The three moved as one.
Kaedan at Ariaxa’s right, Riven at her left, Ariaxa in the middle — the Emperor, his commander, and the Sun Princess sprinting down the marble corridor like a storm.
The palace horn kept blaring, shaking dust from the ceiling. Guards scattered, shouting orders. Servants fled toward safe rooms. The inner hall echoed with steel, screams, and the hiss of spells colliding.
Ariaxa could feel the magic simmering under her skin, unstable but ready.
Kaedan’s voice thundered:
“Keep behind me!”
Riven barked, “Stay sharp!”
But Ariaxa didn’t need telling — shadows moved ahead.
Three assassins.
Mask-clad.
Fast.
Trained.
Here to kill.
The first one lunged with a curved dagger straight toward Ariaxa’s throat.
Kaedan blurred.
One second he was beside her—
The next, his sword burst through the assassin’s spine with brutal precision.
The attacker dropped before Ariaxa even registered the strike.
Blood sprayed across the marble.
Kaedan didn’t blink.
He yanked the blade free and pivoted toward the next threat.
A second assassin leapt onto the banister, flicking a hand—
A poisoned blade shot toward Kaedan’s chest.
Ariaxa screamed, “KAEDAN!”
But Riven moved faster than thought.
He threw out his arm—
The blade sliced deep into his forearm instead.
He grunted, teeth clenched, but never wavered.
The poison hit instantly.
Dark veins spread up his skin like lightning.
“Riven!” Ariaxa gasped.
He staggered, dropping to one knee.
But still, still, he turned toward the third attacker.
“I’m fine,” he snarled through gritted teeth. “Deal with the last one!”
The third assassin had already grabbed a young palace servant, dragging her in front of him like a living shield.
The girl sobbed, trembling violently.
“Drop your weapons!” the assassin shouted. “Or the child dies!”
Kaedan raised his sword, eyes burning murder. “Release her.”
“Not until she surrenders!” the assassin barked, yanking the girl’s hair. “The Sun Princess comes with me, or I open her throat!”
Ariaxa felt the entire room freeze.
Even the horn seemed to stop.
Kaedan growled low, deadly.
“You will not touch her.”
But Ariaxa moved first.
She stepped forward.
Slow.
Hands raised.
Voice steady despite her pounding heart.
“Let her go,” she said softly. “I’ll come.”
Kaedan hissed, “Ariaxa—no!”
The assassin angled the blade closer to the servant’s neck. “Closer. NOW.”
Ariaxa continued, steps measured.
Kaedan’s breath shook.
Riven, half-collapsed, forced himself to lift his head.
“Ariaxa…” he rasped.
She ignored them both.
Three steps closer.
Two steps.
One—
The assassin tightened his grip.
Ariaxa lifted her palms.
“Fine,” she whispered. “Take me.”
The assassin smirked beneath his mask.
Ariaxa smiled back.
Just barely.
And whispered:
“Solar flare.”
The magic punched out of her palms in a burst of blinding light.
The assassin screamed, stumbling backward as his vision dissolved into searing white.
The servant broke free and ran.
Kaedan launched forward with a roar, his blade slicing through the air—
One strike.
Clean.
Final.
The assassin collapsed.
Silence flooded the hall.
But only for a heartbeat.
Riven dropped hard to the floor.
“RIVEN!” Ariaxa cried, rushing to him.
The veins up his arm were almost black now. He was sweating, barely breathing. His eyes rolled back before he forced them open again.
His voice was slurred.
“Poison… Triarch-grade… gods…”
Kaedan knelt beside him, gripping the commander’s shoulder.
“Stay with me,” he growled.
Riven’s body convulsed.
Kaedan snapped his head toward the guards flooding into the hall.
“Get the healer—NOW!”
“No,” Ariaxa whispered, panic rising in her throat. “No ordinary healer can treat Triarch poison.”
Kaedan froze.
He knew.
He knew exactly what that meant.
Riven groaned, collapsing fully.
Ariaxa looked up at Kaedan with horror dawning in her eyes.
“The blood chambers,” she whispered.
Kaedan’s expression hardened instantly — terror and determination blending into one impossible decision.
He stood, lifting Riven by the shoulders with supernatural strength.
And bellowed with a voice that shook the pillars:
“Take him to the blood chambers—NOW!”
Every guard froze.
Every servant paled.
Every rule of Vharon shattered.
Ariaxa’s blood ran cold.
The blood chambers were forbidden.
The place where monsters were made.
Where dark spells were crafted.
Where life and death twisted into unnatural things.
And to save Riven…
They had to break one of the Empire’s oldest laws.