Reyna collapsed, gasping. Lucien caught her just before she hit the stone floor.
"Reyna! What did you see?"
She clutched her arms, voice trembling.
"I'm not just an heir. I'm the lock. The key. The last ward between our world and N'Axur."
Annelise nodded grimly, her fingers hovering over an ancient rune.
"You were born not of love, but of covenant. A living gate forged in blood magic."
⸻
Sudden Attack
A firebolt exploded through the chamber wall.
Two hooded assailants burst in — blades drawn, eyes glowing with sigil-light. Their presence reeked of cursed allegiance.
"Protect her!" Lucien barked, already drawing his blade.
One attacker lunged for the artifact —
Reyna reacted on instinct, flinging him across the room with a surge of raw energy.
Blood sprayed the stone floor.
Lucien clashed with the second, steel ringing as it met bone laced with ancient spells. The chamber became a storm of chaos.
Annelise, wounded and gasping, dropped to one knee.
"They want the truth buried. The Sigil destroyed."
"Not while I breathe," Reyna hissed, snatching the artifact with bloodied fingers.
⸻
Escape
They fled into the cold pre-dawn, the sky above Paris still cloaked in darkness.
Nico waited beside the Bentley, engine running, eyes scanning the perimeter.
As they sped off through the sleeping streets, Reyna sat silent, the artifact pulsing in her palm.
"If I am the gate… then I choose who enters — and who burns."
Lucien didn't speak.
But his gaze lingered on her — not just with loyalty, but something deeper. A vow unspoken.
⸻
Final Toll
Far behind them, the bell of Notre-Dame tolled three times.
No priest had touched it.
No ceremony was held.
Only fate had summoned that sound.
In the back seat, Annelise, barely conscious, whispered:
"The seal is cracking… the shadows have heard her name."
Reyna didn't flinch.
Her lips barely moved — but her fire roared inside.
"Let them come."
Whatever waited next…
It would meet her wrath.
And this time,
she would not hold back.