The cavern was too quiet.
The Wellspring's waters stilled, dark and smooth as obsidian. The only sound was the ragged, twinned breathing of Elena and Jaime.
Alejandro was the first to move. He sheathed his sword, though his hand lingered on the hilt as if it might be needed again at any moment. His eyes darted between the two of them, his sister-in-law and the man she had been bound to, searching for words, finding none.
Finally, he said, hoarse, "That wasn't a blessing. That was a chain."
La Señora Behike bent low beside the water's edge, her old eyes gleaming in the faint indigo glow still pulsing at Elena and Jaime's fingertips. Her hand hovered above them, trembling as if she were afraid to touch.
"It is both," she whispered. "The gods do not give without taking."
Elena pressed a hand to her throat. Bruises were already blooming there, an angry shadow against her skin. Her violet eyes lifted, and when she saw Jaime, her stomach twisted. He bore the same bruises.
Identical.
She forced herself upright, fury rising sharp and fast. "You knew," she spat at La Señora. "You were going to bring us here knowing what they'd do."
Señora Behike did not deny it. Her silence was its own confession.
Alejandro's jaw tightened. "If one of them falls in battle…" His voice faltered. He didn't finish the thought, but it hung in the damp air like smoke.
Jaime finally found his voice, though it cracked. "Test it."
Elena snapped her head toward him. "What?"
"Test it," he repeated, his ocean eyes steady though his hands shook. "If it's real, we need to know how far it goes."
Alejandro swore under his breath. "Don't be reckless- "
But Jaime had already done it. He dug his nails into his palm, hard enough to break the skin.
Elena gasped. Pain lanced her own palm as if her flesh were the one being torn. She opened her hand… Blood welled up in the exact same place.
Señora Behike inhaled sharply, whispering a prayer. Alejandro's face darkened, his knuckles flexing with barely contained rage.
Elena stared at the blood pooling in her hand, then at Jaime. The bond was undeniable. Inescapable.
Her voice shook, but her violet eyes glinted in the cavern's gloom.
"This isn't protection. It's punishment."
And from the depths of the Wellspring, the gods' laughter stirred again, echoing like thunder under the earth.
The laughter faded into silence, leaving only the slow drip of water from the cavern walls.
Alejandro was the first to break it. His voice was low but edged with steel.
"We're leaving. Now."
Elena blinked, still clutching her bleeding palm. "I can't- "
"You don't have a choice," he snapped, more sharply than he meant. He dragged a hand down his face, trying to rein in the fire gnawing his chest. "The cult's been sighted near the ridge. I only risked bringing La Señora here because we heard the thunder and marched over. A simple walk turned into an hours long hike because of the Cult. If they catch your scent in this place- "
He didn't finish. He didn't have to.
The Behike pressed her hand over her chest, whispering words older than the Wellspring itself. "The gods claimed them. If the cult finds them now, they will try to unmake what has been bound."
Jaime's jaw tightened. His body still trembled, skin slick with Wellspring water, but his eyes were steady. "Then let them try."
Alejandro rounded on him, fists curling at his sides. "Don't speak like a man ready for martyrdom, boy. You've just learned you're shackled to her, my blood sister- if you die, she dies too. You think I'll let that happen?"
The words landed like a blow. Jaime swallowed hard, staring down at Elena. Her violet eyes met his, soft with exhaustion but unflinching. She tried to smile, a fragile curve of her lips.
"I'm not afraid," she murmured.
Alejandro cursed under his breath. He moved closer, kneeling at the edge of the waters. His hand gripped Jaime's shoulder with the rough weight of an elder brother, not a mentor. His voice cracked in the cavern.
"We thought you lost. Three days… three days you've been gone in these waters. And I find you bound, bleeding, still half-drowned."
Jaime's breath hitched. His chest rose and fell fast, but he forced himself to nod. He didn't look away from Alejandro's eyes. "I'm still here."
"And so is she," Alejandro said, his gaze flicking to Elena. "Don't make me, or the children, build a pyre for either of you."
Señora Behike's staff tapped softly against the stone as she straightened, her voice like a warning carried on wind.
"The Wellspring has given what it can. But its gift has a price, and its safety ends at the cavern mouth. We must go."
Alejandro stood, drawing his blade again with a ringing hiss. He cast a sharp look toward the tunnel. "Then stay close. Both of you. If the cult is waiting, they'll taste my steel before they touch you."
The Wellspring's glow dimmed behind them as the four figures began their slow ascent back toward the world above, carrying with them chains forged by gods, and a bond that would either save or damn them both.