The Stolen Heir’s Bond

Kael froze.

The sound came again—a low scrape against stone.

Not footsteps. Something else.

Elaria's grip on her dagger tightened. "Tell me that's just the wind."

Kael's father exhaled sharply. "No wind reaches this deep."

Kael scanned the tunnel ahead. The torches barely reached the next bend, their flames flickering as if something was disturbing the air. The footprints in the dust led forward.

Then, a whisper.

Low. Indistinct. But Kael heard it.

And it was not human.

His pulse hammered. "We keep moving. Fast."

His father nodded, though Kael didn't miss the flicker of unease in his eyes.

They moved forward, deeper into the twisting maze of the catacombs. The walls changed as they went—the stone older, the carvings more jagged. The deeper they went, the less the tunnels felt like a simple escape route.

They felt like a place forgotten for a reason.

Then—a sudden gust of air.

The torches flickered wildly, plunging the tunnel into near-darkness.

Kael's instincts screamed.

Something was here.

—

Elaria felt it, too.

She moved closer to Kael, her voice barely a whisper. "Tell me this place isn't cursed."

Kael didn't answer. Because right now, he wasn't sure.

They reached a split in the tunnel.

One path led down—a narrow, crumbling staircase vanishing into the depths. The other curved left, leading toward a larger chamber.

Kael turned to his father. "Which way?"

Before he could answer—

A sound from behind them.

A deep, inhuman growl.

Kael's heart slammed into his ribs. He turned just in time to see something shift in the darkness.

Tall. Too tall. The shape was wrong—twisted, its limbs stretched too long. And its eyes—

Black pits, gleaming in the firelight.

Kael didn't hesitate.

"RUN!"

—

They bolted down the left tunnel.

The thing behind them moved fast. Too fast. Kael heard its claws scrape the stone, heard its breath—ragged, wet.

Elaria shoved a torch off the wall as she ran. It crashed behind them, scattering embers.

Kael's father was slowing. He had barely recovered from the arena. He wouldn't make it much farther.

Kael spotted a half-collapsed archway ahead.

"This way!" He grabbed his father's arm and dragged him through.

Elaria dove after them. The moment they were inside, Kael slammed his weight against the loose stones—

The arch collapsed.

Dust exploded into the tunnel. Stones crashed down, sealing the passage.

For a moment, only silence.

Then—

A slow, inhuman shriek from the other side.

The thing was still there.

But it couldn't reach them now.

Kael pressed his back against the wall, chest heaving. His father sagged beside him, exhausted.

Elaria wiped sweat from her brow. "So… good news. We're not dead."

Kael huffed a laugh. "Bad news?"

Elaria glanced around.

They were in a massive underground chamber. Ancient stone pillars loomed around them, stretching into the dark.

But at the far end—

A massive iron door, half-buried in rubble.

And on its surface—a crest Kael recognized.

Not the mark of the current king.

But the sigil of the lost kingdom.

Kael's father's voice was barely above a whisper.

"I know this place."

Kael turned to him. "What is it?"

His father swallowed.

"The tomb of the first king."