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CHAPTER 72— “THE PRICE OF THE THRONE”
The palace undercorridors breathed like a living thing. Stone groaned softly above Elias’s head as he moved through the narrow passage, every step measured, every breath controlled.The Echo pulsed beneath his skin steady now, disciplined but restless, like a predator straining at its leash. Seren walked close at his side.“Tell me we’re not walking into a trap,” she whispered.Elias didn’t look at her. “We are.”She swallowed. “That wasn’t comforting.”Caedia halted suddenly, lifting her hand. “Quiet.”Everyone froze. From beyond the bend in the corridor came voices low, urgent, unmistakably human. “…the ritual circle is ready.” “She won’t last much longer.”“The Alchemist Council wants the Echo bound before dawn.”Seren’s fingers dug into Elias’s sleeve. “That’s them.”Elias felt his bones hum not in rage, but in clarity. “Lyra’s close,” he said softly.Caedia turned her head slightly, listening deeper than sound. “Above us. The old marrow chamber beneath the throne hall.”Seren’s b
CHAPTER 71 — “BENEATH THE PALACE BONES”
The air changed as they climbed. It grew warmer thicker laced with the faint scent of oil, iron, and old incense. Elias felt it immediately, the way his bones vibrated differently now, less wild, more focused.“We’re close,” he said quietly.Seren glanced up the narrow stairwell. “Close to what?”“The palace,” Caedia answered. “Its understructure. The marrow beneath its stone.”Seren swallowed. “That’s… unsettling.”Elias almost smiled. “It should be.” The stairwell opened into a long, horizontal passage reinforced with carved stone instead of bone.Old Bonekeeper sigils had been scraped away and replaced with noble crests Vintrel lions, council seals, Alchemist glyphs burned deep into the walls.Seren frowned. “They erased everything.”“Yes,” Caedia said softly. “And still feared what lay beneath.”Elias’s fingers brushed the stone.The bone-song whispered. Above… blood… chains… He stiffened. Seren noticed instantly. “Elias?” “She’s above us,” he said. “Lyra.”Caedia turned sharply.
CHAPTER 70 — “THE GATES OF MARROW”
The palace undercorridors breathed like a living thing. Stone ribs arched overhead, slick with condensation and old magic, every step echoing too loudly no matter how softly they moved.Elias felt it immediately the way the Echo stirred inside him, sharp and restless, as though the bones themselves recognized where they were.Seren whispered, “This place hates us.”“It fears him,” Caedia corrected softly.Elias glanced at her. “There’s a difference?”“Yes,” Caedia said. “Fear makes things dangerous.”Sylare hugged the wall, pale and quiet. “This is the last corridor before the inner sanctum.”Elias stopped. “The ritual chamber?”Sylare nodded. “Where they bind offerings.”Seren’s breath hitched. “Where Lyra is.”Elias clenched his jaw. The bone-song thrummed low and angry, a storm pressing against his ribs. “We don’t rush,” Caedia warned. “The Alchemists will expect violence.”Seren looked up sharply. “Then what do we do?”Elias answered without hesitation. “We break their expectation
CHAPTER 69 — “THE GATES OF BONE AND GOLD”
The palace undercorridor ended abruptly. Elias stopped so suddenly Seren nearly ran into him. “Why did you” she began, then fell silent.Before them rose a massive gate forged from gold-veined bone, ancient and unmistakably noble. Royal sigils were carved deep into its surface twisted lions, crowned spines, and the unmistakable mark of the Alchemist Circle burned into the center like a scar.Caedia inhaled sharply. “We’re beneath the palace.”Seren’s voice dropped to a whisper. “So… that means Lyra is close.”Elias stared at the gate, his bones vibrating with a low, angry hum. “She’s on the other side.”Sylare swallowed. “That gate is warded. Not Bonehunter wards Alchemist wards.”Caedia nodded. “Blood-locked. Echo-sensitive. It will react to Elias.”Seren turned to him immediately. “Is that bad?”Elias didn’t answer at first. He stepped closer to the gate. The moment he did, the sigils flared crimson. A voice echoed not aloud, but inside his skull. Echo detected.Seren grabbed his a
CHAPTER 68— “THE ECHO WARNS”
The palace undercorridors breathed like a living thing. Stone ribs arched overhead, slick with condensation, bone-veins pulsing faintly in the walls as Elias led the group forward.Every step sent a vibration through his skeleton a low, uneasy hum that refused to quiet. Seren noticed immediately. "You’re hearing it again,” she said softly.Elias didn’t deny it. “It won’t shut up.”Caedia slowed beside him, her blind eyes unfocused yet sharp. “The Echo does not warn without cause.” Sylare hugged her cloak tighter. “That’s not comforting.”Elias stopped walking. Seren bumped lightly into his back. “Elias?” He raised a hand. “Quiet.” The hum sharpened no longer a background murmur but a tight, urgent vibration that thrummed directly behind his eyes.Danger. Not shouted. Not whispered. Stated. Caedia inhaled sharply. “You felt it too.”“Yes.”Seren’s voice dropped. “What kind of danger?”Elias turned slowly, scanning the corridor ahead. “The patient kind.”Sylare frowned. “That… doesn’t s
CHAPTER 67— “THE DAY THE PALACE BLED”
The palace gates exploded inward. Stone screamed. Bone fractured. Guards scattered like insects as a wave of white resonance ripped through the grand archway and shattered centuries-old wards.Elias stepped through the smoke. “Hold the line!” someone shouted.Too late. “Elias,” Seren said sharply at his side, “left flank.”“I know.” He lifted his hand. The Echo answered. A pulse snapped outward, invisible but devastating. Armor collapsed inward. Men screamed as their bones vibrated out of alignment.The front line crumpled without Elias taking another step. Silence followed thick, stunned, terrified. Then someone whispered it. “The Echo…”Fear spread faster than fire. Seren scanned the carnage, jaw tight. “You didn’t have to hit them that hard.” “They raised weapons,” Elias said flatly. “They chose.”“You’re not supposed to sound like that.” Elias didn’t answer. Because if he did, he’d admit the truth: It was getting easier.They moved fast through the outer halls, boots splashing thr
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