LOGINThe spiral did not end.It unfolded.Stone peeled away into something older than architecture, older than intentionâwalls becoming ribs, sigils sinking beneath layers of obsidian-like material that pulsed faintly, as though the prison itself had grown a heartbeat.Kael slowed, instinct screaming.âThis isnât a chamber,â he murmured.âNo,â Aria replied quietly.Her voice echoed wrongâdeeper, fuller, as if the space was answering her back.âItâs a womb.âThe shadows around Kael reacted sharply, bristling, not in fearâbut recognition. They clung tighter to his frame, bending inward as though bracing for pressure.The descent stopped.They stood at the threshold of a vast hollowâtoo symmetrical to be natural, too alive to be made.At its center hovered a structure that was not a structure at all.A knot of magic.Layered, folded, looping into itselfâlike countless awakenings compressed into one impossible singularity.Ariaâs breath caught.âOhâŚâThe bond flaredânot painfully this time, bu
The prison did not collapse.It locked down.The moment Ariaâs restraints shattered, the Covenantâs failsafes triggeredâancient, patient systems snapping awake like something that had been waiting centuries for an excuse.The lights died.Not dimmed.Died.Blue sigils along the walls inverted, bleeding into deep crimson as the air thickened, heavy with suppressive force.Aria stiffened in Kaelâs arms.âKaelââ she gasped, fingers digging into his coat. âTheyâre sealing the wing.âHe felt it too.Not just doors closingâspace folding, corridors re-routing, reality being bent into a controlled maze.The Covenant did not build prisons.They built containment sanctuaries.Kael turned slowly, shadows curling tighter around them both.âCan you walk?â he asked softly.Aria nodded, though her legs trembled.âI think so. My magicâs stillââ she winced, breath hitching. ââcoming back.âKael didnât hesitate. He scooped her up again.âThen donât push it.âThe bond pulsed between them, no longer fran
Hi my loves đ Iâm taking a short holiday break from posting to rest, recharge, and spend time with family. Thank you so much for all the support, comments, and love youâve shown this storyâit truly means everything to me. Iâll be back with new chapters after the holidays. Until then, please take care of yourselves and enjoy the season â¨
Kael felt her fear before he felt the walls.It came through the bond like a blade dragged across his ribsâsharp, panicked, contained. Not fading. Not gone.Caged.His vision burned silver as the Covenant corridor split open beneath his magic.Stone cracked.Runes screamed.The dampening field flared onceâthen shattered as shadow surged outward from him, devouring the light like it had been waiting to do exactly this.Kael didnât slow.Didnât think.Didnât breathe.Every step forward was fueled by one singular truth:They took her.A pair of Covenant sentries appeared aheadâwhite armor, silver inlays, weapons already raised.âStand down!â one shouted. âYou are entering restrictedââKael lifted his hand.Shadow erupted.The hallway imploded.When the dust cleared, both men were embedded in the walls, unconscious, their weapons twisted into useless scrap.Kael walked through the wreckage without looking back.The bond pulled him leftâhard.He followed.Pain lanced through his chest as a
Aria woke to cold.Not the kind that bit or burned, but the kind that muted everythingâsound, sensation, even thought.Her cheek rested against stone, smooth like glass and humming faintly under her skin.A pulse.A beat.Not hers.She exhaled shakily as memory slammed back:The forest.Kaelâs roar.Hands dragging her.Light splitting around her body.The bond screamingâthen nothing.Aria pushed herself upright.Chains rattled.She froze.Her wrists were wrapped in metal cuffs engraved with thin lines of silverânot pretty, not ornamental.Restraints designed to dull magic, to sever her connection to anything outside this room.Outside of him.Her chest tightened.The bond feltâwrong.Faint.Muted.Like someone had wrapped thick hands around her heart and was slowly squeezing.She pressed a fist to her sternum.âKaelâŚâ she whispered.The room didnât echo.Of course it didnât.This place wasnât built to let anything escape.A voice drifted through the quiet like silk sliding over sk
The rain didnât ease. It only grew heavierâfat droplets pounding the leaves in a steady, unbroken roar that drowned out almost everything. Almost. Because Aria still heard it. That soft hum. That pulse. That whisper of power moving through the air like a blade dragged across silk. Kael must have felt it too. His shadows coiled instinctively around her, tightening like armor as they pushed deeper into the forest. Every step they took away from the awakened shard seemed only to sharpen the presence stalking them. Varuun walked several paces behind, unusually silent, eyes glowing faintly beneath his hood. âWeâre being followed,â Aria whispered. Kael didnât look back. âNo. Sheâs not following.â His jaw clenched. âSheâs already here.â The clearing ahead of them split open with light. Not white. Not gold. But the cold, luminous blue of crackled moonstone. Ariaâs breath stilled. Kaelâs grip on her waist hardened. Varuun sighed. âWell. Sheâs in a dramatic mood today.â A fig







