Chapter 48 – What It Costs

The light swallowed the room.

For a second, Kael couldn’t see anything. Not the walls. Not the floor. Not even Rowan beside him.

Just white.

Blinding.

Endless.

Then the force hit.

It slammed into him like a wave, knocking the air from his lungs and driving him back. His shoulder hit stone hard enough to rattle his vision, but he barely registered the pain.

All he could feel was the pressure.

Everywhere.

Inside him.

Around him.

Like the core had stopped trying to control anything and was just… breaking it.

“Rowan!”

Kael forced the word out, but it barely sounded like his own voice.

No answer.

His chest tightened.

Not from the pressure this time.

From something worse.

He pushed himself forward, fighting against the force that felt like it wanted to pin him in place. Every step felt heavier than the last, like walking through something thick and resistant.

“Rowan!”

“I’m here!”

The response came from his left.

Kael turned sharply, forcing his eyes to adjust through the glare.

He saw him.

Down on one knee, bracing himself against the ground, one hand pressed flat to the stone as if that was the only thing keeping him anchored.

Relief hit hard.

Too hard.

Kael moved toward him without thinking.

The ground cracked under his feet as he went, thin fractures spreading with every pulse of energy from the core.

“What is he doing?” Kael asked as he reached him.

Rowan shook his head slightly, breathing uneven.

“He’s not controlling it anymore.”

Kael looked up.

Darius stood at the center, barely visible through the light, but still there.

Still standing.

The core hovered in front of him, no longer stable, its shape shifting slightly with every pulse.

Uncontained.

Unpredictable.

“You said he needed control,” Kael said.

Rowan pushed himself up slowly.

“He did,” he replied. “Now he’s choosing not to.”

That was worse.

Much worse.

The chamber shook again, harder this time. A section of the wall cracked loudly, fragments of stone breaking away and hitting the ground.

Kael’s instincts screamed at him.

This place wasn’t going to hold.

Not like this.

Not for long.

“We need to end this,” Kael said.

Rowan glanced at him.

“Yeah,” he said. “We do.”

But neither of them moved immediately.

Because they both saw it.

The core.

The way it pulsed.

The way the energy spread from it in uneven waves.

Unstable.

Dangerous.

If they got too close at the wrong moment, it would tear them apart.

Not just physically.

Completely.

Darius lifted his head slowly, his movements heavier now, like even standing was taking more effort than it should.

“You feel it, don’t you?” he said.

His voice sounded different.

Less controlled.

More strained.

“This is what it’s supposed to be,” he continued. “Not limited. Not controlled by rules that don’t make sense.”

Kael took a step forward.

“This isn’t power,” he said. “This is you losing it.”

Darius let out a short breath that might have been a laugh.

“Maybe,” he said. “But you’re still standing in it.”

The core flared again.

The pressure surged.

Kael felt it hit his chest, sharper this time, but it wasn’t trying to connect anymore.

It was just tearing through everything.

Rowan grabbed his arm, steadying him.

“Listen,” Rowan said, voice lower now. “We don’t take him down.”

Kael frowned.

“What?”

“We take that down,” Rowan said, nodding toward the core.

Kael followed his gaze.

The core pulsed again, brighter.

More unstable.

“And how exactly do you plan on doing that?” Kael asked.

Rowan didn’t answer right away.

That was the problem.

Kael looked back at him.

“You have a plan,” he said.

Rowan’s jaw tightened slightly.

“It’s not a good one.”

“That’s never stopped you before.”

Rowan met his gaze.

And for a moment, everything else faded.

“No,” Rowan said quietly. “It hasn’t.”

Kael felt it then.

Not the bond.

Not something forced.

Just instinct.

Understanding.

“You’re not doing this alone,” Kael said immediately.

Rowan shook his head.

“I’m not asking.”

“Then I’m not agreeing.”

The chamber shook again, harder this time.

A large crack split through the floor between them and Darius, glowing faintly with the same unstable light as the core.

Time was running out.

Rowan stepped closer.

“Kael,” he said. “If we both go in there and it spikes again, that’s it. We’re done.”

Kael didn’t look away.

“Then we time it right.”

“That’s not a guarantee.”

“It doesn’t need to be.”

Rowan exhaled slowly.

“This isn’t a fight you can win by forcing it.”

Kael’s expression hardened.

“Neither is walking away.”

“I’m not walking away,” Rowan said. “I’m making sure one of us gets out.”

Kael’s grip tightened on his blade.

“That’s not how this works.”

“It is right now.”

“No.”

The word came out sharper than he intended.

Rowan didn’t react.

That almost made it worse.

“We do this together,” Kael said. “Or we don’t do it at all.”

Rowan studied him for a long second.

Then, finally, he nodded once.

“Fine,” he said. “Together.”

Kael let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

“Good.”

The core pulsed again.

Stronger.

More unstable.

Darius’s stance wavered slightly.

He was losing control.

Or maybe he had already lost it.

“Now,” Rowan said.

They moved at the same time.

No signal.

No hesitation.

Just instinct.

They closed the distance fast, pushing through the waves of energy that hit harder with every step.

Kael felt it tear at him, trying to break through his focus, but he ignored it.

There was only one thing that mattered now.

The core.

Darius saw them coming.

He raised his hand again, trying to pull the energy back under control.

But it was too late.

The core pulsed out of sync.

For the first time, it didn’t respond the way he expected.

That was their opening.

Kael moved first.

Driving forward, forcing Darius to react.

Rowan followed, shifting slightly to the side, adjusting their angle.

Darius blocked Kael’s strike, but the movement cost him.

His focus split.

The core flared violently.

Rowan took the chance.

He broke off from the fight.

Moved straight toward the core.

Kael saw it instantly.

“Rowan!”

Too late.

Rowan was already there.

The moment his hand closed around the core, everything changed.

The light exploded outward again, brighter than before.

The pressure doubled.

Then tripled.

Kael felt it hit him and drop him to one knee.

“Rowan!”

Rowan didn’t answer.

He was still standing.

Barely.

Both hands now locked around the core, his entire body rigid as the energy surged through him.

His expression tightened, pain cutting through it, but he didn’t let go.

Darius staggered back, eyes wide.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

Rowan didn’t respond.

The energy kept building.

Unstable.

Dangerous.

Too much.

Kael forced himself to stand.

Every step toward Rowan felt like fighting against a storm.

“You’re not doing this alone,” Kael said.

Rowan’s voice came out strained.

“Stay back.”

“No.”

“Kael.”

“No.”

He reached him.

Grabbed his arm.

The moment he did, the energy hit him too.

Hard.

It burned through him, sharp and overwhelming, but he held on.

“I said together,” Kael said through clenched teeth.

Rowan looked at him.

Really looked.

And despite everything, something shifted in his expression.

Not through a bond.

Just recognition.

“Then hold on,” Rowan said.

Kael tightened his grip.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

The core pulsed again.

Wild.

Uncontrolled.

And this time—

It cracked.

A thin line split across its surface.

Light poured through it, brighter than anything before.

Darius took a step back.

Then another.

For the first time since this started—

He looked afraid.

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