Chapter 94 The Vault, the Fourth Shard, and the Queen’s Wrath
The Crown’s vault was buried beneath the palace of Aeloria, hidden behind layers of enchantments, illusions, and bureaucratic spite. According to Yuel, it was “a magical fortress designed by someone who hated joy and loved paperwork.”
Perfect.
We arrived under the cover of night, cloaked in shadow and sarcasm. The Flameborn resistance had grown—Ashborn scouts, Kindler healers, Embercallers whispering flame into the wind. Seren had stayed behind in the Emberwild, but her final message echoed in my mind:
“Steal something important. Preferably without dying. And don’t let Milo touch anything cursed.”
Milo, walking beside me, glanced over. “I only touched one cursed thing.”
“It tried to eat your soul.”
“It was affectionate.”
Thessa rolled her eyes. “Focus. We’re infiltrating the most magically paranoid building in the kingdom.”
Kael grinned. “I brought snacks.”
Zeke checked his crossbow. “Great, remember we need to stop at the royal kitchens and get more before we leave. I brought Gerald.”
Gerald snorted, his horns gleaming with flame-forged metal.
Quacknor flew overhead, wearing a tiny helmet and radiating duck vengeance.
Yuel traced glyphs into the air. “The vault is beneath the throne room. We’ll need to bypass three wards, two illusions, and one very judgmental statue.”
Ellira and Lira were already sketching flame anchors into the marble floor.
We were ready.
Almost.
The palace was quiet.
Too quiet.
We slipped through the halls, avoiding guards and enchanted portraits that whispered insults.
“Did that painting just call me ‘emotionally undercooked’?” Kael asked.
“Yes,” Yuel said. “It’s enchanted with royal disdain.”
Moving into the throne room, we all take cautious steps as the room echoes with the slightest noise.
“I am thinking that we should have worn spelled shoes,” Talon whispers as we continue to make slow progress towards the throne.
At last, we reach the throne.
Queen’s seat of power.
It was empty.
But the air shimmered with tension.
“She knows,” Milo said.
“She’s waiting,” I replied. “Prepare for battle.”
We descended into the vault.
The vault was a spiral of obsidian and flame, each step pulsing with ancient magic. At its center stood a pedestal, and on it—the fourth shard.
It glowed with violet and green light, flickering like a heartbeat.
“I feel it,” I whispered. “It’s calling.”
“Like calling to wish you well, or like calling, you're about to die,” Yuel asks.
“Either way, good luck,” Kael whispers
But before I could reach it—
She arrived.
The Queen
Clad in robes of flame and frost, her crown gleaming with stolen magic.
“You’ve come far,” she said. “Too far.”
Thessa drew her blade. “We’re taking the shard.”
The Queen smiled. “You’re taking nothing.”
She raised her hand.
And the vault exploded.
Flame surged.
Walls cracked.
The pedestal shattered.
The shard hovered in the air, pulsing violently.
The Queen launchs a wave of fire.
Vexa of the Ashborn blocked it with a shield of ash.
The Kindlers summoned healing flame.
The Embercallers whispered wind into the inferno.
Kael hurled glyphs.
Zeke fired bolts.
Ellira and Lira summoned barriers.
Yuel wove ley lines into traps.
Gerald headbutted a summoned beast.
Quacknor dive-bombed The Queen's crown, knocking it from her head and flying off with it.
We continued to fight. Talon was fighting guards with his sword and flame. Thessa used the earth as her weapon, whilst Lira continued to hit the queen with spears and weapons of water. Yuel circled the Queen whilst Milo and I kept the shard in eye sight.
As we pushed forward, we could see that our attack was working. I raced around the Queen’s fireball and towards the shard. My fingertips just grazed the shard when it pulsed.
It pulsed again
And entered me.
Four shards.
The Forgotten Flame surged.
And I burned.
The Queen screamed.
“You are not the Flamekeeper!”
“I am the flame,” I said.
The vault trembled.
The walls cracked.
And the throne room above collapsed.
We rose through the wreckage.
Into battle.
The palace guards joined the fight.
Flameborn clashed with Crown loyalists.
Magic collided.
The Rift pulsed.
And the Queen unleashed her power.
She summoned a storm of fire and frost, a contradiction of magic that tore through the air.
Milo stepped forward.
The black flame in his hand surged.
He caught the storm.
Held it.
And shattered it.
“You are the Void’s heir,” The Queen said. “You should be mine.”
“I belong to no one,” Milo replied.
She launched another attack.
I blocked it.
The shards in my chest pulsed.
And I burned brighter.
The battle raged.
But we were winning.
The Flameborn pushed forward.
The palace trembled.
And the Queen staggered.
“You cannot win,” she said. “You are fractured.”
“We are united,” I replied.
She raised her hand.
But before she could strike—
Gerald headbutted her.
Quacknor dive-bombed her.
She fell.
And vanished.
Leaving behind a whisper.
“The final shard is mine.”
We stood in silence.
The palace was broken.
But we were whole.
“Where do you think she went?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think that she is gone.”
“Well, she sure ain’t dead”
“Quacknor has her crown; he is using it for a slash.”
Four shards.
One to go.
Milo took my hand.
“You’re glowing again,” he said.
“I think I am getting use to it,” I replied.
He smiled. “It is definitely an adjustment”
A scroll appeared.
Thessa read it:
Dear Flamekeeper and Associates,
We are aware of the Queen’s disappearance. We are moderately concerned.
We remind you that palace destruction is frowned upon. So is goat-led rebellion.
We suggest you return the Queen’s crown; it is not the ducks.
Sincerely (highly annoyed King),
King of Aeloria.
“Where do we go from here?” Milo asks
“We need Virellina’s shard, and then we can finish this,” I respond as we leave the palace grounds.
“That is not going to be an easy feat,” Talon says
“We could ask nicely.” Yuel mutters
“Damn it, I forgot to go to the royal kitchens. We needed more snacks,” Zeke grumbles
We marched toward the Rift.
Toward the final shard.
Toward the end.