[Aldric’s POV]
The moment I saw Blackharrow standing beside the cradle, something ancient and violent surged through me. Not strategy or caution, but pure and unfiltered instinct.
I lunged. Rowan moved at the same time—two blades converging on one man. Blackharrow reacted with horrifying speed: He grabbed the cradle with one arm and yanked my daughter to his chest, using her tiny body as a shield.
I froze mid-strike. Rowan skidded to a halt beside me. Blackharrow’s smile was ice:
“A king who hesitates for a child. Touching.”
Seraphine choked on a breath behind me. The baby in my arms—our son—started screaming again, the sound stabbing into my ribs like a knife.
I felt Rowan shift, ready to try a different angle. I extended an arm, stopping him. One wrong move, one slip of a blade, and—
“Move back,” Blackharrow said sharply. “Both of you. Now.”
Rowan stiffened. “Coward.”
Blackharrow’s eyes glittered. “Survivalist.” He pressed the blade at his belt closer to the infant in his grip. A cruel game. One flick, and—
A sound tore from Seraphine. It wasn’t a scream or a word. It was the sound of a mother whose soul was being ripped from her body.
“Stop,” she rasped, stepping into Blackharrow’s line of sight.
“Seraphine—” I warned.
She held up a trembling hand. “Let her go.”
Blackharrow tilted his head. “And why would I?”
“I will go with you,” she said, voice shaking but steady. “Wherever you want. I’ll return to Blackthorn quietly. I’ll do whatever you demand. Just release her.”
My blood went cold. “What?” I whispered.
Rowan’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrist. “Seraphine—no. No.”
She didn’t look at either of us. Her eyes stayed locked on Blackharrow. “You wanted something of value,” she said. “You wanted leverage over Aldric. Well, here I am. Take me.”
I felt something inside me twist so violently I nearly staggered. “Seraphine.” My voice shook more than I intended. “Stop.”
She didn't. Blackharrow let out a slow, amused laugh:
“Oh, Seraphine, sweet queen. Do you think your life weighs more than theirs?” He shifted the infant on his arm. She whimpered—soft and weak.
“No,” he said mockingly. “You are merely a wife. Easily replaced. But them—” His grip tightened around the child. “Them? They could topple legacies.”
Seraphine’s face crumpled with terror and fury. “You don’t understand—please—”
Rowan moved forward. “I swear, if you harm either—”
“Stay back!” Blackharrow barked. His attention flicked—just for a breath—between the three of us: Seraphine stepping forward, Rowan gripping her hand, and me poised to strike but held frozen by the infant he held hostage.
Blackharrow glanced at Seraphine, dismissing her offer with a smirk. And in that split, razor-thin moment when he looked away from me—I drove forward.
My blade struck deep beneath his ribs. His mouth opened in shock.
Rowan seized Seraphine and pulled her aside just as Blackharrow swung wildly. His blade found me. Pain flared—white-hot—across my ribs, carving through flesh like fire. I grunted but didn’t fall.
Blackharrow staggered backward, eyes wide, hand clutched over the wound I’d inflicted. He crumpled.
Rowan was on him an instant later, ripping the infant from his loosening grip. Seraphine lunged past Rowan, reaching the cradle, grabbing her daughter and pulling her close so tightly she gasped. Both babies wailed now, filling the chamber with piercing cries.
Rowan finished the last guard who attempted to enter, blade quick and final. I stumbled back against the wall, the wound along my ribs blazing.
Seraphine turned toward me. She had one baby in each arm, hair wild, tears streaking her cheeks, a sound escaping her that was half sob, half laugh.
“They’re alive,” she whispered. “Aldric—look—they’re alive.”
I did. And for the first time in my life, something inside me broke in a way that felt… right.
A smile tugged at my mouth—weak, pained, but real. “Good,” I breathed. “Good.”
The babies screamed louder, little fists trembling. Seraphine rocked them, murmuring soft words that cracked under emotion.
“You’re safe now,” she whispered to them. “You’re safe—Mama’s here—”
My legs buckled. I pressed a hand to the wall to stay upright. Warm blood seeped down my side, soaking into my cloak. Rowan glanced back and saw the spreading crimson.
“Aldric—” he said sharply.
“I’m fine,” I lied.
I wasn’t. But they were alive, they were. Then—
A sound swallowed everything. A deafening boom roared through the mountain, shaking the walls and cracking the floor beneath our feet. Dust rained from the ceiling, and the cradle slammed against the wall and splintered.
Seraphine screamed, pulling both babies close as the ground lurched. Rowan grabbed for us, wide-eyed:
“They triggered it—Blackharrow’s men—they’ve set an avalanche!”
The floor buckled again. Rocks split, and a second explosion thundered through the stronghold outside.
The mountain groaned. And then the world began to fall.