The Stolen Heir’s Bond

Kael ran.

The air in the catacombs was thick and stale, the scent of damp stone pressing in from all sides. Torches flickered along the ancient walls, barely holding back the darkness.

His father's breaths were labored beside him, but he kept moving. He had spent years in chains—Kael wouldn't let him fall now.

Elaria slammed the door shut behind them, shoving a broken crate against it. Seconds later—

BANG.

The door shuddered.

The king's guards were coming.

Elaria spun, eyes sharp in the dim torchlight. "How deep do these tunnels go?"

Kael's father exhaled. "Beneath the entire city. But there's a way out—if we move fast."

Kael didn't waste time. "Then we run."

They plunged deeper into the dark.

—

The catacombs stretched endless before them.

Ancient carvings lined the walls, whispering of an empire long buried. The stone beneath their feet was uneven, broken in places—a graveyard of a forgotten past.

Elaria moved beside him, her voice low. "Something's not right."

Kael frowned. "What do you mean?"

She gestured at the walls. "Look at the dust."

Kael did.

And his stomach tightened.

The dust was disturbed. The footprints weren't just theirs.

Someone else had been down here recently.

Kael's father slowed, his expression grim. "We're not alone."

Then—

A sound.

Soft. Scraping. Close.

Elaria's hand flew to her dagger. Kael drew his sword, his pulse hammering.

And from the shadows ahead—

Something moved.