Chapter 366

Chapter 366
Aurora

Some were woven through the bars themselves.

Others surrounded the lock.

But beneath all of them, there was something else.

A central point.

A source.

I could feel it pulsing beneath the rest of the magic.

“There.”

Kael frowned.

“What?”

“The strongest part is near the lock.”

“Can you break it?”

“I think so.”

“That sounds incredibly reassuring.”

I opened my eyes.

“You want out or not?”

“Very much.”

“Then stop talking.”

He raised both hands.

“Fine.”

I placed both palms against the bars directly beside the lock and reached inward again.

The twins responded.

Their energy rose through me, stronger than before, and I felt it spread down my arms as I guided it toward the central point of the enchantment.

The cage shook.

Kael grabbed one of the bars to steady himself.

“Aurora—”

“I’ve got it.”

The magical markings began glowing.

Not faintly this time.

They illuminated the entire corridor.

The pressure increased so quickly that my shoulders began aching, and my knees nearly buckled beneath me.

Zayn moved behind me, one hand settling carefully against my back.

“Take a breath.”

I inhaled slowly.

Then I pushed again.

The enchantment fought back.

It felt ancient, dense, and incredibly powerful, far stronger than whatever had been placed around our cage, and for a moment I wondered whether I had overestimated what I could actually do.

Then I felt the twins again.

Together, they surged through me with enough force to make my entire body shake.

I followed them.

I stopped trying to overpower the enchantment and instead pushed directly toward the point where all of its magic seemed to converge.

A crack appeared.

My eyes opened.

“There.”

Kael looked down.

A thin fracture had formed across one of the glowing markings.

“Keep going.”

“I am.”

Another crack appeared.

Then another.

The enchantment began to break apart.

The markings flickered rapidly, their light pulsing across the walls as the magical seal struggled to hold itself together.

Kael stared at the cage.

“You’re actually doing it.”

“Try sounding less surprised.”

“I’m surprised because this thing is stronger than the one you broke.”

The cage shook violently.

Zayn reached for my arm.

“Aurora, you’re shaking.”

“I can finish it.”

“You’re pushing too hard.”

“I have to.”

I looked toward Kael.

“He’s not staying in there.”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

I turned back toward the lock.

The twins’ magic surged again.

I gathered every bit of energy I could reach and pushed it into the center of the enchantment.

The crack widened.

The markings fractured.

Then the entire seal shattered.

A violent pulse of magic tore through the cage, extinguishing every glowing symbol at once.

The lock dropped.

Kael caught it before it could strike the floor.

He stared at it for a second.

Then he looked at me.

“Well, that worked.”

I leaned against the bars, breathing heavily.

“I told you.”

“You also told me you didn’t know what you were doing.”

“I still don’t.”

He gave a quiet laugh.

“Fair enough.”

He opened the cage and stepped into the corridor, rolling his shoulders as though he had just spent several hours sitting in an uncomfortable chair rather than being imprisoned underground.

Zayn stepped closer to him.

“Can you move?”

Kael gave him an offended look.

“Do I look incapable of walking?”

“You look like you were just released from a cage.”

“I was.”

“Then the question was reasonable.”

Kael opened his mouth to answer, but a faint metallic sound echoed through the dungeon.

Click.

All three of us froze.

I turned toward the darkness.

Another click followed.

Then another.

The sound wasn’t coming from either of our cages.

It was coming from farther down the corridor.

Kael slowly turned his head.

“What is that?”

I listened.

Click.

Click.

Click.

The sounds continued one after another, spreading through the dungeon as though something invisible were moving from cell to cell.

Then a door opened.

Another followed.

Then another.

I stared down the corridor as more locks began releasing.

It wasn’t only our cages.

Every cell was opening.

Zayn looked at me.

“Aurora…”

“I didn’t do that.”

Kael glanced toward the open cells.

“Didn’t you?”

“I broke the enchantment around my cage, then yours. I didn’t touch the others.”

“Apparently your magic didn’t get the memo.”

A distant voice suddenly shouted from somewhere deeper in the dungeon.

Then another voice answered.

The sound spread rapidly, followed by footsteps and the scrape of doors being thrown open.

Prisoners were emerging.

Some sounded confused.

Others were shouting.

A few were laughing.

Then someone screamed from farther down the corridor.

“Get to the stairs!”

The dungeon erupted.

People began rushing through the corridors, desperate to escape, while others stood frozen in their doorways as though they couldn’t believe the cells were actually open.

Zayn looked toward me.

“You opened the entire dungeon.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

Kael looked around at the chaos.

“I’m not complaining.”

An alarm suddenly erupted somewhere above us.

The sound shook the entire castle.

Zayn immediately reached for my hand.

“We need to move.”

I nodded.

Kael stepped toward the staircase.

“Stay behind me.”

I looked at him.

“No.”

He turned.

“Aurora.”

“I can help.”

“You don’t know what that magic is doing to you.”

“Neither do you.”

He stared at me for a moment.

Then he sighed.

“Fine, but don’t get reckless.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“You’re the one who got captured.”

“That was a tactical setback.”

Zayn gave him a look.

“That’s a very generous description.”

Kael pointed toward the stairs.

“Can we argue about my tactical setbacks after we get out of here?”

Another crash sounded above us.

The guards were coming.

I turned toward the staircase, feeling the twins’ magic already stirring beneath my skin as heavy footsteps thundered closer from somewhere beyond the upper door.

A figure suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs, looking down at the open cells and the three of us standing below.

His expression changed instantly.

Kael shifted before he could take out his weapon.

The transformation moved through him in a violent blur, and the roar that tore from his chest shook the dungeon so violently that dust fell from the ceiling.

The guard barely had time to raise his weapon before Kael launched himself up the stairs.

Zayn moved beside me.

I raised both hands.

The strange energy answered immediately, rushing through my body with a force that made my fingers tingle as the twins’ magic joined mine.

The alarm continued screaming overhead.

More footsteps were approaching.

More guards were coming.