Kael barely had time to react before the hunters closed in.
Selene's command had changed everything. They weren't trying to kill him anymore. They wanted him alive.
That was worse.
Two hunters lunged. Kael dodged left, barely slipping between their blades. A third struck from behind—he twisted, knocking the blow aside with his gauntlet.
Too many. Too fast.
He lashed out, his sword carving through the darkness. His cursed eye flared, shadows twisting around him as his blood dripped onto the stone.
Then—
A sharp crack of energy.
The air itself seemed to pulse, and suddenly—
Kael's body locked up.
"What—?"
Pain surged through his limbs, as if invisible chains had wrapped around him. His legs gave out, and he dropped to one knee, sword slipping from his fingers.
His breath turned ragged. His curse burned—but it was restrained. Held back by something else.
Selene lowered her hand, faint traces of runic light fading from her fingertips.
Kael's head snapped up. Magic. A spell woven directly into his blood, latching onto the very essence of his curse.
His bindings were no accident.
"I should have known you'd resist," Selene said, stepping closer. "That's why I came prepared."
Kael snarled, trying to move, but his muscles refused to obey.
This was not ordinary magic.
Selene stopped just a few feet away, watching him with sharp golden eyes. The mask covered half her face, but Kael could feel her amusement.
"You don't even know what you are, do you?"
Kael grit his teeth.
"Let me guess," he spat. "Another damn prophecy? Another bloodline curse?"
Selene tilted her head.
"You carry the Mark of the Hollow King," she said. "And yet, you refuse to claim it. That makes you either a fool… or something far worse."
Kael's fingers curled into fists.
"I don't want a throne."
Selene's expression didn't change.
"That's exactly what the last one said."
Kael stiffened. The last one?
Something dark twisted in his gut.
Selene let the silence stretch before she turned away. "Take him."
The hunters moved at once.
Kael struggled, his body fighting against the unseen magic binding him. He could feel the curse writhing inside him, hungry, raging.
But Selene had sealed it.
For now.
Metal snapped around his wrists—iron shackles, reinforced with runes. Restraints meant for something far worse than an ordinary man.
Kael's breathing slowed. His mind worked through the fog of pain.
"You don't want me dead." His voice was low, dangerous. "So what do you want?"
Selene didn't stop walking, but she glanced back.
"You'll see soon enough."
And with that, Kael Valtheris—the man cursed by a forgotten throne—was dragged into the darkness.
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End of Chapter 9