Darkness flooded the stairwell.
Élise gasped as the temperature dropped, the Mark on her wrist igniting with a violent crimson glow. Adrien's hand locked around hers instinctively, their connection snapping tight like a pulled wire.
The shadows moved.
Not drifting—not spreading.
Advancing.
Figures peeled themselves from the walls, half-formed silhouettes with distorted limbs and featureless faces. Their wrists flickered with unstable marks, glowing and fading like dying signals.
Adrien's voice was low. "Those are Chosen."
"Were," Mara corrected. She stepped forward, fearless. "The ones who disappointed the city."
One of the figures lunged.
Adrien reacted without thought, pulling Élise behind him.
Pain tore through both their wrists.
The Marks flared—synchronized.
A pulse of force slammed outward.
The shadow was thrown back, splintering against the wall before dissolving into black ash that vanished before it touched the floor.
Silence crashed down.
Élise stared at Adrien, heart racing. "You protected me."
"I didn't decide to," he said, shaken. "I just—did."
Mara's sharp eyes narrowed. "That shouldn't be possible."
Another collector advanced, slower now, cautious.
"The Mark enforces rules," Mara said quickly. "Distance. Obedience. Sacrifice."
The figure struck.
Élise felt Adrien's fear spike—and something inside her snapped.
The Mark burned white-hot.
She raised her hand without touching the creature.
It froze mid-air.
Then it shattered, breaking apart like glass under pressure.
Élise dropped to her knees, breath ripped from her lungs.
Adrien was there instantly, arms around her. "I felt that," he whispered. "You pulled power from me."
"And you anchored her," Mara said. "That's the difference."
The remaining shadows recoiled, melting back into the walls as the building stopped trembling.
The city hummed beneath their feet—low, furious, aware.
Mara exhaled slowly. "That's what it costs."
She lifted her wrist. The crescent mark was cracked down the center, glowing unevenly.
"My partner and I were bound like you," she said. "I chose him over the rules."
Her jaw tightened. "The city took him anyway. But it couldn't erase me completely."
Élise's chest tightened. "So we're next?"
"No," Mara said firmly. "You're worse."
Adrien frowned. "Worse?"
"You amplify each other," Mara replied. "Instinct over command. Choice over control."
Understanding settled heavily between them.
The city wasn't just watching.
It was recalculating.
Sirens wailed in the distance—too close.
Mara stepped back toward the exit. "Learn fast. Control it. Push back without triggering a purge."
"And if we fail?" Adrien asked.
Mara's smile was grim. "Then the city will make an example of you."
She turned to Élise. "You didn't just survive the Mark."
"You challenged it."
Then she vanished into the night.
Adrien squeezed Élise's hand as the sirens closed in.
The rules had been written to bind them.
But now they knew the truth.
They could be broken.