The Raven Falls roared in the distance, a curtain of white water crashing against jagged black rocks. Exhausted and covered in ash, we finally reached the hidden path behind the waterfall.
"Merek! It's me, Shakil!" I shouted over the thunderous water.
A section of the rock wall shimmered and dissolved, revealing a narrow wooden door. A tall, hunched figure stood there, holding a lantern that burned with a steady green flame.
"I expected you hours ago, boy," Elder Merek's voice was like dry parchment. His eyes, sharp and wise, immediately shifted from me to the girl at my side. He froze. "By the Ancestors... you found her."
"She's hurt, Merek. And the Dark Lord's minions—they were using Void magic," I said, stumbling into the warmth of his stone cabin.
Merek quickly closed the door and drew a line of salt across the threshold. "Void magic is the least of our worries if they know she is awake."
He led us to a table filled with ancient scrolls and bubbling glass vials. He gestured for Lyria to sit. As he examined the silver glow still emanating from her skin, his expression turned grim.
"Shakil, do you know what you are holding?" Merek asked, looking at the crystal shard Lyria held.
"She called it the Star," I replied.
"It is not a star, Shakil. It is the last heart-shard of Elaria's creator," Merek whispered. He turned to Lyria, his voice softening. "You are the vessel, aren't you? The one the prophecies called the Moon-Born."
Lyria looked away, her silver hair veiling her face. "I am only a prisoner of a fate I didn't choose."
Suddenly, the cabin shook. Dust fell from the ceiling. Merek's green lantern flickered violently.
"They are here already?" I gripped my staff, my knuckles white.
"No," Merek said, rushing to a massive window that overlooked the valley. "Something worse. The Dark Lord has unleashed the Shadow Stalkers. They don't hunt by sight, they hunt by the bond you two shared back in the woods."
He turned to me, his eyes burning with urgency. "Shakil, your training ends today. To protect her, you must stop being a student and become a Guardian. But there is a price. If you bond your soul to hers to hide her magic, you will share her pain. If she dies, you die."
I looked at Lyria. She was watching me, her blue eyes filled with a mix of fear and hope. The boy I was yesterday would have run. But the man I was becoming...
"Tell me what to do," I said firmly.