Page 32

KAELITH

I pace through the narrow canyon, my wings half-furled and scraping against the jagged rock whenever the passage narrows unexpectedly.

The frosty air bites at my skin, but I don’t care.

My thoughts churn like a raging tide, fixated on her —Nerezza.

The name sits on my tongue like an open wound, equal parts dread and grief.

I keep replaying that purna’s warning, how they claimed she’s already set her brood upon unsuspecting enclaves.

I prayed we had more time. Foolish. Now, we’re forging ahead in desperation, Sariah beside me, both battered and haunted by the knowledge that the worst evil I’ve ever known stalks this land once more.

We push ourselves hard. The stony ground crunches beneath our boots, each step echoing with the unrelenting tension between us.

I sense Sariah’s fatigue thrumming along our tether—an undercurrent of her emotional and physical strain.

She said she wouldn’t leave me, that she’d stand against Nerezza with me.

But I can’t banish the creeping fear that my presence endangers her more than anything else.

If Nerezza truly focuses on me—on the bond I now share with Sariah—then we’ve already walked into the crosshairs of the darkest force in Protheka.

A cold wind gusts, cutting through the ravine with a lonely howl.

I catch a glimpse of Sariah’s face, flushed from the chill.

Her eyes glimmer with resilience, but I note a lingering shadow there: the guilt of unleashing me—and in so doing, unleashing Nerezza.

I want to reassure her that I hold no illusions of blame.

Nerezza might have been freed; my sacrifice was never infallible.

But how can I offer comfort when the memory of Nerezza’s betrayal resurfaces in every silent moment?

My tail flicks in agitation, stirring dust from the rocky path.

Sariah notices, though she doesn’t comment.

We’ve said all that needs saying for the moment.

Our footsteps quicken, spurred by the rising sense that something lurks just beyond the next turn.

At last, the canyon broadens into a small clearing of sorts—a wide, flat space hemmed by towering cliffs. Dull sunshine filters through overhead, revealing a patchy scatter of pine needles and uprooted bushes. The place feels strangely deserted, almost too still. My instincts scream caution.

Sariah halts beside me, chest heaving slightly from our brisk pace. “Kaelith?” Her voice wavers with uncertainty, and the tether tightens in my chest. “This spot… it feels off.”

I raise a hand, silently signaling her to stay alert. My wings tense. “I sense it too.” A presence. A subtle shift of magic, like a swirl in the air that defies the natural breeze.

We creep forward, scanning for movement.

The rocky walls loom on all sides, forming a cul-de-sac of jagged stone.

An unearthly hush blankets the space, devoid of normal wildlife sounds.

Even the wind seems to hold its breath. My runes flicker on my chest, responding to the faint tang of power that crawls across my skin.

Abruptly, a ripple of energy cascades through the clearing—a silent shockwave that prickles my scalp. Sariah stiffens. She glances at me, alarm flaring in her eyes. I nod, fists clenching. My tail lashes the ground, stirring bits of gravel. Something is here.

Then it manifests: a shimmer in the air, distorting the view of the cliff face.

At first, it looks like heat haze, except the temperature is far too cold for that.

Gradually, it coalesces into a figure, tall and regal, draped in layers of dark, flowing cloth that ripple like living shadows. My heart seizes. Nerezza.

She appears both translucent and solid, her visage half-illuminated by an eerie radiance.

Her eyes glint with that chilling red sheen I remember all too well—once they were bright with cunning, now they burn with voidlike intensity.

My chest tightens. The same woman who once soared beside me under a different sun, centuries ago.

The same woman who tore gargoyle clans asunder.

Sariah inhales sharply, brand flaring with reflexive magic.

I step protectively in front of her, wings partially spread.

The tether thumps in my chest, adrenaline surging.

This can’t be her corporeal form. She’s projecting an apparition—some advanced sorcery, perhaps.

But the power behind it is unmistakable.

“Nerezza,” I say, voice echoing off the cliffs. The name tastes of ashes. I try to keep my tone steady, though my mind roils with the memory of her laugh, the shape of her mouth, the warmth we once shared. She stands before me now, changed beyond recognition, yet heartbreakingly familiar.

She smiles, a slow, predatory curl of her lips. My stomach churns at the glimpses of sharp canines. “Kaelith,” she purrs, voice resonating with that old seductive timbre. “It’s been too long.”

My claws dig into my palms. “Not long enough,” I growl.

She chuckles, sound echoing unnaturally. “I see you’re awake—and tethered to another purna, no less.” Her gaze slides to Sariah, eerie red eyes raking over her. “How easily you replace me.” Her tone is mock-hurt, layered with cold amusement.

Sariah stiffens behind me, magic coiling at her fingertips. “He doesn’t belong to you,” she snaps, anger flaring. I feel her fear trembling through the bond, but she stands her ground. My chest warms with grudging admiration.

Nerezza’s laugh hushes the air. “Little purna, you have no idea how deep my hold on him runs.” Her attention shifts back to me, voice dripping with nostalgia.

“Remember what we shared, Kaelith? The nights we soared through the sky, the promises of peace. I can restore it. I can fix what was broken.”

My heart twists. She’s dangling the memory of our bond as if it still matters. “I remember how you turned that dream into a nightmare,” I snarl. “You twisted gargoyles, killed thousands.” Pain claws at my gut, memories of my kin reduced to mindless abominations. “I sealed us away to stop you.”

She tilts her head, dark hair drifting around her shoulders like living tendrils. “Yes, you sealed me—and yourself. I’ve forgiven you for that, you know.” A hint of wry amusement flickers in her tone. “We were both misguided. But now, the seal is undone, and our time has come again.”

Sariah’s brand flares with tension, a pulse of magic that resonates in my runes. “Stay back,” I hiss over my shoulder, wanting Sariah to remain behind me. I can’t bear the thought of Nerezza’s illusions sinking their claws into her.

Nerezza’s mouth curves in a sly smile. “Oh, Kaelith. Always the protector. But you forget— I was the one who sought power to protect you. The curses that devoured your kind were accidents at first, a side effect of the raw chaos I wielded. I only wanted to preserve gargoyles, to shield them from extinction.”

She sweeps a hand, the motion trailing dark ribbons of energy that swirl around the edges of her apparition. “And I succeeded… in a fashion. Look at the brood I now command—your kin, reborn and improved. We can restore them all, if you rejoin me.”

My wings flex reflexively, an ache settling in my chest. She claims the monstrous brood is my kin, improved? A swirl of revulsion and lingering guilt tangles inside me. “You turned them into twisted shells,” I bite out. “Slaves to your chaos. That’s not salvation.”

Nerezza shrugs, eyes gleaming with unnatural light. “Semantics. They thrive, unstoppable. We can guide them, together. Let me fix that inconvenient bond you share with the little purna. Let me free you of it, so you can return to me unbound.”

A wave of cold rakes my body. My wings twitch in alarm.

She’s offering to sever the tether that Sariah and I have struggled with.

A temptation. The memory of how deeply I disliked being bound to any purna resurges.

But I recall the night in that cave—how fiercely I clung to Sariah, how our synergy might yet be our only hope.

My eyes dart to Sariah, seeing the fear tightening her features.

Nerezza’s words sow doubt. Am I dooming Sariah to a fate like Nerezza’s?

“You know nothing about our bond,” Sariah retorts, voice trembling with anger. “We don’t need your so-called help.”

Nerezza’s gaze drifts to her, a predatory interest lurking behind that regal facade.

“Are you certain? This tether might consume you both. Perhaps you’ll share Kaelith’s bed for a while, but eventually, it will twist your soul, purna.

You risk walking the path I once did.” She smiles, chilling and knowing. “Raw power can corrupt so easily.”

Sariah flinches. I feel a spike of anguish flash through the tether. Nerezza’s sowing seeds of doubt. My own heart clenches. What if Sariah is truly heading down that road? Could she become the next Nyxari? The question robs me of breath.

Nerezza must sense my hesitation, because her lips curve in triumph.

“Ah, you sense it too, don’t you, Kaelith?

The darkness in her brand, the lethal potential.

She could follow my footsteps, willingly or not.

But if you rejoin me, I can guide you both.

I can spare her the agony of repeating my mistakes. ”

My mind spirals with old guilt. I failed to stop Nerezza once. Could I be failing again, letting Sariah inch toward a dark fate? No. I banish the thought, though it claws at my gut.

“Stop,” I growl, voice raw. “Stop twisting the truth. You want me enslaved to your cause.” I gather my courage, wings flaring. “I’ll never go back to you.” Despite my resolve, my chest aches with an echo of the love I once felt for the woman she used to be.