The Vault

"Come with me!" Kaelen ordered, crossing the room in a blur and grabbing her wrist.

Sera didn't fight him. The horrific truth of her father's letter still echoed in her mind. She let him pull her through the private corridors of the estate, the sounds of battle growing louder, more chaotic. The screams of dying guards echoed through the stone halls, accompanied by the clashing of steel and the sickening tear of flesh.

Kaelen dragged her down a spiraling, hidden staircase that plunged deep into the bedrock beneath the castle. The air grew freezing, smelling of ancient dust and iron. They emerged into the Crimson Hall, the massive, cavernous throne room of the estate, lit only by the eerie, pulsing red light of blood-torches.

At the far end of the hall stood a massive, circular door made of solid, runic obsidian. The Vault.

Kaelen hauled the heavy door open, the grinding stone echoing loudly. Inside was a small, perfectly square room lined with thick, impenetrable steel.

"Get inside," Kaelen commanded, pushing her gently into the darkness of the Vault.

Sera stumbled, turning back to face him. He stood in the doorway, bleeding from a deep gash on his temple, his chest heaving. The terrifying, immaculate prince was gone, replaced by a desperate, lethal warrior.

"What are you doing?" Sera cried, grabbing the lapels of his ruined coat. "Where are you going?"

"Malakor has brought an army, Sera," Kaelen said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "My guards are outnumbered. They will reach the Crimson Hall in minutes. I am going to hold the door. I am going to kill as many as I can."

"You can't fight an army alone!" she yelled, terror gripping her heart. "You'll die!"

Kaelen reached up, his bloodstained hands gently framing her face. He smoothed his thumbs over her cheekbones, his crimson eyes softening with an agonizing, tragic tenderness.

"I told you, my soul," he whispered. "I would burn the world to keep you safe. Malakor will never touch you. This Vault is sealed with ancient blood magic. Once I close this door, it cannot be opened from the outside unless the one who sealed it is dead."

Sera’s eyes widened in horror. "No. No, Kaelen, please! Don't lock me in here! Don't leave me!"

"Live a long, beautiful life, Serafina," Kaelen murmured. He leaned in and pressed a desperate, bruising kiss to her forehead. "Forgive me for stealing you."

He pulled away, stepping back into the Crimson Hall.

"Kaelen!" Sera screamed, lunging for the doorway.

But he was too fast. He slammed the massive obsidian door shut. A heavy, resounding *boom* echoed through the stone, followed by the terrifying hiss of the blood-ward activating. The runic symbols carved into the inside of the door glowed a bright, searing crimson, sealing her inside the pitch-black, airless Vault.

She was safe. And she was completely, utterly alone.

Sera pounded her fists against the cold obsidian, screaming his name until her throat was raw. But the stone absorbed her cries.

She slid down the door, collapsing onto the cold floor, pulling her knees to her chest. In the darkness, the truth she had been fighting for weeks finally overwhelmed her. She didn't want to be free of him. She didn't want to return to a world where she was a disposable pawn. She wanted the velvet cage. She wanted the terrifying, beautiful monster who worshipped her, who was currently throwing his immortal life away just to ensure she kept breathing.

She loved him.

And she was about to lose him.

"No," Sera whispered into the dark.

She scrambled to her feet. She was a scholar. She had spent the last two weeks reading the ancient grimoires in her Gilded Cage. She knew the theory of blood magic. The ward was designed to prevent the door from being opened from the outside. But she was on the inside.

She felt along the cold stone until her fingers brushed the glowing, deeply carved runes. The magic required a blood sacrifice to seal, binding the lock to the caster’s life force. But a binding could be subverted if a willing sacrifice of equal resonance was offered to the internal mechanism. Kaelen had claimed her. His obsession had spiritually bound him to her.

Sera didn't hesitate. She felt the floor of the Vault until she found a sharp shard of broken stone that had chipped off the door frame. Without flinching, she dragged the jagged rock across her palm.

Pain flared, sharp and hot, as blood welled to the surface. She pressed her bleeding, stinging palm directly against the center rune of the heavy obsidian door.

"I am his," Sera commanded, her voice ringing with absolute, desperate authority. "I claim his bond! Open!"

The blood hissed against the cold stone. For a terrifying second, nothing happened. Then, the crimson runes flared blindingly bright, recognizing the spiritual resonance of the one Kaelen had centered his entire existence around.

The heavy lock *clacked* with a deafening thud.

Sera threw her entire body weight against the heavy obsidian. Slowly, agonizingly, the door ground open.