The Crossroads did not release Aria gently.
The moment judgment ended, the central platform shifted beneath her feet, sliding away like a living thing. Light-bridges reformed, pulling the gathered factions apart, reorganizing space itself as if the realm were reshuffling pieces on a board.
Aria stood alone.
Not abandoned, isolated.
The absence of Kael's presence was louder than any sound she had ever known. Not silence. Not emptiness. Something sharper. A clean break where warmth and certainty had once been.
She steadied herself, forcing her breathing to slow.
This was my choice, she reminded herself.
I will not regret it.
Across the platform, figures began to move.
They did not rush her.
That, somehow, made it worse.
The armored judge, the one with eyes like frozen stars, turned away first, clearly finished with her. Others followed, murmuring softly among themselves. Decisions were being made. Deals considered. Threats assessed.
She was no longer a person.
She was an asset.
"Bold," came a smooth voice from her left. "Painfully bold."
Aria turned.
The woman in crimson approached with unhurried grace, her cloak rippling like liquid fire. Up close, her beauty was unsettling, too perfect, too composed. Her eyes glowed faintly gold, pupils slit like a predator's.
"You're very young to sever a lifebond," the woman continued. "Most Ember Bearers cling to theirs until it kills them."
"I didn't know it was a lifebond," Aria said coolly. "That information was withheld."
The woman laughed softly. "Of course it was. Truth makes people inconvenient."
She extended a hand. "Call me Virelya."
Aria did not take it.
"What do you want?" she asked.
Virelya's smile widened. "Straightforward. I like that. I want to offer you protection."
Every instinct Aria had screamed danger.
"Protection from what?"
"From being dismantled piece by piece by everyone who just judged you," Virelya replied smoothly. "The Crossroads doesn't kill Ember Bearers outright. It tests them. Pushes them. Forces them into mistakes."
She leaned closer, voice lowering.
"Mistakes that justify execution."
Aria's jaw tightened. "And you'd stop that?"
"I would redirect it," Virelya said. "You would belong to my faction. You would train under my oversight. Your power would grow faster. Safer."
The embers stirred uneasily.
"And the price?" Aria asked.
Virelya's eyes glittered. "You are learning quickly."
She circled Aria slowly. "You would swear allegiance. When I call, you answer. When I command, you act."
"That sounds like ownership," Aria said.
"Call it structure," Virelya replied lightly. "Freedom is a myth for people like us."
Aria thought of Kael. Of his past. Of how easily guidance became control.
"No," she said.
Virelya stopped.
The air chilled.
"No?" she repeated softly.
"I won't trade one cage for another," Aria said. "Not even a gilded one."
For a long moment, Virelya simply studied her.
Then she smiled again, but this time, there was no warmth in it.
"Very well," she said. "You'll learn."
She stepped back, cloak swirling.
"But understand this, Ember Bearer, when the Crossroads breaks you, you won't get another offer."
She vanished into shifting light.
Aria exhaled shakily.
Only then did she realize her hands were trembling.
"Impressive," a new voice said.
She turned again.
This time, the figure approaching was younger, barely older than herself. Dark-skinned, lean, with eyes that flickered between silver and violet. No armor. No sigils. Just a faint, restrained aura of power.
"You turned down Virelya," he said. "That takes nerve."
"Or stupidity," Aria replied.
He smiled. "Often the same thing here."
He inclined his head slightly. "I'm Thane. Unaffiliated."
"That's possible?" she asked.
"For now," he said. "The Crossroads tolerates outliers. Temporarily."
He glanced toward where Virelya had disappeared. "You just made yourself very unpopular."
"I'm getting used to that," Aria said.
Thane studied her more closely. "You're bleeding."
She looked down.
Thin lines of light traced her arms and collarbone, hairline fractures of glowing ember energy leaking through her skin. Pain flared belatedly.
Thane frowned. "Your bond severing destabilized your containment. You need grounding."
Before she could respond, the embers surged violently.
Aria cried out as heat tore through her chest, sharper than before. Her knees buckled.
Kael was suddenly there, too fast, too familiar.
He caught her before she hit the stone.
"Don't touch me," she snapped instinctively, then faltered.
He let go immediately, stepping back as if burned.
"I'm sorry," he said hoarsely. "I shouldn't have"
"She's burning out," Thane interrupted. "You two can argue later."
Kael's jaw tightened. "I know."
Aria clenched her teeth. "Don't act like you're still in charge."
"I'm not," Kael said quietly. "But I won't let you die to prove it."
Despite herself, her anger wavered.
Kael raised his hands slowly, deliberately. "I can stabilize the leak. Temporarily. No bond. No control."
She hesitated.
Then nodded once.
The moment his magic brushed hers, pain dulled slightly, not gone, but manageable. The embers settled, simmering instead of raging.
Aria sagged, breathing hard.
"Why are you still here?" she asked him quietly.
Kael looked away. "Because severing the bond doesn't erase responsibility."
She didn't respond.
Thane cleared his throat. "This is touching, but you're still in danger."
"What now?" Aria asked.
"The Crossroads won't move against you directly," Thane said. "So it will do something worse."
The platform trembled.
Far above, the fractured sky darkened as shapes began to form, circles of light collapsing inward, creating gates.
Kael's expression hardened. "Trials."
Aria pushed herself upright.
"Good," she said, fire glinting in her eyes despite the pain. "Let's get this over with."
Thane gave a low whistle. "You're either fearless or insane."
"Neither," Aria replied. "I'm done being passive."
The gates flared brighter.
Somewhere beyond them, Selene watched with keen interest.
"She refused the leash," Selene murmured.
The scorched-armored figure beside her chuckled darkly.
"Then let's see how she survives without one."
The first gate opened.
And Aria stepped forward, alone, unclaimed, and burning.