Chapter 160: The Marked Path

Serena woke with her hand glowing.

Not fire.

Not blood.

But silver.

It pulsed once, gently—like a heartbeat. Then faded.

She sat up, disoriented. Around her, the camp still slept. Mira leaned against a boulder, snoring softly. Kael and Theron were curled back to back. Elias had taken the high ledge as usual, blade on his lap.

And Caine…

Still unconscious, but no longer twitching.

Calm.

Serena looked at her palm again.

Something had touched her in the in-between. Not a threat. Not Darian.

Something older.

Something familiar.

She heard it again.

A whisper.

“Guard her.”

Serena blinked. “Lyra?”

No answer.

Only the rustle of wind.

But she knew.

Lyra was still with them.

Somewhere in the dark.

By midday, they were moving again.

The valley behind them was long gone, swallowed by unnatural storms that Mira claimed weren’t native to this realm. The Gate had poisoned the land, and now its magic was unraveling everything.

They needed to make a choice.

Keep running.

Or face it head-on.

“I can’t keep going like this,” Serena said at the next campfire. “Waiting. Reacting. Losing people.”

Elias looked up. “You’re not the only one carrying that weight.”

“I know. But I’m the only one they want.”

Mira frowned. “And what are you proposing?”

Serena exhaled. “I open a controlled Gate.”

Kael dropped his flask. “You what?”

“Let me finish,” she said. “We choose the ground. We prepare the wards. We let Darian come to us for once.”

“That’s insane,” Kael muttered.

“Or it’s strategic,” Theron said quietly.

Everyone turned to him.

He shrugged. “She’s right. This hit-and-run game is bleeding us dry. If we want to win, we pull the enemy into a trap.”

Mira tapped her fingers together. “You’re suggesting we set a Gate—like bait—and draw Darian through?”

“Yes,” Serena said. “Not fully. Just a tether. Enough to force him out of hiding.”

“You could die,” Elias said.

“I could die doing nothing too,” she replied. “At least this gives us a chance to end it.”

Silence.

Then Mira nodded. “We’ll need a place saturated in old magic. The kind that predates the war.”

Serena already had a location in mind.

The Broken Spire.

Where the first Gate was rumored to be opened.

Where her mother had nearly died.

Where Serena had been born.

They reached it two nights later.

The spire jutted from the earth like a broken fang, its tip cracked, its base surrounded by ancient ruins and faded symbols.

The ground hummed with memory.

Serena stood in the center and extended her hands.

The moment her power touched the soil, the sigils awakened. The air shifted. Old energy surged up her arms—not hostile, but hungry.

The others formed the circle around her.

Mira and Theron began etching counter-sigils.

Kael held the defensive wards.

Elias remained by her side.

“You don’t have to do this alone,” he said.

“I know,” she said. “But I think I was always meant to stand here.”

He reached out and pressed his hand to hers.

Their marks flared.

Together, they summoned the Gate.

It didn’t rip open violently like before.

It unfolded slowly.

Deliberately.

Like a flower of shadow and light, blooming above the stone.

And from within it—

A voice.

Not Darian.

Not Lyra.

Someone older.

A woman.

“So the child returns.”

Serena stood tall. “You know who I am.”

“I remember who you were,” the voice said. “But what are you now?”

Serena’s fingers curled.

“I am fire born of silence. I am not your vessel. I am not your queen. I am Serena.”

The voice laughed softly.

“Very well. Let us see if you remain her… once the Gate has spoken.”

The Gate shimmered—and vanished.

Not closed.

Just... waiting.

A beacon.

A tether.

And far away, in a realm between time, Darian opened his eyes.

“She’s ready,” he whispered.

Beside him, Lyra—sword now slung on her back—did not respond.

But her mark pulsed once.

Not in obedience.

In defiance.