Chapter 46 – Crypt of Whispers
The ancient stones beneath Crimson Castle hadn't echoed with footsteps in over three hundred years. Dust blanketed the crypt corridors like a burial shroud, and the air was thick with the scent of age and sealed secrets. Liam's boots crunched faintly against the flagstones as he descended into the darkness, Ella a silent shadow behind him. He could feel her gaze—not threatening, but ever-watchful, as if even now, her instincts were tuned for treachery.
Torches ignited in response to her presence, casting wavering gold light along the walls. The flames flickered strangely, as though reacting to something unseen—something that didn't want to be disturbed. Strange symbols danced in the firelight—sigils half-buried in age-old grime, their meanings lost to time. Liam brushed his fingers over one, a faint warmth stirring in his palm. Not malevolent, not welcoming—just... waiting.
"I didn't even know this level existed," Liam whispered, voice low. Each word echoed, pulled deeper into the silence.
"It wasn't meant to be remembered," Ella replied. Her voice carried the weight of memory and sorrow. "This is where the first queens buried what they feared. Not enemies—those they destroyed. No, this place holds their regrets."
The hallway curved downward into a yawning chasm. Cold seeped in, curling around Liam's spine. The descent into the crypt felt endless. As they moved, the air grew heavier, almost as though it were alive, pressing against them, tasting them. Ella's pace remained steady.
They reached a stone door carved with the same sigil from the altar in the Hollow Spire. It pulsed faintly beneath Ella's palm, reacting instantly to her presence. The lines within it began to glow a deep crimson, tendrils of energy swirling and retreating, like a slumbering beast stirred from uneasy dreams.
"She's down there," Liam said before he could stop himself. The words tasted foreign on his tongue, as though borrowed from someone else's memories.
Ella didn't question how he knew. Her expression said she had suspected it all along.
The door groaned open with a deep, ancient protest, stone grating against stone. Beyond it, a circular chamber waited—its center dominated by a black stone sarcophagus wrapped in chains of crimson light. Hovering above it was the incomplete sigil, glowing faintly, its lines etched into air itself, constantly shifting like the surface of a disturbed pool.
Althaea arrived moments later, summoned by a tremor in the bloodline bond. Her usually calm demeanor was replaced with dread. Her breath caught when she saw the glyph.
"The Hollow Sigil," she murmured. "It's feeding. Growing."
"On what?" Liam asked.
"On us," Ella replied, stepping closer. Each footfall disturbed particles of magic, swirling in the air like ash. "The bond between us isn't just a contract now. It's a conduit. It's drawing from our strength, our minds… and something more."
The air shifted. Magic surged. And then, a whisper—a sound not quite heard, not quite imagined—brushed across Liam's thoughts. A name. A memory not his own. Neretha. A title followed: The Queen Before Queens.
"She was the first to attempt a full awakening," Althaea said, voice trembling. "Not content to rule the living—she sought dominion over memory, legacy, time itself. But her soul couldn't hold it. They sealed her here."
Ella looked to Liam. "And now the contract is choosing to wake her."
"Why now?" Liam asked, but he already knew. The threads of fate had been tightening since the moment their blood mingled. This wasn't coincidence. This was design.
Liam stepped toward the sarcophagus. The glyph flared. Crimson runes burst into light, crackling with raw energy. The air hummed. And then—
The sarcophagus cracked.
A thin stream of dark red mist escaped, curling like fingers in the air. The temperature dropped. Frost crystallized along the walls. The chains glowed brighter in protest, trying to hold whatever was within.
Ella stepped in front of Liam. "No matter what happens, don't let her finish the glyph."
"But why—"
"Because if she does," Ella said tightly, "she won't be reborn. She'll be rewritten. And so will we."
From within the sarcophagus, a pulse sounded—once, twice. Like a heartbeat trying to sync with Liam's. The mist coalesced into form—shoulders, eyes, a crown of broken bone. Then the eyes opened. Crimson. Infinite.
A voice, smooth and ancient, filled the chamber. "The blood remembers."
Ella's aura exploded in defense, shadows and magic converging. Althaea raised a barrier, but the mist passed through it like it wasn't there. The glyph flared violently, lines connecting Liam, Ella, and Neretha.
Neretha rose fully, levitating slightly, chains clinging to her limbs, dragging as she moved.
"I never consented to this awakening," Ella said, her voice taut. "You were sealed for a reason."
"And you broke the seal," Neretha replied. "Willingly or not, the contract binds us now."
Liam felt his breath hitch. Their blood was part of the glyph. It wasn't just a prison—it was a map, a design. And Liam's life, his memories, his choices—they were the last piece.
"You called me," Neretha said, now speaking to Liam directly. "You let your heart echo. You asked for power."
"I didn't ask for you," Liam said.
"But you need me," she whispered.
Ella surged forward, slicing through the air with a scream of energy. Neretha caught the attack with one hand. "You can't destroy what's written into the blood."
"You're not blood," Ella said. "You're a mistake we buried."
The fight exploded. Magic and blood. Past and present. Liam stood at the center, the glyph weaving new symbols around him. He had to make a choice. Seal Neretha again—or take her power into himself.
He reached for the glyph.
End of Chapter 46