CHAPTER 548: INVASION (PROOFREAD)

Just as he explained, bright lights ignited on the floor, and the ruins were about to start. Abrielle’s hold on Aurelius’s hand tightened. That’s when a desperate call rang.

"Elias," Evelyn called rushing forward before she could think. The thought of what if this was the last time they saw. Elias glanced at her confusion written on his face. Before she could get close to him.

Blinding lights flashed. In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

Just before the lights disappeared, Elias’s eyes drew to her direction. His brows furrowed in surprise as he wondered why she was running towards him. He didn’t get the chance to know before they disappeared.

The bright light cleared, and they found their selves in the ruins of an old temple. Cedric’s eyes darted around, recognising the place.

He glanced at Elias who was still bewildered by the earlier scene. "You know what to do." The young knight confirmed with a nod.

"I will carry out my duty, but your highness, how do you plan on getting to the palace undetected?" He enquired. Silvanius was a few feet away, slowly making his way to his son-in-law.

"The underground tunnels." With that being said the group dispersed. Cedric knights were already placed at strategic positions all over the city. With the help of this reinforcement, it was only a matter of time before he had the entire Vitalis under his control.

The main team, comprising Cedric and Silvanius, left through the tunnels. There was a secret entrance hiding in the temple.

The heavy metal door was pulled open. It screeched against the stone floor revealing a pitch black hallway. Silvanius nodded then led the way.

Without any instructions, several tongues of flame appeared above their head, lighting up the back.

"Are you sure about this way?" He asked Cedric. The first prince nodded in approval. "This tunnel leads directly to the palace. We have to strike before he leaves for the ancestral temple in the mountains." Cedric replied.

Lucian’s guard would be up once he leaves the palace. The best chance they had was to take him out now.

The air grew heavier the deeper they went, the damp stone walls closing in as if the tunnel itself wanted to swallow them. Their path was lit not by torches, but by Silvanius’s magic, glowing embers drifting lazily ahead of them like fireflies, pulsing faintly with golden-red light. Each ember crackled softly, illuminating the ruined arches and fractured walls of the abandoned passage.

The tunnel looked as if it could collapse at any moment. Roots split through the ceiling, dripping with water, and the floor was uneven, scarred by time and neglect. The soldiers marched in silence, their armour clinking in rhythm with their steps, yet every sound felt swallowed by the suffocating dark.

The deeper they descended, the colder it became. A chilling draft swept over them, unnatural in its weight. One soldier shivered, another pressed a hand to his chest as if something invisible brushed past. They didn’t speak of it, but every man felt it.

Cedric, however, saw what they could not. His golden eyes glimmered faintly under the mask, catching the restless figures that floated along the walls and lingered at the corners of the tunnel. Ghosts, dozens of them, their translucent forms clad in armour so ancient it had rusted away. From their uniforms, he could tell they had been here for centuries.

They did not approach him. In fact, they kept their distance, watching warily, their hollow eyes shifting to his presence. Cedric’s lips twitched beneath the mask. They knew what he was and because of that, they were afraid. Still, he wondered why they lingered, why their souls hadn’t moved on, or worse, descended into ghouls like so many forgotten dead.

The soldiers behind him sensed nothing more than the icy brush of their passage. For them, it was enough to quicken their pace, as though eager to leave the unseen behind.

Finally, the endless passage gave way to a barricade of corroded metal bars. Beyond it, faint light spilt in steadier than Silvanius’s drifting embers.

Cedric raised his hand and the soldiers halted. The bars groaned, scraping against the stone as they were pulled aside from the other side. A figure stepped forward, holding a torch aloft. The flames burned brightly, throwing his features into shadow. Several men stood behind him, silhouettes shifting like watchful wolves.

Beside him stood another figure, Elias’s eyes narrowed at her. He never expected to see the silver-haired maid from the Drizari clan again. Her gaze flickered towards Cedric a soft smile on her face.

Zoltana approached the lock with an old rusty key. "Welcome your highness. I am glad you made it." She chimed before she opened the gate blocking the tunnels.

She didn’t ask anything about Abrielle, Cedric had his prejudice against this maid who placed his wife’s life in danger, but held back. They had better things aside from settling old scores and besides. She was the one who acted as a link between him and their insider.

The gates creaked open and Cedric walked forward towards the hooded figure who had been quiet all this time.

"You’re late," the man’s voice broke the silence, calm but edged. "I’ve been waiting for you."

Cedric tilted his head, smirking beneath the mask. "Late? You make it sound as if I asked you to wait. Honestly, I never thought you’d come at all."

The torchlight flared, and the man’s presence seemed to deepen the chill in the tunnel. "Let’s just say," he replied evenly, "I had to choose where my best interests lie. And right now, they’re with you."

Cedric gave a soft chuckle, though his eyes flickered gold in the dark. "A practical man. I can respect that."

The insider turned, his cloak shifting with the motion, and gestured for Cedric to follow. The ghosts drifted silently behind them, vanishing into the cracks of the broken walls as the embers guided the living toward the light ahead.

They had successfully infiltrated the castle walls