The wind carried the scent of ash and iron, stirring the remnants of battle around them. Mae’s pulse thrummed against her throat, every beat echoing in the chains that still glowed faintly beneath her skin. Sethis stood only a breath away, his presence wrapping around her like a storm contained by will alone.“You’ve bound yourself to it,” he said quietly. “To the fracture. To him.” Mae’s fingers tightened at her sides. “I made a choice.”“No,” Sethis whispered, stepping closer, his shadows tightening. “You answered a call. One that will not stop until it owns you.”She turned to face him, the violet light in her eyes flickering. “You think I don’t know what I’ve done? You think I don’t feel it clawing through me?” Sethis’s expression shifted. Anger, grief, and something deeper. “You gave yourself to the thing that wanted to unmake you.”“I ended the war,” she said, voice trembling with exhaustion. “The champion fell.” He laughed once, dark and hollow. “Fell? Mae, it kneeled. There’s
Last Updated : 2025-10-11 Read more