Page 33 of To Dwell in Shadows
“My powers, they’re starting to fade,” Asmodeus said slowly.
“Fade?” Sam repeated.
“My magick is harder to control, and my summoning abilities are becoming less reliable. It started a few weeks before you arrived.”
Sam’s heart began to thud against his ribs. Asmodeus had always been larger than life, a figure of unyielding strength and authority. The idea of him faltering felt impossible. “Do you need a healer?”
“No,” Asmodeus said. “It is not an ailment.”
“Perhaps an enchantress then to restore your powers,” Sam offered. He glanced at his mother, but she had turned her back to them. “There are some in Aurelia quite skilled in?—”
Asmodeus shook his head. “No. It is the natural way. When a celestial event called The Thronefall Flame occurs, the current ruler’s faculties fade. So that a new Dark Sovereign may ascend.”
“How do you know this?”
“A proclamation etched into the Hall of Demonic Canon commands it.”
“What proclamation?”
“One of the oldest, carved in obsidian under a statue of King Baphomet in the Hall,” Lamia said. She turned to recite, “When the Thronefall Flame burns across the sky, from its dying light shall rise the Dark Sovereign—one destined to rule dominion over life, death, and all that lies between.”
Sam mulled over the words in his head, trying to make sense of them. The dull headache that had started in the Sanctum began to pound. “It sounds like superstition.”
“It’s not. The last sighting of the Thronefall Flame was about two thousand years ago when I ascended,” Asmodeus said.
Sam nodded, struck by the realization that he had never known his father’s true age until now. “And how were you chosen as the Dark Sovereign?”
The king adjusted his crown. “I was born on the day foretold in a prophecy inscribed inThe Sovereign’s Reckoning. It was an ancienttext my predecessor, Baphomet, destroyed as his reign waned, believing it would keep him in power. But still, I prevailed.”
“Do your subjects know you’re losing your powers?”
“The mystics do. And those on the Council of Legions—Empusa, Blight, Mammon,” Asmodeus replied.
Lamia crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “Since there’s nothing in the Hall of Demonic Canon that clearly names the next Dark Sovereign, some on the council have already begun scheming to influence the outcome. This is why we need to crown your father’s successor soon. We have been desperately trying to find someone to take his place… ” She pinned Sam with her gaze. “And now you have arrived.”
Dread pooled in Sam’s stomach. Muffled shouts from the hall mirrored his own growing turmoil. “You don’t mean… ”
“Fate had a plan all along, it seems,” Asmodeus said, echoing the words he’d spoken to Sam in the swamps.
“We could crown you tonight,” Lamia said. “But I understand that you need time to integrate back.” Her wings began to quiver with agitation. “However, it must be done before the Thronefall Flame appears in three months when the season changes. If no successor is crowned when the veil has thinned for ascension, the realm will become leaderless for a century.”
Sam rubbed his hands against his pant legs, trying to ground himself, but his mind was in chaos. He had always assumed his father’s reign was eternal. Bearing the responsibilities of prince had worried him enough, but the expectation that he would become king was too much. “No. I don’t want that. I’m not suited to rule?—”
Asmodeus’s face darkened. He stood abruptly, towering over Sam. “You must be.”
Before Sam could respond, the door to the antechamber burst open. Ghar stumbled in, panting heavily. “Forgive the interruption,” he said, bowing. “But there is trouble in the hall.”
Queen Lamia frowned. “What kind of trouble?”
“The demons of Anguish grew bored, so they began recitingincantations to torment some of the lost souls who wandered into the hall.”
“Harmless fun,” Asmodeus said dismissively.
Ghar winced. “It… escalated. Vanthee objected, as did Queen Thema, which led to a brawl between the Legion of Ruin and the Legion of Temptation. If you don’t intervene, I fear the Aurelian queen will be hurt.”
Without further discussion, Lamia, Asmodeus, and Sam rushed out of the room.
Chapter 17
