The light consumed everything.
Lianna staggered as it poured from her wrist, blinding and relentless. The shrieks of shadows tore through the City of Ash, echoing against broken towers, fading as creatures dissolved into smoke.
When the brilliance finally ebbed, she collapsed to her knees, chest heaving. The streets were eerily silent. Survivors cowered behind walls and doorways, their wide eyes fixed on her as if she had become something monstrous.
The corrupted bearer was gone—burned to ash, its roar fading into nothing.
But the mark still pulsed, glowing faintly, refusing to settle.
Lianna clutched it, gasping. "It—it won't stop."
Auren knelt beside her, his silver eyes soft with worry. He reached for her hand, his glow wrapping gently around her trembling fingers. "Breathe. I'll steady it."
Kael stood a few paces away, shadows crawling at his boots, storm-gray eyes fixed on her with sharp intensity. He didn't move to help—he only watched, as though weighing her against some hidden scale.
"You burned a corrupted bearer," he said, voice low. "Few alive can claim that."
Her stomach twisted. "I didn't… I didn't mean to—I just—"
"You answered," Kael interrupted.
Lianna froze.
He stepped closer, the air around him heavy with shadows. "The bond called, and you answered. That is what matters."
Her pulse hammered. She wanted to deny it, to insist she was nothing but terrified—but deep inside, she knew he was right.
She had answered.
---
The survivors emerged cautiously from hiding. Their faces were pale, their voices hushed.
"She destroyed it."
"She really did…"
"Is she savior—or curse?"
A stone clattered across the ground, hurled from somewhere in the crowd. It skidded near Lianna's knees.
"You'll bring more of them!" a woman shouted. "Every shadow in this cursed land will follow that mark!"
Another voice rose, desperate. "But she saved us! You saw it!"
Arguments broke out, harsh and raw. Hope battled fear in every word.
Auren rose, his presence luminous, commanding. "Enough. She is not your enemy. The shadows were already here—you survived tonight because of her."
"Or because of him," another villager spat, pointing at Kael. "The shadow-wielder brought this doom!"
The crowd shifted, torn, rage brewing.
Kael's shadows writhed, his expression unreadable. He could have silenced them with a thought, but he stood still, letting their hatred wash over him.
Lianna's chest ached. They were looking at her as if she were both salvation and plague. And Kael—Kael didn't even defend himself.
The pressure built until she couldn't bear it. "Stop it!" Her voice cracked through the noise. "I didn't ask for this! I don't want any of this!"
Silence dropped.
Her wrist burned, the glow flaring brighter with her emotion. The crowd shrank back instantly, muttering prayers, curses.
Auren's hand hovered near her shoulder, soothing. "Lianna…"
But she turned and fled, unable to breathe under their stares.
---
She didn't know how far she ran—only that the ruins blurred around her, her lungs burned, and the bond mark pulsed like a living flame.
At last she collapsed against a broken wall, tears spilling hot. "Why me? Why won't you leave me alone?"
Her wrist seared. The whisper came, stronger than ever.
You are mine.
Her breath hitched. "Who are you?"
Silence answered at first. Then, faintly, like an echo across centuries:
Eryndor.
The name pulsed through her chest like fire, like recognition she shouldn't have but did. Her mark blazed, golden light spilling across the ash.
Her eyes widened. "Eryndor…"
For a heartbeat, she thought she saw him—tall, cloaked in light, a crown gleaming at his brow. His golden eyes burned into hers, fierce and unwavering.
I will not let you break.
Her heart stuttered. She reached out—but the vision shattered as shadows surged nearby, drawn to the flare.
A strong hand yanked her back just as a clawed form lunged from the dark. Kael's shadows tore it apart before it could touch her.
He loomed over her, eyes burning with stormlight. "Are you trying to die?"
Her chest heaved. "I saw him—I heard his name—"
Kael froze. His expression sharpened, shadows recoiling as if struck. "What did you say?"
"Eryndor," she whispered. "He… he said his name is Eryndor."
The air thickened instantly, Kael's eyes narrowing. Auren arrived moments later, silver light spilling around him, alarm in his voice. "Lianna, are you hurt?"
Kael didn't look at him. His stormy gaze was fixed solely on her. "You don't know what name you just spoke."
Her hands trembled. "Then tell me. Who is he?"
Kael's jaw locked. Auren's glow flickered, unease plain in his eyes.
Neither answered.
And that silence chilled her more than the shadows ever could.
---
Back at the inn, tension coiled like a noose. The survivors had dispersed, but fear lingered heavy in the air.
Lianna sat on the cot, her wrist still faintly glowing. Auren crouched beside her, trying to soothe her with herbs and calm words. But Kael stood at the window, silent, shadows restless.
At last, Lianna couldn't stand it. "Tell me who he is. Tell me what Eryndor means."
Kael's shoulders stiffened. "It means danger."
"That's not an answer!" she snapped. "I keep seeing him—I keep hearing him. He knows me. He calls for me. And none of you will tell me why!"
Auren's silver eyes flickered with sympathy. "Lianna… the bond doesn't lie. If a name has been given, then it is tied to you. But names carry weight. Power. To speak them is to invite them closer."
Her heart raced. "Then let him come closer. I'm tired of being left in the dark."
Kael turned sharply, his storm-gray gaze fierce. "Closer? Do you even understand what you're asking? If Eryndor is the one bound to you—" He broke off, shadows trembling violently. "Then the world itself will burn."
Lianna froze, breath caught.
Auren's expression hardened, for once not soft. "Kael."
But Kael's storm never wavered. "She deserves the truth. And the truth is that if Eryndor is real—if he's awakening through her—then everything we've done, everything we've fought to keep sealed, is about to unravel."
The room fell silent. Lianna's mark pulsed, her heart pounding in her ears.
Eryndor.
The name echoed inside her, terrifying and irresistible all at once.
---
That night, as she drifted uneasily toward sleep, the whisper returned. Clearer than ever.
Do not fear them. Do not fear me. You are mine, as I am yours.
And for the first time, Lianna whispered back—
"…Eryndor."
The bond flared like fire, searing her veins.
And somewhere, far beyond the ruined city, a golden figure stirred.
---