LOGINI realized that sometime after the constructs knelt and the echoes of our panic faded into silence. Even when no one spoke, even when we stood perfectly still, the halls around us hummed softly, light pulsing faintly beneath the floor like how veins do under our skin. Elmyra was awake. And it was watching us...or rather me? Fenrir insisted on walking beside me as we moved deeper into the inner corridors, even though he was still weak. His hand brushed mine occasionally. I didn’t comment on it. I didn’t pull away either. The corridor narrowed as we descended, the ceiling arching lower, walls etched with layered runes that overlapped and rewrote each other. These weren’t warnings or spells meant to repel intruders. They were records. Winter traced one of the symbols with his fingers, brow furrowed. “These aren’t seals,” he muttered. “They’re… logs. Like the city was documenting something.” “Or someone,” Gabriel added, glancing at me. I swallowed. “Me?” Mara shook her head slow
The first construct stepped into the hall without breaking the door.Stone bent like soft clay as it passed through, its massive form forcing reality aside rather than obeying it. Runes ignited across its body in slow, deliberate patterns, each one older than the languages we spoke. Its eyes...if they could even be called eyes, were hollow wells of blue light, cold and menacing.Behind it, the floor shuddered again.Then another.And another. “Those do not look friendly.” Winter swore under his breath.Oragon drew his weapon, planting himself between the constructs and Fenrir’s resting place. “They’re guardians. Which means they’re judging us.”“Judging us how?” I asked, my voice quieter than I intended.Mara stepped forward before anyone could answer. She raised her hands slowly, palms open, and spoke in a language that felt heavy in my ears, each word was thick with age and authority. The runes on the constructs flared brighter in response, but they didn’t stop.“They don’t recogn
Elmyra was alive.That was the first thing I understood as the silence settled after the fight. The city hummed beneath my feet, like a living thing holding its breath. The light that had flared during the clash slowly dimmed, the glowing lines in the stone retreating as if sinking back into hidden veins. But the awareness remained. I could feel it watching us, weighing us, deciding whether we were worth keeping.Fenrir’s blood stained the pale stone.That was the second thing I noticed, and it mattered far more.We moved him into the nearest intact building, an old hall with tall windows and broken banners hanging like ghosts from the walls. The inside smelled of dust and old magic. Winter sealed the entrance with ice and sigils while Oragon stood guard, his posture rigid and alert. No one argued. No one joked. The weight of what had almost happened pressed down on all of us.Fenrir lay on a stone bench, his breathing shallow but steady. Elven healing magic was already knitting hi
We didn’t stay.No one said the words out loud, but the decision was already made the moment the wards stabilized. The Veiled Concord had found us once. That meant they could do it again, and next time, they wouldn’t test. They would take.Elmyra was no longer a question. It was a destination that we have to go to, in order to put a stop to all of this.We moved before dawn, packing in silence. The healers argued again about Fenrir traveling so soon, but he ignored them with the same calm defiance. He wore armor this time, light elven steel that moved like cloth and gleamed faintly when it caught the light. The wound at his side was still bandaged, still healing, but his presence alone steadied the group.I stayed close to him without meaning to.The road to Elmyra was broken in places, swallowed by old magic and time. Trees grew where streets once stood. Stones hummed faintly beneath our boots, like the city was breathing in its sleep.Winter walked ahead, scouting. Oragon took the r
The silence after chaos is never peaceful.It pretends to be, soft footsteps, dim lights, the slow rise and fall of breathing bodies, but underneath it were low hums, tight and waiting, like a drawn bow that hasn’t been released yet.Fenrir slept.That alone felt unreal.I sat beside his bed, elbows on my knees, fingers laced together so tightly they ached. The healers had moved him into a smaller chamber closer to the inner gardens, where elven magic flowed naturally through roots and stone. They said it would help his recovery.They also said he should not wake up for at least another day.Fenrir had never been good at following instructions.Moonlight filtered through the tall glass windows, scattering pale reflections across his face. Without the usual sharpness in his expression, without armor or tension, he looked younger. Vulnerable.I hated how much that word fit.“You scared everyone,” I whispered, even though he couldn’t hear me. “You especially scared me.”His chest rose st
The heart chamber smelled like dust and blood.Fenrir lay on the center platform, surrounded by glowing elven runes etched into the floor. They pulsed slowly, matching the uneven rhythm of his breathing. Silver light flowed from the markings, weaving itself into his body like threads trying to stitch him back together.I stood at his side, afraid to blink even for just a second.The wound on his chest was deep. Corrupted magic didn’t just hurt his body. It lingered. It clung, it resisted the healing, which was why we're strugglign to patch up his wound.“He’s alive,” the Arbiter said quietly from behind me. “That alone is remarkable.”I didn’t turn. “That’s not enough.”Winter paced near the edge of the chamber, hands glowing faintly as he tried to stabilize the energy field. “The corruption’s embedded deep inside him. His regeneration is slowing it, but not purging it.”Oragon crossed his arms, jaw tight. “If this were anyone else, they’d already be dead.”My fingers curled into Fenr







