Page 34

She says nothing, but her posture loosens a fraction, arms slipping from around her waist. Her tears still cling to her lashes, but she’s listening. At least she isn’t storming off.

I draw a ragged breath, forcing my wings to relax. “I… I won’t sever the bond. Not now. Not if it means letting her manipulate me again.” My throat aches. “But I need time. I need to be sure we aren’t hurtling toward the same tragedy.”

Sariah nods, jaw tight. “Then let’s find a way to prove it. Together.” Her voice is laced with quiet determination. “Nerezza wants us to crumble under fear. We can’t give her that victory.”

A flicker of admiration stirs in me. She’s so damn steadfast, even when I lash out. I exhale, searching her gaze. “All right. We keep going. We keep each other safe.”

Sariah swallows, lifting her chin with a trembling nod. Her eyes brim with a swirl of emotion: heartbreak, hope, and a fierce vow. “Yes.”

Our silent accord stands as we gather ourselves.

My tail flicks across the ground, stirring a small cloud of dust that glitters in the waning sunlight.

The rocky clearing remains empty, no sign of Nerezza’s apparition.

But her presence lingers, a ghostly tension that won’t dissipate so easily.

She’s tested our resolve, and we teeter precariously between old ghosts and new loyalties.

“Let’s leave this place,” I say, voice still tight. “I sense no reason to remain.”

Sariah nods, wiping her cheeks with a trembling hand.

We set off, forging a path toward the narrower exit.

My mind whirls, half-locked on the memory of Nerezza’s face, half-consuming itself with worry for Sariah.

The tether pulses with our combined distress, but also with a quiet thread of solidarity. We’re shaken, but not broken.

We pass through the ravine’s corridor in tense silence.

The sky overhead bleeds into dusk, painting the horizon with muted pink and violet.

I keep scanning for any sign of twisted gargoyles or Drayveth’s rogues, but none appear.

My runes flicker, still unsettled from the confrontation.

Her face was heartbreakingly familiar—like a half-remembered dream turned nightmare.

Eventually, the canyon walls recede into a rolling stretch of rocky terrain.

We halt near a large boulder that partially shields us from the sharp wind.

Sariah runs a shaking hand through her hair.

She looks drained, brand faded to a dull silver.

The swirl of pink across the sky casts gentle shadows on her face, accentuating the weariness in her eyes.

I bite back a wave of regret for my harsh words. “We’ll rest here,” I say quietly. “Nightfall approaches. No sense wandering blindly.” My voice is calmer now, though the tension still vibrates in my chest.

Sariah swallows, wiping at her cheeks again. She nods, kneeling to check her pack for any leftover rations. “I’ll see if we can start a small fire,” she murmurs, voice subdued.

I watch her rummage, a pang in my chest. She’s trying to hold it together, but Nerezza’s threats rattled her deeply. And I contributed to her pain by letting my fear overshadow my trust. I’m a fool.

The wind howls softly around us, tugging at my hair. I tear my gaze from Sariah, scanning the empty horizon. Nerezza could show up anywhere, at any time. She’s proven she can project illusions—or maybe it was some twisted astral form. Regardless, we’re not safe. We must keep pressing onward.

But for tonight, we huddle against this boulder.

Sariah manages to coax a weak flame from a few scraps of kindling we salvaged.

I stand guard, arms crossed, wings folded tight.

The tether thrums with unspoken tension.

In the flicker of firelight, I glimpse Sariah’s pained expression each time she catches me looking.

My heart twists. She sees me second-guessing everything.

Eventually, she sits down, exhaustion folding her posture.

I settle beside her, though I leave a few inches between us.

My mind replays Nerezza’s words: She can fix your bond.

She can spare Sariah from repeating my fate.

A kernel of doubt nags at me— am I being selfish, chaining Sariah to me despite the risk?

But I can’t forget how fervently Sariah declared her choice to stay.

Minutes stretch. The night sky glitters with distant stars, oblivious to our turmoil. Sariah clears her throat softly. “Kaelith,” she murmurs, “we’ll face her together, won’t we?” A tremor underlines her question.

I meet her gaze, breath catching. She’s so vulnerable now, but still unwavering. My voice emerges low. “Yes. I swear it.” The tether pulses, reaffirming the vow. “But… I won’t let her poison your mind. If I sense you slipping into darkness?—”

She tenses, tears threatening. “You’ll do what, exactly?” Her tone is guarded.

I grimace. “I… I don’t know.” The admission pains me. “I can’t lose you the way I lost her. I’d sooner carve out my own heart.”

Her expression softens, though tears shimmer. “Then stop pushing me away because of your fear.”

I swallow, reaching for her hand. When she doesn’t pull back, I gently clasp her fingers.

Our eyes lock in the flickering firelight.

“I’m sorry,” I manage, voice hoarse. “I let her words—my guilt—cloud my trust in you.” My chest feels tight, old wounds bleeding anew.

“I see so much of her in you, but you’re not the same. I need to remember that.”

She exhales shakily, offering a small, trembling smile. “Thank you. I’m… not sure who I am these days, but I’m not her. I promise.”

A quiet hush falls, the tension between us easing by a fraction. We remain close to the fire, letting the warmth chase away some of the night’s chill. The star-strewn sky stretches overhead like an indifferent witness to our confessions. We’re battered, but not broken.

I watch Sariah’s face, illuminated in the soft glow.

Traces of tears cling to her lashes, bruises smudge her cheeks, but she’s still so achingly strong.

In the hush, I realize how deeply I care for her—this mortal who stumbled into my prison and freed me, who shares a tether that both saves and dooms us.

Romance in the midst of a rising cataclysm. It defies logic, but it’s real.

When I gently squeeze her hand, the tether pulses with a reassuring warmth.

She leans her head against my shoulder, sighing softly.

My wings unfold to wrap around us both, forming a protective arc.

I bury my face in the scent of her hair, ignoring the swirl of shame that lingers from my earlier outburst. Nerezza’s illusions can’t strip this from me.

We sit like that, listening to the wind, letting the crackle of flames fill the silence.

At length, Sariah dozes off, exhaustion claiming her.

I stay awake, guarding her rest. My mind churns with images of Nerezza’s translucent form, that sneer, her whispered promises.

The question of whether I might have given in if I’d been more alone gnaws at me. No, I tell myself, that life is over.

Yet the bond’s presence in my chest reminds me how precarious everything is. Nerezza’s shadow looms, and she knows how to manipulate me. She called to me, reminding me of what we shared, the seductive dream of unstoppable power. I must remain vigilant.

Glancing down at Sariah’s sleeping face, I vow I’ll protect her from that corruption.

From Nerezza’s manipulations—and from my own misguided fears.

Sariah is not Nerezza. Repeating that truth in my head, I stroke a clawed finger across her hair, ignoring the pang of guilt for having doubted her.

She needs me steady, not riddled with self-loathing.

A new wave of determination surges in my chest. We have to reach Snowfall Glen.

We have to rally what forces we can, warn them, find a real solution.

If Nerezza roams Protheka, slaughtering or enslaving any who stand against her, we can’t confront her alone.

Not yet. We must gather allies. Strengthen our synergy. Only then can we stand a chance.

My gaze lifts to the stars, their pale glow reminding me of the nights centuries ago when I soared with Nerezza under a different sky, believing we’d found a way to save gargoyles. We were so young, so blind. My jaw tightens. Never again.

Gradually, the night deepens, the fire dying to embers.

I maintain my watch, ignoring the ache in my ribs.

The tether throbs softly with Sariah’s rhythmic breathing, a comforting pulse that anchors me in the present.

Nerezza can taunt me all she wants. I won’t falter.

The memory of that fleeting moment we shared in the cave—the raw intimacy, the collision of hearts—reminds me I have more to fight for now than just revenge.

I have Sariah’s future in my hands as well.

Morning will come, and with it, another day of perilous travel.

Nerezza’s brood might hunt us from the skies, Drayveth’s rogues might ambush us from the ground, and our own fears might tear us apart from within.

But for tonight, Sariah rests in my arms, alive, defiant, refusing to let me face my past alone.

I curl my tail around her ankles protectively, wings forming a shelter from the biting wind.

As my eyes skim her sleeping face, a fierce tenderness floods my chest. I won’t let Nerezza’s manipulations destroy this bond.

She might have threatened me with old guilt, might have tried to paint Sariah as the next monster—but I won’t succumb to that twisted narrative.

When Sariah stirs in her sleep, I murmur a low reassurance, feeling the tether soothe her nightmares. The storms of my mind calm, replaced by a quiet vow that resonates in every breath:

We will face Nerezza.

We will survive her illusions and her manipulations.

And if she dares to strike at what we share, she’ll learn the gargoyle she once twisted beyond recognition has grown wise enough—and strong enough—to stand against her darkness.

I hold Sariah tighter, letting the faint dawn’s glimmer on the horizon signal the end of this tumultuous night.

The first appearance of Nerezza has shaken us to the core, yet I feel a renewed fire burning in my soul.

My guilt no longer shackles me completely; my determination to protect Sariah— and to keep her from turning into the monster Nerezza claims she could be —fuels my every breath.

Tomorrow, we move closer to Snowfall Glen, closer to answers. But for now, in the last hours of night, I guard the woman who awakened me. Despite the turmoil swirling around us, a fragile hope sparks in my chest. Nerezza won’t break us.

As the sky grays with approaching dawn, I kiss Sariah’s temple, a silent promise that I’ll stand by her side, no matter what horrors the day brings.