Read Prince Of The Dead :: Never

The Miasma Tunnel was nothing like Eliza had expected.

She had pictured something eerie and vast, a dark abyss swallowing all who dared pass through. Instead, what she saw was chaotic motion, a realm teeming with reckless energy.

Dozens of carriages surged through the shifting darkness, weaving around each other like wraiths in a never-ending race. Some soared through the air as if propelled by unseen forces, others narrowly dodged nightmarish creatures that slithered and clawed at their barriers.

Eliza’s breath hitched.

“Are they… racing?”

Opal pressed against the window, her young eyes wide with amazement. She gasped as a pair of shadowy stallions pulled an obsidian carriage forward in a sudden, unnatural burst of speed, darting through a collapsing section of the tunnel with terrifying precision.

“This place is called The Tunnel,” Tenebrae said evenly, his gaze fixed ahead. “Why? I am unsure. Perhaps it once was one, or perhaps it still is. It is hard to tell. No one who steps foot outside of their protection has survived long enough to say."

Eliza turned to him, brow furrowing. “First time I’ve seen you this careful… Can a Lich die?”

Tenebrae’s eerie green eyes flickered as he regarded her.

“Being trapped here is separation from life,” he answered after a pause. “But it is also separation from my kingdom. I would rather die than become lost in this place. That would be worse than the hell your people put me through.”

Eliza flinched.

It wasn’t the sharpness of his tone—it was how calmly he had said it. As if it was simply a fact.

She lowered her gaze, hands twisting in her lap, a heavy weight settling over her chest.

And for the first time… Tenebrae regretted his words.

Something unfamiliar stirred in his chest, something he hadn’t felt in centuries.

He hadn’t meant to say it like that.

Hadn’t meant to hurt her.

He exhaled sharply, annoyed—not at her, but at himself.

Since regaining his flesh, emotions had returned to him like an open wound. They were distracting, and overwhelming. Even as a Lich, he had learned to silence them, but now?

Now they bled through every inch of him—everywhere but his skeletal hand.

It was the only part of him that had remained untouched by time. Cold, lifeless, unfeeling.

It was the only thing keeping him grounded.

For several moments, the carriage was silent.

Opal, oblivious to the tension, was still staring out the window, fascinated by the chaos beyond.

Eliza, however, looked down like a scolded child.

And Ten… Ten felt like an ass.

He drummed his fingers once against the armrest, forcing himself to push past the tangled mess in his mind.

She asked a question. Answer it.

“We are going to visit a friend of mine,” he said finally, his voice softer than before.

Eliza glanced up. “A friend?”

Ten nodded. “The King of Ravens."

Her brows furrowed. “Is he an actual raven?”

He smirked slightly at that, the flicker of amusement brief. “When he wants to be. He can be. When he wants to look like you, he can. But he is not human. Not anymore. At one time, though… he was."

She tilted her head. “What are we visiting him for?”

Tenebrae paused for a moment before answering, carefully choosing his words.

“We are going as uninvited guests to deliver a message I could not trust his subjects with, considering how long I have been gone.”

Eliza studied him, sensing something more beneath his words.

“What kind of person is he?”

Tenebrae hesitated.

“He is… or rather, was, at the time, my closest friend,” he admitted. “And for a Lich, that is nearly an impossible task. When you change, when you embrace undeath, friendship becomes a luxury."

Eliza remained silent, watching him.

“We were friends before I became a Lich,” Ten continued. “We grew up together. Much of my afterlife was spent fighting alongside him, raiding realms, carving our names into history."

For the first time, his lips curved into something close to a smile.

Fondness.

It was strange to see it on him, but there it was, however brief.

“But…” he trailed off.

Eliza caught the shift immediately. “But?”

He exhaled.

“I haven’t seen him in over 100 years."

Silence.

Opal turned her wide, uncertain gaze toward him, watching the way his expression darkened.

Ten’s fingers drummed against the armrest again.

“Because of your people,” he said finally, not cruelly, but simply as a fact.

Eliza felt the guilt hit her like a hammer.

She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t.

And Ten felt it.

He hated this.

Hated feeling this.

The frustration in his chest curled tighter, spreading like slow poison.

He should not care.

He was a Lich.

Liches do not care.

And yet…

Yet he did.

His voice was quieter when he spoke again.

“The point of this trip is to respond to an old message that was sent long ago… and to see if I still have a friend after all this time.”

Opal clung a little closer to Eliza, her small fingers curling into her gown.

She had only ever heard stories of Liches and their unholy powers.

And now, sitting beside one, she wasn’t sure what to think.

She tried not to show her fear.

But Ten knew.

He always knew.

He simply leaned his head back against the seat, closed his eyes, and let the tunnel carry them forward into the abyss.

The silence in the carriage was deafening, stretching long and heavy like an unspoken curse.

It was only broken by the sudden crackle of a message spell.

“We are at the halfway point, sir,” came Zanac’s formal, yet hesitant voice. “Should we request an escort?”

Tenebrae didn’t move, his gaze still fixed on the swirling darkness outside.

“No,” he said. “Last time we did that, it attracted more attention than I desired. I will use the previous summons to enter unannounced. That should summon me directly into his court—if I am not mistaken.”

A pause.

Then, Zanac’s voice returned, more cautious this time.

“Sir… is that wise with your… current condition?”

Eliza glanced at Tenebrae, catching the smallest shift in his expression.

Something sharp. Something almost dangerous.

“Zanac.”

The butler fell silent.

“Do not mention that again. Return to your duty.”

A beat. Then— “Yes… yes, sir,” Zanac said reluctantly.

Eliza swallowed.

There was tension here. Something unsaid.

She didn’t like not knowing.

So, after a moment, she hesitantly asked, “What kind of man is your friend? Or—person? I… I suppose I know nothing of him.”

She paused, fidgeting with the fabric of her gown.

“All this time,” she continued, “I’ve never heard you mention a friend. I kind of thought that… well… other than those I’ve met, and the few animals that remain in your kingdom, that you never really—”

She trailed off.

Because he was staring at her.

His green eyes glowed faintly, unreadable in the dim carriage.

Eliza felt her face heat. Why am I babbling? she scolded herself. Why am I making this awkward?

She clamped her mouth shut, feeling stupid.

Tenebrae, however, did not look away.

Instead, he sat back in his seat, considering her.

She is unlike the humans of this realm… he thought.

In many ways, she resembled more of a hero, full of foolish courage and stubborn resilience.

And yet, in her world, she had been a failure.

What had she called herself? A loser?

It was absurd.