Eloise's POV
The pain in my body was dull now, a constant ache that I had grown used to. The sting on my cheek, the tightness in my wrists, and the bruises blooming along my arms no longer mattered.
I could handle this.
What I couldn't handle was the king's voice, his arrogance, his cold confidence that I was his to control.
He stood before me, pacing leisurely, his golden armor gleaming under the dim torchlight.
"You've stopped resisting," he noted, his tone almost teasing. "Have you finally learned your place?"
I stayed silent, my gaze fixed on the floor.
Inside, my mind was racing.
The shackles on my wrists were imbued with magic. No ordinary iron, no simple chain. They were designed to suppress my power, to keep me from altering the world with my words.
The king thought he had won.
He thought this was enough to break me.
But he didn't know the extent of my abilities.
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I focused. I didn't need a pen. I didn't need ink.
My words were my will.
And even if my power was locked away, there was still one thing the king had failed to account for—Caius.
———
Caius's POV
The rain came down in sheets, soaking my clothes, weighing down my armor. My sword was steady in my grip, my muscles tense.
I stood before the castle gates, my allies at my side. Rowan, despite our differences, had agreed to help. The dwarf warriors who had once called me a hero had returned to fight alongside me. Even my old mercenary companions had come, lured by the promise of battle, vengeance, or maybe just coin.
But none of them mattered right now.
Only one thing did.
Eloise.
She was in there. Alone.
And I had been too late to stop it.
I gritted my teeth, adjusting my grip on my sword. The weight of my past failures clung to me like a curse.
Not this time.
A guard on the wall shouted an alarm. The gates groaned as soldiers rushed to defend them.
Rowan stepped beside me, his twin daggers gleaming. "You look like you're ready to tear through them with your bare hands."
"If that's what it takes," I growled.
He smirked. "Then let's not waste time."
With a single command, we charged.
The battle began in a blur of steel and blood.
———-
Eloise's POV
I felt it.
A shift in the air.
The castle trembled ever so slightly—distant, but unmistakable.
Caius was here.
The king frowned, turning towards the door as muffled shouts reached the throne room. He exhaled sharply, clearly displeased. "That fool never learns."
I lifted my chin, forcing myself to meet his gaze. "You should be afraid."
The king's lips curled into a smirk. "Afraid? Of a fallen hero?"
His confidence made my stomach turn. I couldn't afford to wait.
Even if I was shackled, even if I was weak—I wasn't powerless.
I closed my eyes and focused.
A story formed in my mind. A vision of what could be.
I saw the chains breaking. I saw Caius reaching me. I saw victory.
Now, I just had to make it real.
I took a deep breath and began to write in my mind.
———-
Caius's POV
The throne room was close.
Too close.
The bodies of guards littered the halls behind me, my blade heavy with their blood. My breath was ragged, but I didn't stop.
I wouldn't stop.
Rowan fought beside me, moving with an ease that made it seem like a game to him.
"Careful, Caius," he teased, dodging an incoming spear. "If you rush in like this, you'll get yourself killed before you even see her."
I didn't respond.
The massive double doors to the throne room loomed ahead.
I kicked them open.
The sight that greeted me made my blood boil.
Eloise was on the ground, shackled, her face pale and bruised.
And the king—
The king stood over her, sword drawn.
My vision went red.
———
Eloise's POV
The doors burst open, and for a moment, everything seemed to slow.
Caius stood there, his armor smeared with blood, his sword raised. His eyes locked onto mine, and in that instant, I saw everything.
The rage. The fear. The desperation.
I felt something inside me snap.
I wouldn't let him fight alone.
I wouldn't let fate decide this for us.
The words in my mind solidified.
The shackles around my wrists cracked, then shattered.
Magic rushed through me like a flood, and as I rose to my feet, I met the king's stunned gaze.
"You wanted my power?" My voice was steady, but there was something different in it now. Something undeniable.
The king stepped back.
"Then let me show you what it truly means."
I lifted my hand, and the world shifted.
————
Caius's POV
Light exploded from Eloise, filling the entire throne room.
I barely had time to react before reality itself twisted.
The king staggered back, eyes wide with shock as the very ground beneath him cracked.
Eloise stood at the center of it all.
Beautiful. Terrifying.
Her eyes met mine, and for the first time, I saw it—the full extent of what she could do.
I knew then that this battle was already over.
And that Eloise...
She was more powerful than anyone had ever imagined.
Even herself.