Elixir’s POVTheir silence said everythingThe next morning none of the Alphas spoke of the dream I knew we all hadWe sat by the fire with stale bread and bitter water and no one looked each other in the eye I felt the void between us stretching like a wound we couldn’t bandageI’d dreamed of their deaths againOnly this time I didn’t scream when I wokeI didn’t need toThe screams had already settled in my chestEwen broke the silence first “They’ll come back today”Lucian nodded once “They’re not done They want her marked”Soren added nothing but I saw the faint glow beneath his wrist—his bond mark still there faint barely alive like mine“I’m not going to them,” I said even though the truth itched behind my teethBecause part of me wanted toNot because I believed themBut because I wanted to believe I wasn’t wrong to feel what I felt“You don’t have to go to them,” Soren said quietly “They’ll bring the choice to you”He was rightThey didn’t need to pull me into the veil againTh
Elixir’s POVMorning light didn't feel like light at allIt was pale and heavy sitting on my skin like frost as I stepped back into camp The fire had burned low Lucian was sharpening his blade with slow precise strokes Soren sat with his back against a tree lost in some memory Ewen stood near the edge of the clearing scanning the treesNone of them looked at me when I returnedBut I knew they felt meThey always didOnly now that feeling came with a twist of something elseAbsenceThe bond used to hum between us even when we didn’t speakNow it was hollowLike we were reaching for a rope that had already snappedLucian’s voice broke the silence “They’ll come again”He didn’t need to say whoSoren finally looked at me “Did they speak to you again last night”I nodded “Not directly But I saw more”Ewen approached his expression unreadable “Tell us”I sat by the fire and let the warmth soak into my bones before I spoke“In the dream we were back at the beginning When I was first taken fr
Elixir’s POVTheir magic didn’t ripple like the Alphas’ or sting like shadow magicIt bledThe Order of the Unmade stepped forward as if they weren’t intruding but returning and with every step they took the air around me grew colder less realLucian moved in front of me again his blade drawn but it shook slightly not from fear but confusion“What are they” he asked voice sharpEwen answered first “They’re fatebreakers cultists born from the remains of the fallen goddess’s rebellion”“Wrong” the lead figure said “We are what comes after prophecy fails We are what prophecy fears”Soren’s growl low and primal filled the space between usI stepped forward before anyone else could react“What do you want with me”Their leader smiled “You already know Elixir You carry the mark She left it in your blood in your soul in the burning thread that once tethered you to these three”My hand touched the center of my chest instinctivelyThe bondStill silentStill aching“You severed fate” he contin
Elixir’s POVMagic cracked through the air like a living screamLucian stepped forward first no hesitation no fear just pain masked behind purpose He sliced a shallow line across his palm and let the blood drip onto the stone runes below usSoren followed jaw clenched eyes burning blue his hand steady as he mirrored Lucian’s movement His blood hit the same point and the runes pulsed like a heart too long dormantEwen stood still for one breath longer eyes locked with mine before he whispered something I couldn’t hear and completed the triadThe temple reacted immediatelyThe floor split down the center golden fire spilling from the seams spiraling up our bodies twining like vines around each of us not to bind but to burnIt didn’t hurtNot yetThe bond trembledNot broken but threatened the way a violin string sounds just before it snapsI was the axis of it all the thread holding the weave together and now they were pulling back unraveling what fate had written for us“You have to do
Elixir’s POVSteps formed beneath my feet before I movedThey shaped themselves out of broken stone and golden light carving a path downward into the earth like the temple was guiding me not as a guest but as a piece returning to its originLucian reached for my hand but hesitated his touch hovering inches from mine“You sure you want to go first” he asked quietly“No” I said “But I think I have to”Ewen’s breath fogged as the temperature dropped the further we descended “There’s something alive down here something watching us”Soren scanned the walls as runes lit up one by one each glowing with heat then fading into darkness “It’s not watching us” he said “It’s welcoming her”The passage opened into a wide chamber cut from crystal and shadowPillars of quartz rose from the floor spiraling toward the unseen ceiling and at the center stood a throneIt wasn’t grand or jeweledIt was made from black stone bound in silver chains runes etched across the seat like scars still bleedingLucia
Elixir’s POV Voices called out ahead of us but they weren’t oursNot Lucian’s not Soren’s not Ewen’sThey were mineI froze midstep in the obsidian field every muscle going tight around the memory of that bridge that woman that reflection of me—and now this“Elixir” the voice called again same cadence same tone same soft rasp I heard in my own throat when I whispered to the moonLucian turned sharply blades drawn “Tell me you didn’t just speak”“I didn’t” I whispered and that voice said it again only deeper from farther aheadWe moved as one careful and fast through the jagged landscape The obsidian Vale pulsed with the weight of silence but that voice kept threading through the cracks in the windIt mimicked me perfectlyEvery word I’d spoken in the past day the fear the confusion the promises even the lie I told myself about not being afraidIt knewWe reached a wide pit ringed in broken pillars where a soft glow rose like steamAnd at the center was meOr at least someone who wore