Chapter 24 Silver
Silver
Locked away in my room wasn’t exactly how I pictured my father dealing with my situation.
I thought he’d scream, yell, or just plain be furious.
But instead, I hadn’t seen him since he’d had me forcefully taken from Widdershins by the royal guard.
In fact, I hadn’t seen anyone. My room had an attached bath, and my meals were delivered via dumbwaiter.
There was no reason for anyone to step through my doors.
Of course, that hadn’t stopped me from trying to break out of my velvet-lined cage.
I’d spent the better part of a day picking at the magical locks to the door and the windows.
Unfortunately, my magic was no match for whoever had placed the enchantments.
I’d even attempted to go down the dumbwaiter, but there was an invisible block on that as well.
No matter how much I raged or yelled, nobody came to check on me.
When all of my attempts proved unfruitful, I threw myself down on my bed, left with nothing to focus on but the sharp pain of my mate bond stretched so thin I thought it might snap.
I couldn’t feel Ash anymore, not since I’d been taken to the Twilight Realm.
I figured, if he shadow walked into my home realm, I would feel him once more.
But the bond remained cold and silent and agonizing.
I didn’t know how long I’d been lying there when I felt a subtle shift in the air, like someone had opened a door in another room. My head snapped up, hope flaring painfully in my chest. But the door to my room remained firmly shut, its enchantments still glowing faintly in the dim light.
Then I heard it. A soft knock, not from the door, but from inside my wardrobe.
I sat up slowly, my heart hammering. “Caldwell?”
The wardrobe door creaked open, and my butler’s familiar face appeared, looking more disheveled than I’d ever seen him. His usually immaculate uniform was rumpled, and there was actual sweat on his brow.
“Young master,” he whispered urgently, glancing over his shoulder. “We don’t have much time.”
I was across the room in seconds, gripping his shoulders. “How did you get in here? The enchantments—”
“Are keyed to prevent entry through doors, windows, and the dumbwaiter,” he replied quickly.
“But your father forgot about the servants’ passages.
They run through the walls of every royal bedroom, a relic from more paranoid times.
” He pressed something into my hands. I glanced down to see a small crystal that pulsed with warm light.
“This will get you through the wards. You need to leave. Now.”
“What? Caldwell, I can’t just—”
“Yes, you can.” His eyes were fierce, determined in a way I’d never seen before.
“I’ve served your family for three centuries, young master.
I watched you grow from a boy into a man, and I have never been more proud than I was when you stood up to your father for what you love.
” His voice cracked slightly. “Don’t let him take that from you.
Don’t let him turn you into another gilded ornament on his throne. ”
My throat tightened. “If he finds out you helped me—”
“Then he finds out.” Caldwell straightened, some of his usual composure returning. “I’m old, Silver. I’ve lived a long, good life. But you? You deserve to live yours on your own terms. Now go, before the guard changes shifts.”
I pulled him into a brief, fierce hug. “Thank you. For everything.”
“Save your gratitude for after you’ve saved your witch,” he replied, but I could hear the emotion in his voice. “The crystal will get you to the mortal realm gate. After that, you’ll need to find your own way to him.”
I nodded, clutching the crystal tightly. Through our bond—or what was left of it—I felt something. Not Ash exactly, but the echo of where he’d been. It was faint, barely there, but it was enough.
“I’ll find him,” I promised, already moving toward the wardrobe. “And we’ll be happy.”
“I know you will, young master.” Caldwell smiled, a sadness lingering in his eyes. He reached into a pocket and produced the silver signet ring my parents had given me before my departure, the one I’d left behind at Widdershins. “Take this as well and I pray you don’t have to use it.”
I nodded, slipping the ring on and feeling the hum of the crystal golem trapped inside. “I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you for this, Caldwell.”
“Live a good and happy life,” he replied quickly. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
I reached out, pulling him into a tight hug. For a moment he stiffened, like I’d caught him off guard. But then he sighed and pulled me close.
“Take care of yourself, Silver,” he said, pushing me back. “Now get out of here as fast as you can. Don’t stop until you’re on mortal soil.” He paused, his eyes flashing. “And don’t ever come back.”
I wanted to protest, to tell him I’d find a way to save him once things were settled.
But the look in his eyes told me he already knew that wasn’t possible.
If I left now, if I defied my father this completely, there would be no coming back.
The Twilight Realm would be closed to me forever.
And if he realized Caldwell had helped… well… there would be nobody to rescue.
“I understand,” I said quietly, and I did. This was the choice I’d been avoiding since the moment I met Ash. My kingdom or my heart. My duty or my happiness.
It wasn’t really a choice at all.
I stepped into the wardrobe, feeling Caldwell’s hand steady me as I navigated the narrow passage beyond.
The servants’ corridors were cramped and dark, lit only by the faint glow of the crystal in my hand.
I could hear my own breathing echoing off the stone walls as I moved as quickly and quietly as possible.
The crystal pulsed warmly against my palm, guiding me through the maze of passages.
I passed behind the throne room, heard my father’s voice giving orders to someone I couldn’t see.
My chest tightened, but I kept moving. There would be time for guilt and second-guessing later.
Right now, I needed to get to Ash before it was too late.
The passage eventually opened into a storage room near the castle’s lower levels. I paused at the exit, pressing my ear against the door and listening for guards. Nothing. I pushed through carefully, finding myself in a dimly lit corridor I recognized from my childhood explorations.
The teleportation circle to the mortal realm was in the center of the foyer, and heavily guarded under normal circumstances. But if Caldwell had timed this right, the shift change would give me a narrow window to slip through. I just had to make it across the courtyard without being seen.
I peered out a window, gauging the distance.
The courtyard was bathed in the perpetual twilight that gave our realm its name, purple and silver light casting long shadows across the stones.
Two guards stood at the foyer entrance, but they were facing outward, watching for external threats rather than internal ones.
Taking a deep breath, I let my twilight magic gather around me, bending the light to make myself harder to see. It wasn’t true invisibility, but it would make me blend into the shadows if I moved carefully enough.
I slipped out of the corridor and pressed myself against the wall, moving slowly toward the tower. My heart hammered so loudly I was certain the guards would hear it. Every step felt like it took an eternity, the crystal growing warmer in my hand as I approached the gate.
I was halfway across the courtyard when I heard voices behind me. I froze, not daring to breathe.
“—certain the prince is secure?” It was Captain Vex.
“Checked the enchantments myself an hour ago,” another voice replied. Lieutenant Mora. “He’s not going anywhere.”
They passed within feet of where I stood, and I had to bite down on my tongue to keep from making a sound.
“But I do feel strangely about this situation,” Lieutenant Mora continued. “Kidnapping the prince was… unexpected.”
“It’s not our place to ask questions,” Captain Vex replied. “We do as the king asks. Nothing more, nothing less.”
I waited until their footsteps faded before I dared to move again. My hands were shaking, making the crystal’s light waver. I forced myself to take slow, steady breaths as I continued toward the foyer.
The entrance loomed before me, its massive doors carved with scenes from our realm’s history. I could see the teleportation circle just beyond, its runes glowing faintly in the twilight. So close. I was so close.
I slipped through the doors, keeping to the shadows along the walls. The guards were still facing outward, their attention on the courtyard rather than the interior. I moved as silently as I could, each step calculated and careful.
The crystal grew hot in my palm as I approached the circle, responding to the magic already present there. I stepped onto the outer ring, feeling the ancient enchantments hum beneath my feet. Just a few more steps and I’d be—
“Prince Silver.”
My blood turned to ice. I turned slowly to find my father standing at the top of the stairs, his silver crown gleaming in the dim light. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes held a mixture of disappointment and fury.
“Father,” I managed, my voice steadier than I felt. “I’m leaving.”
The words hung between us like a challenge, and for a moment, neither of us moved. My father descended the stairs slowly, each step deliberate, his robes flowing behind him like liquid shadow.
“You would defy me,” he said, and it wasn’t a question. “You would throw away everything—your birthright, your duty, your people—for a witch you’ve known for mere weeks?”
“Yes. I would.”
His eyes flashed with something I couldn’t quite read. Anger, certainly, but there was something else beneath it. “Do you have any idea what you’re asking me to do? What you’re asking your kingdom to sacrifice?”
“I know exactly what I’m asking.” I took a step forward, my hand still clutching Caldwell’s crystal. “I’m asking you to let me be happy. I’m asking you to understand that love isn’t something that can be negotiated away for political alliances.”
“Love.” He spat the word like it was poison. “You think love is enough? Love doesn’t feed your people. Love doesn’t maintain treaties or prevent wars. Love is a luxury that princes cannot afford.”
“Then maybe I don’t want to be a prince.” The words came out before I could stop them, but once they were spoken, I realized I meant them. “Maybe I’d rather be nobody, living in the mortal realm with Ash, than be a king who has to give up everything that makes life worth living.”
My father’s expression hardened. “You speak like a child.”
“I speak like someone who’s finally figured out what matters.
” I could feel my magic crackling around me as I stepped toward the circle, responding to my emotions.
“You raised me to be strong, to stand up for what I believe in. Well, this is what I believe in. Ash is what I believe in. And if that makes me weak or foolish or whatever else you think I am, then so be it.”
For a long moment, we just stared at each other. I could see the conflict in his eyes, the war between the father who’d once played with me in these very halls and the king who had to think about kingdoms and legacies.
“If you leave,” he said finally, his voice low and dangerous, “you will never be welcome in the Twilight Realm again. The gates will be sealed behind you. You will be dead to us. And you will doom this realm to war. Thousands will die because of your selfishness.”
I felt the words hit me like a physical blow, but I didn’t let myself falter.
“Then their blood is on your hands, not mine. You’re the one who arranged a marriage before I’d even finished school.
You’re the one who built a kingdom on alliances instead of trust. I’m just refusing to be another piece on your political chessboard. ”
“You selfish—” He cut himself off, his jaw clenching so hard I could see the muscle jump. “Do you think I wanted this for you? Do you think I enjoyed telling my son he couldn’t choose his own fate?”
“Then why do it?” I demanded, my voice rising. “Why force this on me if you knew it would make me miserable?”
“Because I am trying to save this kingdom!” The words exploded from him, raw and desperate. “The alliance your marriage would bring isn’t just about politics, Silver. It’s about survival. The realm is weak, our people are hungry, and this alliance is the only thing that could save us!”
I stared at him, seeing the fear beneath his anger for the first time.
In a flash I realized that all the lessons I’d learned, all the hypothetical problems my mentors had trained me to solve…
they were real problems the realm was facing, hidden from me in plain sight.
But that wasn’t what stood out to me the most. “So, you’d sacrifice my happiness to save the realm. ”
“I would sacrifice anything to save my people.” His voice was quieter now, but no less intense. “Including my son’s happiness. Including my own soul, if that’s what it took.”
The crystal in my hand pulsed, reminding me that I was running out of time. The guards could return any moment. Caldwell could be discovered. Every second I stood here arguing was another second Ash was out there thinking I’d abandoned him.
“I’m sorry, Father,” I said, and I meant it. “I’m sorry I can’t be the prince you need. But I can’t—I won’t—give up Ash. Not even to save the realm. Find another way.”
Something in my father’s expression crumbled. For just a moment, he looked old and tired and almost... broken. “Then you leave me no choice.”
He raised his hand, and I felt the magic gathering around him, ancient and powerful.
But he hadn’t noticed the enchantment I’d been muttering under my breath.
The moment I felt his magic begin to gather, I gave the silver ring a quick twist. There was a sudden burst of energy as a towering golem, at least fifteen feet high, materialized in front of me.
The massive crystalline form shifted into a defensive stance, using its body as a shield.
My father’s spell struck the creature, cracking its beautiful, gem-like facade.
But still the golem stood, protecting me against anyone that wished me harm.
Magic began to gather again, and the clatter of armor could be heard approaching from the surrounding halls.
I knew the golem wouldn’t last forever. Rushing forward the last few steps, I chanted the activation spell for the teleportation circle.
There was a vicious yank as I was pulled downward through the circle and out of the realm.
The last thing I heard was the shattering crystal golem and my father’s screams of fury.