MAY
Nathel is heavy in her arms.
Not dead—
Not yet—
But slipping.
His breathing is uneven, too shallow, each inhale dragging like something inside him is breaking apart. There's silver light flickering under his skin — dimming, fading, pulsing like a dying star.
"Nathel… please, wake up… please…"
She presses her hand to the wound on his back, but the moment her fingers touch him, the bond convulses violently.
Pain slams through her chest — his pain.
She chokes.
This is killing him.
And it's killing her too.
Her phone trembles in her hand as she dials the first person she can think of—
"Zara… Zara, please pick up…"
"Pick up…!"
No answer.
The streets are empty.
The world is quiet.
The night feels too still.
Like something is watching.
Like something is waiting.
Nathel's fingers twitch weakly against her wrist.
"May…" he breathes, barely audible.
She leans closer, her tears dripping onto his cheek.
"I'm here, Nathel. I'm right here."
His eyes open slightly — unfocused, but searching for her.
"You… have to go…"
"No."
"You have to…"
His breath stutters.
"…find her…"
"The Keeper," she whispers.
He nods faintly.
A wind sweeps across the road — sharp, cold, wrong — twisting around them like a warning. Her skin prickles.
Something else is coming.
Not the shadow.
Not the creature.
Something older.
Something that feels like stone and memory and ancient rules she doesn't know.
She lifts Nathel's head carefully onto her lap.
"I'm not leaving you here alone."
He tries to shake his head.
"May… the bond…"
He coughs, blood staining his lips.
"…it's collapsing."
Her heart drops.
"What does that mean?"
His voice is a rasp.
"If it collapses completely… both of us die."
He squeezes his eyes shut, breath trembling.
"That's why you have to go. Now."
She shakes her head violently.
"No! I'm not leaving. I'm not—"
But before she can finish—
The air shifts.
Hard.
A pulse rips through the street — a pressure wave so strong she has to grip Nathel's body to stay upright. The streetlights flicker, humming loudly, then burst with a sharp crack. Glass rains down around them.
Nathel's body tenses.
"No… no… she's coming."
"Who?" May whispers.
He opens his eyes — real fear in them.
"The Keeper."
A voice echoes from the darkness:
"Correct."
May jerks around.
A tall woman emerges from the far end of the street, walking slowly toward them. Her eyes glow like molten gold. Her hair is long, black, and moves as though underwater. Her presence is heavy — ancient — swallowing the air around her.
She doesn't walk like a human.
She glides.
Her gaze lands on May.
And she smiles.
"You woke the bond," the Keeper says softly. "How inconvenient."
May's blood turns to ice.
"Help him," she says quickly. "Please, he's dying."
The Keeper tilts her head.
"No. He is fulfilling the consequence of interfering with the bond."
May stands, shielding Nathel with her body.
"Interfering? He saved me! That creature—"
"Yes," the Keeper interrupts calmly.
"And he was not supposed to."
May's stomach drops.
"What are you talking about?"
The Keeper's gaze drifts to Nathel's fading glow.
"He defied the seal. He defied our pact. And you—"
Her eyes turn to May, burning like twin suns.
"You broke your vow."
May staggers backward.
"What vow? I don't even remember anything!"
"That," the Keeper says gently,
"was the point."
Her golden eyes soften, almost pitying.
"You came to me months ago. Begging to forget. Begging for peace. Begging for release from the bond. And I granted it."
May shakes her head, trembling.
"I never— I wouldn't—"
"You did," the Keeper says.
"And you paid the price."
"What price?!"
The Keeper steps closer, raising a hand over Nathel's lifeless body.
"Your memory," she whispers.
"And his power."
May's breath catches.
His power?
The Keeper kneels gracefully beside Nathel, studying him.
"He is a tether. A guardian. One created only when the bond refuses to break."
She touches his cheek and he winces unconsciously.
"He was never supposed to awaken again. Not unless you called him."
May's throat closes.
"I didn't call him."
The Keeper smiles — slowly, darkly.
"No.
Your heart did."
May freezes.
"And now," the Keeper continues, "the bond has awakened… without permission."
She stands, her eyes narrowing.
"That makes it a threat."
May's body wraps itself around Nathel on instinct.
"No. You're not touching him."
The Keeper's smile fades completely.
"Move."
"I won't."
The street shakes.
The Keeper raises a hand.
"I am the one who sealed your bond. I am the one who erased your memory. I am the one who holds your fate, child. You do not command me."
May trembles violently.
But she doesn't move.
"I don't care who you are. I'm not leaving him."
The Keeper sighs.
"Stubborn. Just like before."
Then she looks at May with something almost… sad.
"Very well. You wish to save him?"
May nods desperately.
"Then you must do exactly as you did the first time."
"What's that?" May whispers.
The Keeper's golden eyes ignite.
"You must break the bond."
The world spins.
May's knees buckle.
"No," she breathes.
"No, no, that will kill him."
The Keeper smiles gently.
"Correct."
May's chest collapses.
"Then why would I—"
"Because," the Keeper says softly,
"if you don't break the bond… the shadow will take him anyway."
She steps closer, her voice turning to iron.
"Choose, May."
Her heart slams against her ribs.
"Break the bond…
or lose him forever."