Adrian's POV
Eleanor can barely walk.
I've been half-carrying her for the past hour, and she's getting heavier with each step. Not because she weighs more—because she's exhausted. Her body is still adjusting to the binding, and the journey is wearing her down.
"I need to rest," she gasps.
"We just rested two hours ago."
"That was barely a rest! You let me sleep for maybe thirty minutes!"
"Thirty minutes is enough when people are hunting you." I adjust my grip on her waist, keeping her upright. "We need to put more distance between us and Starfall."
"I can't. My legs won't work anymore."
Through our bond, I feel her exhaustion. It's real, bone-deep. She's not complaining just to complain—she genuinely can't go much further.
I sigh. "Fine. We'll stop for an hour. But that's it."
I find a cluster of dead trees and help Eleanor sit down. She collapses immediately, breathing hard. Sweat covers her forehead despite the cool air.
She's clearly never roughed it a day in her life.
"How did you survive in your palace if you can't even walk for a few hours?" I ask.
"I didn't have to walk for hours in a wasteland while being hunted!" She glares at me. "I took carriage rides. I attended balls. I had servants bring me things."
"Must have been nice."
"It was a cage." Her voice goes quiet. "A pretty cage, but still a cage."
Through our bond, I feel her truth. She hated that life. The rules, the expectations, the constant pressure to be perfect. In a twisted way, her exile freed her.
"Well, welcome to freedom," I say. "It involves a lot of walking."
She almost smiles. Almost.
I sit beside her, keeping watch. The wasteland stretches around us—gray, dead, empty. In the distance, I can sense magical signatures. Hunters, probably. They're still searching, but they're far enough away for now.
"Adrian?" Eleanor's voice is hesitant. "Where exactly are we going?"
"North. I told you."
"I know, but specifically where? You keep saying we need to find the Moonlight Crystal, but you haven't told me where it is."
I'm quiet for a moment, debating how much to tell her. Finally: "We need to reach the Cursed Forest. Past that is the Shadow Reaches—territory so dangerous even the Guild won't go there. The Crystal is hidden somewhere in those lands."
"That sounds terrible."
"It is."
"And you've been tracking this Crystal for years?"
"Yes."
"Why?" She turns to look at me. "What's so important about it?"
Here it is. The question I've been avoiding.
I could lie. Tell her it's just about stabilizing my power. But through our bond, she'd feel the deception. There's no point in lying anymore.
"Because it's the only thing that can cure Shade-Born corruption," I say carefully. "It's the only thing that can permanently fix what happened to you."
"But you said you needed it for yourself too. To stabilize your power."
"I do."
"So what happens if we find it? Who gets to use it first?"
Good question. One I don't have an answer to.
"We'll figure that out when we get there," I say.
Eleanor studies my face. "You're hiding something."
"I'm always hiding something."
"This is different. I can feel it through our bond." She leans closer. "What aren't you telling me about this Crystal?"
I stand up, breaking eye contact. "We should keep moving."
"Adrian—"
"I said we're moving." My voice comes out harder than I intended. "You got your hour of rest. Now get up."
Hurt flashes through our bond. I ignore it, starting to walk north. After a moment, I hear her struggling to her feet, following me.
We walk in tense silence. Eleanor's exhaustion pounds through our connection, but I don't slow down. I can't. The longer we stay in one place, the more likely we are to get caught.
"You know, you don't have to be cruel," Eleanor says after a while. "I'm just asking questions."
"And I'm just trying to keep us alive."
"By refusing to tell me the truth? We're blood-bound! Whatever secret you're keeping affects me too!"
"Some secrets are mine to keep!"
"Not anymore!" She grabs my arm, forcing me to stop. "The moment you bound us, you gave up the right to keep secrets that could hurt me. So tell me the truth—what is the Moonlight Crystal really?"
I stare at her. Through our bond, I feel her determination. She's not going to let this go.
"Fine," I say. "You want the truth? The Moonlight Crystal isn't some artifact hidden in a temple. It's not lying in a treasure chest waiting to be found."
"Then where is it?"
"It's inside me." I press my hand to my chest. "The Guild put it in my heart when I was seven years old. It's been there ever since."
Eleanor's face goes pale. "Inside you?"
"Yes."
"But if it's inside you, then how—" Her eyes widen in horror. "How are we supposed to get it out?"
"We're not. You are." I meet her eyes. "When we reach the Shadow Reaches, there are people there who can extract it. Remove it from my chest and give it to you. That's how you get cured."
"But what happens to you?"
The question hangs in the air between us.
"I don't know," I say honestly. "Maybe nothing. Maybe I die. The Guild never exactly gave me an instruction manual."
"You'll die." Eleanor's voice shakes. "If they remove something from your heart, you'll die."
"Probably."
"Then we're not doing it!" She steps back, shaking her head. "We'll find another way. Another cure. We're not killing you!"
"There is no other cure for Shade-Born corruption. The Crystal is the only thing—"
"Then I'll stay corrupted!" Tears stream down her face. "I won't kill you to save myself. I won't!"
Her emotions flood through our bond—determination, fear, love. Wait, love? No, not love. Care. She cares about me. Already. After only two days.
"You don't even know me," I say quietly.
"I know enough. I know you're lonely and scared and trying to survive, just like me. I know you saved my life when you didn't have to. I know you bound yourself to me, gave up your freedom for me." She wipes her tears angrily. "And I know I'm not letting you die for me. So we'll find another way."
Something warm and painful twists in my chest. No one's ever refused to let me sacrifice myself before.
"Eleanor—"
"No. Don't try to convince me." She crosses her arms. "We'll find the Crystal, we'll figure out how to extract it without killing you, and we'll both get cured. Together. That's the plan now."
"That's not realistic—"
"I don't care. That's the plan." Her eyes are fierce. "You saved me. Now I'm saving you. End of discussion."
Through our bond, I feel her absolute certainty. She means it. She's not going to let me die for her.
I don't know what to do with that.
"Okay," I say finally. "We'll try it your way. But if there's no other option—"
"There will be. We'll find one." She takes my hand. "Now tell me everything about this Crystal. What else did the Guild do to you? What else should I know?"
I look at our joined hands. Her fingers are small in mine, her skin warm against my cold.
"They didn't just put the Crystal in me," I say slowly. "They sealed something else inside it. Something they wanted hidden. Something powerful."
"What?"
"I don't know. But I've felt it my whole life. Watching. Waiting. And when we formed the binding, you woke it up somehow."
Eleanor's grip tightens. "The voice I heard. When we bonded."
"Yes."
"What did it say?"
"I don't know. I didn't hear it. Only you did." I meet her eyes. "What did it say to you?"
She's quiet for a long moment. Then: "It said 'Finally. The bridge has been created. Soon, I'll be free.'"
Cold dread fills my stomach. "Bridge?"
"That's what it called me. A bridge." Fear floods through our bond. "Adrian, what if I'm not just connected to the Crystal? What if I'm supposed to help free whatever's inside it?"
"Then we don't extract the Crystal," I say immediately. "We leave it where it is. We find another way to cure you."
"But you said there is no other way."
"Then we keep looking until we find one." My voice is firm. "I'm not letting you become a key to release whatever the Guild sealed inside me. That's not happening."
Eleanor stares at me, surprise flooding through our bond. "You'd give up the cure? For me?"
"You're not killing yourself to save me, I'm not letting you become some kind of magical key. Seems fair." I squeeze her hand. "We're in this together, remember? That means we protect each other."
A smile breaks across her face. Real and warm and beautiful.
"Together," she agrees.
We start walking again, hand in hand this time. The wasteland is slowly giving way to darker terrain. Dead trees become twisted forests. The air grows colder.
"How long until we reach the Cursed Forest?" Eleanor asks.
"A week, maybe two. Depends on how many things try to kill us along the way."
"That's encouraging."
"I'm a very encouraging person."
She laughs. Actually laughs. The sound echoes through our bond, bright and unexpected.
I don't remember the last time someone laughed with me instead of at me.
"Adrian?" Eleanor says after a while. "Thank you. For telling me the truth."
"You didn't give me much choice."
"Still. Thank you." She squeezes my hand. "We'll figure this out. Together."
Through our bond, I feel her hope. Her determination. Her absolute certainty that we can beat this.
I wish I had her optimism.
But as we walk north, her hand warm in mine, I let myself hope. Just a little.
Maybe, just maybe, we can both survive this.
Then I sense them.
Magic signatures. Multiple ones. Coming fast from the east.
"Eleanor," I say quietly. "Run. Now."
"What—"
"RUN!"
We sprint through the twisted trees as dark magic explodes behind us. Not hunters this time. Something worse.
Through the trees, I see them. Figures wearing bone masks and dark robes.
The Harvester Cult has found us.