Elira felt the danger before she heard it.
A tightening low in her chest. A subtle pull behind her eyes. Her breath slowed on its own, muscles drawing taut like a wire pulled too far.
She hadn't decided any of it.
The apartment door creaked.
Not opening.
Testing.
Her pulse stayed steady in a way that terrified her more than panic ever could.
Still, Kael said.
Her body obeyed.
She remained seated on the edge of the mattress, hands loose in her lap, eyes lowered. From the outside, she must have looked calm. Composed. Unaware.
Inside, she was screaming.
The door creaked again. A faint sound followed. Metal against metal. Tools, not force.
"They're inside the building," Elira whispered.
Yes.
No urgency. No alarm.
Her stomach twisted. "Why aren't you stopping them?"
Because they are not here to take you.
Her fingers curled despite her effort to keep them relaxed. "Then why are they here?"
Kael's presence shifted, attention narrowing toward the door like a blade angling for a strike.
To observe what I made you into.
The lock clicked.
Not broken.
Opened.
The door swung inward slowly.
A man stepped inside.
He wore no mask. No weapon that Elira could see. His clothes were simple, unremarkable. He could have passed for a social worker, a government official, someone trained to look harmless.
His eyes flicked to her wrist.
Then to her face.
Then back to her wrist again.
Something in his expression changed.
Recognition.
"Fascinating," he said softly.
Elira didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Her heart beat slow and heavy in her chest, controlled by something that wasn't fear.
The man took one step farther into the room, careful, respectful.
"You survived longer than expected," he said, almost to himself. "And cleaner than anticipated."
Her throat tightened. "Who are you?"
Kael went very still.
Do not answer questions you have not been permitted to respond to.
The man smiled faintly. "I see the anchor is active."
Elira's blood ran cold. "Anchor?"
The man's gaze sharpened. "Ah. He hasn't explained that part yet."
Kael's voice cut in, precise and cold.
You are not authorized to speak to her.
The man's smile widened slightly. "You don't issue authorization anymore, King."
The word hit Elira like ice.
King.
The man's eyes flicked to her face, watching carefully.
"There it is," he murmured. "The resonance."
Elira's hands trembled. "Kael?"
Kael did not answer her.
His attention was on the man.
You were not meant to approach this close, Kael said. Your role was to watch.
"And we have," the man replied calmly. "From the moment she bled."
Elira's stomach dropped.
"You've been watching me?"
The man tilted his head. "We've been watching the bond."
Her skin crawled. "Get out."
The man ignored her.
"You anchored yourself to stabilize the vessel," he said, studying her like a specimen. "Risky. Effective. Irreversible."
Elira's breath hitched. "Irreversible?"
Kael finally spoke to her directly.
Yes.
The simplicity of it hollowed her chest.
"You said it was to protect me," she whispered.
It was.
"And now?"
Now you are no longer portable.
The man's eyes lit with interest. "She doesn't know," he said softly. "How charming."
Elira stood abruptly. "Know what?"
Kael's presence pressed heavier, not stopping her, but bracing her.
You cannot be separated from me now without catastrophic collapse.
Her vision swam. "You said I'd survive."
You are surviving.
"That's not the same thing!" Her voice cracked.
The man watched the exchange with undisguised fascination.
"She's past the threshold," he said. "The council will want to accelerate."
Elira shook her head, backing away. "No. I didn't agree to this. You don't get to—"
The man raised a hand gently. "You misunderstand. Agreement ended the moment you were heard."
Kael's voice sharpened.
Leave.
The air in the room thickened, pressure blooming against Elira's ribs. Her blood heated, humming low and dangerous.
The man's smile faltered for the first time.
"Ah," he said quietly. "So that's how far you've come."
He stepped back, slow and deliberate.
"We'll be in touch," he said to Elira. "Sooner than you'd like."
Then he turned and walked out, leaving the door open behind him.
The hallway beyond was empty.
The lock clicked shut again on its own.
Silence fell.
Elira stood there shaking, breath shallow, heart pounding now that control had loosened.
"You let him see me," she whispered.
Kael's presence did not retreat.
He already knew where to look.
"You let him confirm it."
A pause.
Then Kael said, Yes.
Her hands curled into fists. "Why?"
Because they are done guessing, he replied. And so are we.
She laughed weakly. "That's not an answer."
Kael's voice dropped, closer, heavier.
They have set a timetable.
Her breath caught. "For what?"
For claiming you and or destroying you.
Terror clawed up her spine. "When?"
Another pause.
Deliberate.
Before the bond finishes settling.
Her pulse roared in her ears. "And when is that?"
Kael's answer was quiet. Final.
Soon.
Elira sank back onto the mattress, head in her hands, chest aching with the weight of it.
"There has to be a way out."
Kael's presence wrapped around her, not comforting, not cruel.
Certain.
There is only one way through, he said. And it will change you more than what you already feel.
She looked up, eyes burning. "Into what?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
When he did, his voice carried a hint of anticipation.
Into something the council cannot take.
The words settled over her like a promise and a threat combined.
Outside, somewhere beyond the building, something shifted. Not sound. Not movement.
Attention.
Elira felt it turn toward her.
And she understood, with a clarity that made her stomach drop, that whatever she was becoming had already begun to register on a scale far larger than herself.
The world had noticed.
And it was counting down.
Chapter Nine: The Countdown BeginsElira didn't sleep.
Not because she was afraid.
Because something inside her refused to rest.
Her body lay still on the mattress, eyes closed, breath slow and controlled, but awareness hummed beneath her skin like a low current—every sound in the building registered. Pipes settling. A door opening three floors down. The faint vibration of traffic through concrete.
She was listening without trying.
"You're doing it again," she whispered.
Kael was already aware of it.
The bond is stabilizing, he said. Sleep is no longer a requirement. It is an option.
Her eyes snapped open. "That's not normal."
Neither are you.
The words landed heavier than they should have.
Elira sat up, rubbing her arms as if she could shake the sensation crawling through her veins. The apartment felt tighter now, like it had shrunk overnight. Or maybe she'd grown beyond it.
"You said they set a timetable," she said. "Tell me what that means."
Kael did not answer immediately.
She felt him calculating, measuring how much truth her body could carry without breaking.
It means you are no longer a question, he said finally. You are a decision.
Her stomach knotted. "Whose?"
The council's. A pause. And mine.
She stood and crossed the room, stopping at the window. Dawn hadn't fully broken yet. The city hovered in that fragile grey between night and morning.
"How much time?" she asked.
Hours. Perhaps a day. Another pause. They will not wait longer.
Elira laughed softly, the sound brittle. "So that's it. I just sit here and wait to be claimed or killed."
Kael's presence sharpened.
No.
She turned. "Then what?"
Then you move.
Her pulse spiked. "You said moving makes it worse."
Moving unthinkingly does. His tone shifted. Moving with intent changes outcomes.
Elira folded her arms, grounding herself. "You're talking like you have a plan."
A faint, dangerous satisfaction brushed through her blood.
I always have a plan.
She hesitated. "Does it involve telling me what you haven't told me yet?"
Silence.
Then, slowly, Kael said, Yes.
Her breath caught. "Start talking."
The pressure behind her eyes returned, not as a warning this time, but as a connection. Images slid into her mind, fragmented but sharp.
Stone halls. Ancient symbols. Blood pooling in carved grooves.
Crowns.
Fire.
She gasped, gripping the edge of the counter.
"They didn't just exile you," she said, breathless. "They… dismantled you."
Yes.
"They broke you into pieces."
Anchors, Kael corrected. Vessels. Bloodlines.
Elira's heart slammed. "And now I'm one of them."
You are the last one, he said.
The truth hit her like a blow.
"The last… meaning if they take me—"
There will be nothing left of me to bind, Kael finished calmly. And nothing is left of you to survive it.
Her knees weakened. She sank into the chair, chest tight. "You let this happen."
I allowed it centuries ago. His voice darkened. I will not allow it again.
Fear twisted into something sharper. "So what's your plan?"
Kael's presence pressed closer, heavier, like a hand settling between her shoulders.
We leave the city.
Her head snapped up. "You just said—"
I said distance weakens you when you are unprepared—a pause. You are no longer unprepared.
Her throat went dry. "Where would we go?"
Kael's answer was quiet and dangerous.
Somewhere, they cannot follow without consequence.
A sound cut through the room.
A vibration. Low. Subtle.
Elira stiffened. "Did you feel that?"
Yes.
Her skin prickled. "What was it?"
Kael didn't answer right away.
The vibration came again, stronger this time, like a pulse moving through the ground.
Her breath caught. "That's not normal."
No, Kael agreed. It is a signal.
Her blood heated, responding before fear could form.
"A signal from who?"
Kael's voice dropped, almost reverent.
From the others who are still awake.
Elira stared at the wall, heart pounding. "Others like you?"
Others who remember what I was. A pause. And what I will be again.
The implications crashed over her.
"You're not the only one coming back," she whispered.
No.
The apartment lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then steadied.
Elira stood slowly, dread and awe tangling in her chest. "And they know about me."
Kael's presence coiled tighter, protective and possessive all at once.
They feel you. His voice softened dangerously. You are loud now.
Her pulse thundered. "So what happens if we don't leave fast enough?"
Kael didn't hesitate.
Then the council will come into force.
The vibration pulsed again, closer.
Elira swallowed hard. "And if we do leave?"
A pause.
Longer this time.
Then Kael said, Then the world will notice.
The words settled over her like a warning etched in stone.
Elira looked around the apartment, at the life she no longer fit inside.
"Tell me what I need to do," she said.
Kael's answer came immediately.
Pack nothing. Say goodbye to no one. And do not hesitate when I tell you to run.
Her heart slammed. "When will that be?"
Kael's presence sharpened, attention locking onto something far beyond the walls.
Now.
The floor trembled beneath their feet.
And somewhere in the city, something ancient turned its gaze fully toward Elira Vale, marking the moment she stopped being hunted—
and became a signal.