Chapter 3: Bound by Prophecy
Pain came first. Not sharp, but deep and aching, lodged behind her eyes and knotted in her limbs like she'd been pulled through the Veil itself.
Seralyn blinked slowly, vision hazy, throat dry. The air smelled of herbs, candle wax, and incense that did little to mask the underlying tang of blood and magic. Light filtered through tall, stained-glass windows, casting muted rainbow patterns across marble floors.
She was lying on a stone platform, cold against her back, her armor gone. Her wrists were shackled by glowing arcane cuffs, runes etched deep into the silver that bound her to the dais. Magic suppression cuffs. Old, but powerful.
Her heart kicked into a faster rhythm.
"You finally decided to wake up."
That voice.
Seralyn turned her head.
Kaela Morwyn sat chained to a matching platform on the far side of the temple chamber, arms bound, ankles restrained. Her long black hair was unkempt, one side matted with dried blood. Her dark cloak was gone, replaced with a loose linen tunic that did little to hide the mark that still burned across her chest.
The sigil.
It still pulsed faintly beneath her skin, just like Seralyn's did.
"Where are we?" Seralyn rasped.
"Neutral ground," Kaela said, shifting her shackled wrists with a clink of metal. "Temple of the Pale Eye. The mages dragged us here after the ruin collapsed. Apparently, they noticed two magic signatures flaring like dying stars."
Seralyn tried to sit up. The cuffs hummed, and her arms trembled but held.
"They bound me."
"They bound us," Kaela corrected. "Don't feel so special."
A door opened at the far end of the chamber, heavy and slow.
A woman entered, gliding more than walking, wrapped in gray and gold robes, her long white hair braided with crystal beads that shimmered with ambient magic. Her eyes were covered by a veil, and yet Seralyn felt them pinning her in place.
"You are awake," the woman said. "Good. The Eye has waited long enough."
Kaela snorted. "Fantastic. We're being judged by the Blind Mother."
"Seer Valryn," Seralyn said, recognizing the name from the old texts. A powerful oracle. Neutral. Ancient. Dangerous.
Valryn inclined her head. "You both were caught in the aftermath of a relic activation older than this continent."
"It was her fault," Seralyn said immediately.
Kaela rolled her eyes. "Of course it was. Gods forbid the elven commander take responsibility for grabbing a cursed object."
"You summoned the ritual."
"You interrupted it!"
Valryn raised a hand, and the runes on the cuffs flared.
Both women fell silent.
"The relic you activated was a Veil Fragment. One of three known to survive the Shattering. The reaction it caused has set in motion something ancient."
She turned and gestured upward.
Above the altar, a crystal dome glimmered. Through it, Seralyn saw the sky—and her breath caught.
A moon. Split in half by a glowing gold line. Scarlet light bled from one side, burning across the clouds.
"The Eclipse Sigil," she whispered.
Valryn nodded.
"The prophecy has begun."
Kaela tilted her head. "Prophecy? You mean the same old song about chosen ones and world endings? I've read the scripts."
"No," Valryn said. "You are the script now. The mark on your bodies is proof. The relic did not choose you randomly. It chose you because your souls are opposed, yet bound. Flame and blade. Witch and warrior. Chaos and order."
Seralyn frowned. "What does it want from us?"
"Balance. Or destruction."
The veiled woman circled them slowly, the beads in her hair tinkling faintly.
"The Hollowing has already begun. Magic is unraveling. Creatures long buried are waking. The lands east of the Red Marsh have vanished entirely. Not destroyed. Unmade."
Kaela's brow furrowed. "So the world is ending, and we're its last chance. That's original."
"You carry the seal of the Rift," Valryn continued. "You are the only two who can find the remaining Veil Fragments and rebind the Threads of Fate. Alone, they will kill you. Together, they will test every flaw, every hatred."
"I don't work with murderers," Seralyn spat.
Kaela laughed softly. "Then I suppose you'll die angry."
Valryn stepped back, voice solemn.
"You must journey together... or die apart."
For a moment, silence ruled the chamber. Even the faint wind beyond the stained-glass windows seemed to hold its breath.
Seralyn's jaw clenched. Her fingers twitched against the cuffs, white-knuckled and trembling with the urge to act, to move, to break something. Anything.
"This is absurd," she muttered. "You expect me to travel across the continent with her?"
Kaela smirked. "Oh, sweetling. I'm delighted about this. We can braid each other's hair and plot each other's murders every night."
"You think this is a joke?"
Kaela's face darkened. "No. I think it's terrifying. But I laugh when I'm terrified. It's a habit."
Valryn raised her hands once more, and the cuffs loosened. Not completely, but enough for them to stand. Seralyn rubbed her sore wrists, then realized her sigil burned brighter now. So did Kaela's.
The seer noticed too. "You are already linked. Your souls vibrate along the same thread. The deeper your connection grows, the stronger the bond will become."
Seralyn shot Kaela a venomous look. "There will be no connection."
"Then pray the world doesn't notice."
Valryn turned toward the door, robes trailing behind her.
"Prepare yourselves. The path ahead is not one you can walk alone."
As she vanished into the inner halls of the temple, a long silence fell.
Kaela turned to Seralyn, expression unreadable. "So. Truce?"
Seralyn narrowed her eyes. "Temporary. Don't get used to it."
Kaela smiled faintly. "Oh, Commander. I never get used to anything."