Legacy of the Obsidian Throne

The Devil's Daughter

The elevator chimed again. The doors slid open.

I dove.

Bullets ripped through the space where I'd been standing. Glass exploded behind me as I rolled behind Webb's desk, grabbing the accountant and yanking him down with me.

"We need to talk about your security," I muttered.

Webb was hyperventilating. "You're insane. You're going to get us both killed."

"Shut up."

I peered over the desk. Three men in tactical gear. Rifles raised. They moved like professionals, covering each other's angles.

The key pulsed in my hand. I was already exhausted from using it on Webb. One more command might drop me.

But I didn't have a choice.

I focused on the lead gunman. The heat surged through my arm, burning up into my skull.

"Drop your weapons!"

The command ripped out of me like thunder.

All three men froze. Their rifles clattered to the marble floor. For three precious seconds, they stood there, slack-jawed and helpless.

I grabbed Webb by the collar. "Fire escape. Now."

We ran.

---

The fire escape was rusted and shaky. Forty-five floors of metal grating that screamed with every step. Webb was slow, clumsy, terrified.

"Faster!" I shoved him ahead of me.

"What about the guards?!"

"They'll be back in a few minutes. We have to be gone before that happens."

We descended floor after floor. My legs burned. The key's warmth had faded to a dull throb, but my head was splitting. Blood dripped from my nose again.

At the twentieth floor, I stopped.

"That's far enough."

Webb looked back at me, pale and shaking. "What are you doing?"

"I need answers." I grabbed him by the shoulders and pressed him against the railing. "You know the vault beneath the throne. Tell me where it is."

"I don't know! I just handle money! They don't tell me anything!"

The key pulsed weakly. I was running on empty, but I pushed through.

"Tell me," I growled. "Give me a name. Anyone who knows."

Webb's eyes glazed over. The compulsion was barely holding.

"Vance," he whispered. "Sera Vance. She runs Alexander's intelligence network. She knows everything."

The name hit me like ice water.

Sera Vance. A name from the dossier Gus had given me. Alexander's right hand. The devil's own daughter.

"Where can I find her?"

But Webb was fading fast. The compulsion had broken. His eyes cleared, and pure terror flooded his face.

"Please," he begged. "They'll kill me. Alexander will kill my whole family."

The key went cold in my hand.

"Run," I said. "Disappear. Never use your real name again."

He didn't wait. He scrambled down the fire escape like a rat fleeing a sinking ship.

I stood there alone, watching him go. Then I looked down at the key in my hand. Small. Black. Innocent. The source of my power and the price of my existence.

---

I found Gus back at the bar.

He looked at my bloodstained face and shook his head. "You pushed too hard."

"I had to." I collapsed into a chair. "I got a name. Sera Vance. She runs intelligence for Alexander."

Gus's face darkened. "Sera. I know her. She's dangerous, Kaelen. Don't underestimate her."

"She knows about the vault. She's my only lead."

"Lead? She's a trap. Sera Vance doesn't give information. She collects it. If she knows you're looking for her, she's already ten steps ahead."

I didn't care. I was tired of running. Tired of hiding. Tired of being hunted.

"Then I'll be eleven steps ahead."

---

The next night, I tracked her down.

The gala was held at a penthouse overlooking the river. Millionaires and billionaires mingled in designer suits and diamond necklaces. Alexander's inner circle moved through the crowd like sharks.

And there she was.

Sera Vance stood by the window, a glass of champagne in her hand. She was beautiful in a cold, dangerous way. Dark hair. Sharp cheekbones. Eyes that missed nothing.

I approached her from behind.

"Ms. Vance."

She turned. Her eyes locked onto mine. There was no surprise. No fear. Just cold calculation.

"Kaelen Blackwood." She smiled. "Or should I say Kael Winters? The dead man who isn't quite dead."

"You know who I am."

"Of course I do. I knew the moment you triggered Marcus Webb's alarm. You're surprisingly sloppy for a dead man."

I stepped closer. "I need information about the vault beneath the throne."

Her smile widened. "Everyone wants something. What makes you think I'd give it to you?"

"Because you're not like the rest of them." I leaned in. "I saw your face when I was on the news. You weren't celebrating. You were worried."

For just a moment, her mask slipped. A flicker of something real. Anger. Fear. Maybe both.

Then it was gone.

"You're a fool," she said quietly. "Alexander knows you're alive. He's got eyes everywhere. He'll find you. And when he does, he'll make you suffer in ways you can't imagine."

"Then maybe you should help me before that happens."

She didn't answer.

But she didn't say no.

---

Sera disappeared into the crowd. I watched her go, my mind racing with questions.

Why hadn't she called security? Why hadn't she had me killed on the spot?

Because she wanted something from me.

The question was: what?

I slipped out of the gala and into the cool night air. My phone buzzed.

An unknown number.

I answered.

"Mr. Blackwood." A woman's voice. Sera. "You want to find the vault. Fine. But don't think it's because I'm your ally. I have my own reasons for wanting Alexander dethroned."

"When do we meet?"

"Tomorrow. Midnight. The old clock tower in the industrial district. Come alone."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll have you killed on sight." The line went dead.

I stared at the phone. A trap. It was obviously a trap.

But I was going anyway.

---

When I got back to the bar, the place was wrong.

The door was unlocked. The lights were off. The smell of smoke hung heavy in the air.

I ran inside.

The bar was wrecked. Tables overturned. Glass shattered across the floor. A single figure lay in the corner.

Gus.

I rushed to his side. He was alive, barely. Blood soaked through his shirt.

"Kaelen," he rasped. "They found me. Alexander's men. I couldn't stop them."

"Save your strength. I'm getting you out of here."

"No." He grabbed my wrist. His grip was surprisingly strong. "The vault. Beneath the throne. It's not a place. It's a key. You have to—"

His eyes went wide. The grip on my wrist loosened.

"Gus? Gus!"

He was gone.

I knelt there in the darkness, surrounded by broken glass and shattered furniture. The man who had saved me was dead.

Because of Alexander.

Because of me.

I looked at the obsidian key in my hand. It was warm against my palm. Alive.

"Gus," I whispered. "I promise you. I'll make them pay."

My phone buzzed again.

A text from Sera.

*Midnight. Clock tower. Don't be late. And Kaelen?*

*Don't trust anyone.*

I stood up. Walked out of the bar. The flames reflected in my eyes as the building burned behind me.

The hunt had just begun. And I was done being the prey.