The Gilded Cage

The Royal Ball was a celebration of the engagement between Hero Kaelen and Princess Amara.

The palace was lit by thousands of magical candles. The elite of Aethelgard danced in silks and jewels. Kaelen stood on the dais, wearing a white uniform with gold epaulets, the very image of a savior.

Elara entered the ballroom. She wore a dress made of black velvet that seemed to absorb the light around her. She didn't wear a veil tonight.

She moved through the crowd like smoke. People stepped out of her way, unsettled by the cold aura she projected, though they didn't know why.

She locked eyes with Kaelen across the room.

He froze. He dropped his wine glass.

Elara smiled. She started to walk toward him.

* I will eat his heart,* Xylia promised. *I will make him scream for a thousand years.*

Elara reached the base of the dais. The music stopped. The room went silent.

"You look well, Kaelen," Elara said.

"Elara?" Kaelen choked. "How... you fell."

"I climbed," she said.

She reached for a knife concealed in her sleeve.

Suddenly, the stained glass windows of the ballroom flared with blinding white light. The Cathedral bells began to toll.

The King had activated the Holy Wards.

* SCREEEEE!*

Xylia screamed in Elara’s head. The holy light was poison to the Void. It burned. Smoke began to rise from Elara’s skin.

* It burns! I cannot hold!*

"Xylia, stay!" Elara commanded mentally.

* I must retreat! Or we both die!*

The presence in Elara’s spine ripped itself free. Xylia was forced out, fleeing back into the shadows of the earth to escape the searing light.

Elara fell to her knees. Without Xylia, the strength left her. Her fused bones ached. The cold power vanished, leaving her shivering and human.

Kaelen realized what was happening. His shock turned to opportunity.

"Guards!" Kaelen shouted, pointing a shaking finger at her. "Seize her! She is possessed! A witch has worn the skin of the Saintess!"

Soldiers swarmed her. Elara tried to fight, but she was just a healer with a knife. They pinned her to the ground.

Kaelen walked down the steps. He looked down at her, relief washing over his face. He could spin this. He could fix this.

"The Void corrupted her," Kaelen announced to the horrified court. "We must purge the darkness. Prepare the pyre."