Chapter 21: The Castle of Shadows and Stone
Chapter 21: The Castle of Shadows and Stone
If I thought the demon realm had already exhausted its ability to surprise me, I was wrong.
Zorathys stepped beside me, his crimson gaze moving between me and Vaelory, who was still staring around with the expression of someone who had just discovered gravity was optional. He studied us for a long moment before speaking.
"Why," he asked slowly, "did either of you believe there would be lava?"
I glanced sideways at Vaelory, who suddenly found the sky extremely fascinating.
I lifted a hand and pointed at her. "Because she told me there would be."
Vaelory’s head snapped toward me, betrayal written all over her face. "Your Highness—!"
"What? I was being truthful," I told her.
"I see," Zorathys said to us. "And this information didn’t come from someone’s third cousin’s sister’s father’s neighbour’s uncle’s sister’s mother’s brother’s niece’s sister-in-law’s cousin’s nephew, right?" he asked.
I turned to Vaelory, who stared back at me with wide eyes. "I didn’t tell him!" she told me.
Zorathys exhaled. "Everyone who spreads information about the demon realm, or anyone who has heard information about the demon realm, always claims it’s from their third cousin’s sister’s father’s neighbour’s uncle’s sister’s mother’s brother’s niece’s sister-in-law’s cousin’s nephew."
"Were you lying to me?" I asked Vaelory.
"That’s what they told me," she replied. "I wasn’t lying about that."
Zorathys shook his head. Just once. The kind of shake that fathers use when their children insist that the moon is edible.
Without him touching anything, the massive doors of the castle swung open.
They didn’t creak. They didn’t groan. They didn’t even whisper or sing like the ones in Aelthryn sometimes did. They just opened smoothly, showing us what the inside of the castle looked like—and let me tell you... the interior glowed.
The castle I had imagined in my head—which was dark, gloomy, and monstrous—shattered instantly. Because this... this was something else entirely.
The entrance hall was vast, stretching upward into a domed ceiling carved with swirling constellations rendered in red-gold. The light within them pulsed gently like fading embers, illuminating the room in warm, shifting hues. White marble unfurled beneath my boots, polished so perfectly I could see my reflection moving with every step.
Fluted pillars of obsidian rose to the ceiling, each streaked with faint threads of silver metal that shimmered like starlight caught in stone. Between them, tapestries lined the walls—rich crimson and deep charcoal, embroidered with intricate scenes I did not yet understand. Demons of various forms, wings and tails and horns, depicted not in violence but in regal poses, standing over kingdoms, under night skies, beside strange constellations.
To my right, a fountain trickled water that shone like the stars, each droplet catching and refracting light from the ceiling. The soft sound of the water echoed faintly, giving the hall an almost sacred atmosphere.
To my left, tall windows stretched from floor to ceiling, framed in ornate metalwork. Through them, I could still see the sky and the vague silhouette of the landscape beyond the castle walls. It was a view unlike any I had ever seen—sky touching shadow, shadow touching stone.
And then there was the staircase.
A grand, sweeping circular staircase curved upward in an elegant spiral, constructed from the same elegant white marble as the floor. The banisters were carved in flowing patterns that resembled vines made of smoke and starlight. Soft gemstones were embedded at intervals along the rail, glowing just enough to cast faint halos of light.
It was breathtaking.
I didn’t move.
Neither did Vaelory.
We stood side by side, silent, absorbing every detail. My chest felt tight—not with fear but with something closer to awe. Nothing about this place suggested danger or brutality. It was refined. Artistic. Beautiful.
I heard Vaelory whisper, almost soundlessly, "This... is the demon realm?"
We stepped inside. Our footsteps echoed softly across the polished floor. Zorathys walked slightly ahead of us, his presence commanding but strangely calm, as if he was allowing us time to adjust.
And then something shifted.
A shadow detached itself from the nearest pillar. And I waited as he stepped into view... a gargoyle.
This one wasn’t like the ones we had seen on the walls outside.
This one was... dignified.
Tall—taller than Zorathys even—with skin like sculpted stone, smooth and subtly veined with faint glowing lines that pulsed slowly under the surface. His features were sharply carved—strong jaw, high cheekbones, and eyes of stone that shone like steel. Wings folded neatly along his back, the edges of each stone feather etched with glowing runes.
He wore a perfectly tailored black suit.
Long coat, silver-threaded vest, crisp shirt, dark tie—everything immaculately pressed. Even his wings seemed incorporated into the design, with the coat tailored to part elegantly around them instead of restrict them.
His posture was unbelievably straight, hands clasped lightly behind his back, chin slightly dipped.
He approached in complete silence.
I stiffened when he came to a stop a few steps before us. His wings shifted slightly, the stone scraping softly, almost like fabric brushing fabric.
Then he bowed.
Gracefully.
Deeply.
With the practiced precision of someone who had bowed for centuries.
"Welcome home, Your Highness," he said.
His voice was deep and washed over me.
I jumped in shock from the sound of his voice.
Why I was shocked that a gargoyle was speaking shocked even me. It was the demon realm after all. Things like this should be normal.
Beside me, Vaelory shrieked loudly.
A high, piercing scream that echoed across the hall and startled even the gargoyle, his wings twitching slightly.
"DEMON!" she yelled, pointing at him with a trembling hand. "HE’S A—HE’S—HE—!!!"
Her voice cut off abruptly.
Her eyes rolled upward.
Her knees buckled.
And she collapsed to the floor with a dramatic thud.
The gargoyle blinked once, slowly, like he was trying to decide whether this was normal human behavior.
I stared at Vaelory in disbelief.
And the gargoyle straightened silently, wings settling neatly against his back once more.
"Well," the gargoyle said, "that’s a new reaction."