Chapter: Tethered by Fate
The candle's flame shrank to a quivering ember as the room seemed to fold in on itself. A soft humming echoed from the tome—no longer just a book, but a living vessel. The prophecy wasn't only speaking to them. It was watching them.
Kael stepped closer to Aria, the air crackling between them. His hand hovered above hers. "The bond," he said, barely a whisper, "it's already beginning."
Aria felt it too—a warmth spreading through her chest, a pulse not her own. Their connection was no longer just emotional—it was ancient, rooted in something that defied time. Her breath hitched. "What happens if we complete it?"
Before Kael could answer, a shriek tore through the air—low, guttural, and inhuman. The shadows on the walls writhed like living things, twisting into the form of a creature born from nightmares.
Kael grabbed Aria's arm and pulled her back. "They've found us."
From the darkness emerged a figure cloaked in void, its face a smooth, featureless mask. The tome flared violently in protest, light streaming from its pages as the figure raised a hand. The walls shuddered looked back at Kael. She looks back at him did you trust me
His voice was strained, but certain. "With my soul."
Aria placed her hand over the ancient script, closed her eyes—and spoke the name that had burned in her mind since she'd met him: Kael'tharion.
Light exploded from the tome.
The Wraithbound screamed.
And everything went still.and the candle was snuffed out.
When the light faded, silence filled the chamber like a held breath. The Wraithbound was gone—its presence scorched from the space as if it had never existed. Only the scent of ash and the echo of its scream remained.
Aria collapsed to her knees beside Kael, her heart thundering in her chest. "Kael... are you alright?"
He stirred slowly, the edges of his eyes glowing faintly with a silver hue. "I... I think so." He reached for her hand, their fingers lacing with ease. "But something's different now. I can feel you... in my blood, in my mind."
Aria felt it too. An unfamiliar awareness pulsed between them, like a shared heartbeat. Emotions bled across the connection—fear, warmth, pain, even the edges of thoughts. The bond wasn't just a tether. It was a fusion.
Before she could say more, the ancient tome snapped shut with a deafening clap. The air shifted. A new symbol had appeared on the cover—an eclipse surrounded by a ring of broken stars.
Kael's face darkened.Suddenly, Kael winced, clutching his chest. "It's inside me… something stirred when the bond was sealed."
Aria caught him as he staggered. "What do you mean?"
"I saw… a vision. A throne of bone. A city swallowed by flame. And me, standing at the center of it all, wearing the Devourer's crown."
Aria's breath hitched. "No. That's not your fate. That's not who you are."
"I don't know anymore," Kael said hoarsely. "But if the prophecy is true, then I might be the key to saving this world… or ending it."
They stood together at the edge of the cracked stone, the weight of fate settlingover them like a storm cloud.