MasukAmara POV The room does not settle after that. Even with Sebastian’s hand still wrapped around mine, even with the bond steady and warm where it had been strained just moments ago, the tension only shifts into something sharper. He chose me. I felt it, heard it, saw it. But that does not change where we are or who we are standing in front of. Leviath watches us like we are something newly interesting, like a game just took a turn he did not expect. “Well,” he says after a moment, his voice smooth and almost amused, “that went differently than I anticipated.” Sebastian does not respond right away, and he does not even look at him. His attention lingers on me for just a second longer, like he is making sure I am still there, still steady, still with him. Then his gaze shifts, and just like that, the warmth disappears, replaced by something colder and far more dangerous. “Get to the point,” Sebastian says. Leviath leans back slightly in his throne, completely at ease even
Amara POV “A.. hybr- wha- what?” Sebastian’s voice isn’t loud. It isn’t angry. It just.. breaks. Not in a way I’ve ever heard before. Like something inside him caught on a sharp edge and didn’t come out clean. The room stills. Not gradually. All at once. Even the fire seems to quiet, like the flames themselves are listening. I feel it through the bond before I even dare to look at him. Confusion. Sharp. Jarring. Like the ground beneath him shifted without warning. Like everything he thought he understood just tilted sideways. I don’t look at him. Not yet. I can’t. Because if I see it.. if I see anything close to disgust or hesitation.. I don’t think I’ll recover from it. Not in front of Leviath. Not in front of all these watching eyes. “..A hybrid,” my father says again, louder this time. Slower. “Hybrid..” Sebastian repeats again, like he’s testing the word. Trying to decide if it belongs in this world. If I belong in it. The word settles into the room like smoke.
Sebastian POV The barrier doesn’t just break. It collapses. The cracks splinter all at once, the silver light bursting outward in a violent wave that tears through the forest like a shockwave. The humming stops instantly. Dead. Gone. Like it was never there. For half a second.. Silence. Then the force of it hits us. Wind slams into my chest, ripping through my coat, sending leaves and dirt spiraling into the air. The magic disperses in a rush that makes the world feel.. lighter. Open. Free. I don’t wait. I step through. No resistance. No pain. Just empty air where a prison used to stand. “Sebastian-” Sybil starts. Too late. Amara moves at the same time I do. The moment she crosses that invisible line.. The bond snaps tight. Not painful. Not gentle either. It hits like a pull straight through my chest, something ancient and absolute
Sebastian POV The barrier hums. It isn’t loud exactly. Not like thunder or crashing waves. But the sound lives in the air around us. A deep vibration that presses against my bones like the forest itself is holding its breath. The three artifacts react the moment we step close. The crown fragment strapped at my belt trembles faintly. The petrified heart Sybil carries pulses like a slow heartbeat in her palm. And the old dagger hangs heavy in my hand, the dark metal humming with that same violent magic we felt the first night we found it. The barrier stretches through the forest like a wall of warped glass. You can see through it. Sort of. Shapes blur and twist behind the shimmering surface. Trees bending slightly wrong. Shadows shifting like the forest on the other side breathes differently. And standing just a few feet beyond it— Amara. My chest tightens the moment my eyes land on her. She stands straight despite the exhaustion lining her face. Her dark hair
Sebastian POV For a moment none of us move. The kid stands there in the firelight like he just wandered into the wrong campsite by accident. Dirt on his cheeks. Bare feet. Torn shirt hanging off one shoulder. And a dagger humming with enough magic to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “Hi!” the boy chirps again, that same bright smile stretching across his face. Luther stares at him. Then slowly looks at me. “..Sebastian,” he murmurs quietly. “Tell me you’re seeing this.” “Oh, I’m seeing it,” I mutter. Aven crouches slightly beside the fire, hands resting near her blades but not drawing them yet. Because what kind of monster draws steel on a kid? The boy takes another step closer. The dagger pulses again. That magic ripples through the clearing like a low vibration. It prickles against my skin, dark and old and hungry. Sybil inhales slowly beside me. “Yep. That’s it,” she whispers again. “Yeah,” I say under my breath. “I gathered.” The b
Amara POV For a moment the throne hall feels too quiet. The fire crackles softly beside me, its flames dancing in lazy orange waves that reflect off the polished black desk between us. My father leans back in his throne like a man completely at ease, like the conversation we just had was nothing more than casual business. “What happened to the man who lost his white and child?” “He right in front of you. Zayka. (little bunny)” I sigh. I won’t leave without answers to my questions but for now I can’t with him. “You want me to go home,” I say slowly, folding my arms across my chest as I study him. “Yes.” The answer comes without hesitation. No pause. No hidden tone. Just simple confirmation. I narrow my eyes slightly. Nothing with him is ever that simple. “With the ruby,” he reminds me. “Fine,” I say after a moment, lifting my chin. “I’ll let it merge or whatever.” One of his brows lifts slightly. “But I have conditions.” That gets his attention. His







