brother.

Then at the black mark spreading across his chest.

"No."

Seraphine's eyes filled with tears.

"Elara..."

The girl shook her head.

"No."

But she already understood.

The crown could be transferred.

Toby could be saved.

And the price would be her own life.

Inside the white hall, Aurelia suddenly seized Toby's shoulders.

Her expression changed from sorrow to terror.

"They're going to perform the transfer."

Toby frowned.

"What transfer?"

"The Crown of Ashes."

He stared at her.

"To whom?"

Aurelia looked toward the endless white light.

"Your sister."

Toby's blood turned cold.

"Elara?"

The queen nodded.

"If they place the crown upon her, the creature will abandon your body."

"Then she'll die!"

"Not immediately."

Toby stared.

"What does that mean?"

Aurelia's voice trembled.

"She will become its new prison."

The white hall began cracking.

Darkness seeped through the fractures.

Aurelia gripped his hand.

"Tobias, you must wake up."

"How?"

"Remember who you are."

The darkness spread.

The queen began fading.

"Remember what your mother told you."

Toby closed his eyes.

A memory surfaced.

A blue blanket.

A warm hand.

A gentle voice.

Even when the sky goes dark, you must remember how to shine.

Golden fire erupted around him.

The white hall shattered.

Toby opened his eyes.

He was back inside the basilica.

Elara stood above him.

A black crown hovered between her hands.

Seraphine was chanting in an ancient language.

The seven guardians formed a circle around them.

The transfer had begun.

Toby tried to move.

His body refused.

Elara looked down at him.

Tears streamed down her face.

"I'm sorry, little brother."

He struggled to speak.

"Elara..."

She smiled through her tears.

"You said you always wanted a sister."

The crown descended.

Toby screamed.

"NO!"

Golden fire exploded from his chest.

The crown stopped inches above Elara's head.

Everyone staggered backward.

Toby rose.

His eyes burned with golden light.

The black markings across his body began dissolving.

Edran stared in disbelief.

"Impossible."

Toby looked toward the abyss.

Then toward the seven guardians.

He finally understood.

The crown was not choosing him.

It was being forced upon him.

And someone had been controlling the ritual from the beginning.

He turned toward Edran.

"You lied."

The ancient guardian froze.

Toby raised his hand.

Golden fire illuminated the old man's face.

"You said the crown had to be transferred."

Edran stepped backward.

"It does."

"No."

Toby's voice echoed through the sanctuary.

"You wanted Elara to take it."

The seven guardians began moving.

Edran's expression hardened.

"Child, you do not understand."

Toby stepped closer.

"Then explain why you were waiting for her."

Silence.

Ser Kaelen slowly raised his sword.

"Edran?"

The ancient guardian looked toward the abyss.

Then he smiled.

It was not a human smile.

"Very well."

His eyes turned crimson.

The six other guardians collapsed.