Page 14

Malrik

The castle's halls echo with whispered prayers, but all I can hear is Kaia's labored breathing.

Black veins spread across her skin like spiderwebs, and my chest tightens at their familiar pattern.

I've seen this before, not just when it started creeping across her skin at the academy, but years ago, watching it consume my father.

The memory hits harder now that I understand what it was, what it meant.

I won't let her be taken. Not like the corruption took them from me.

My fingers tighten around Kaia's hand as we follow Kieran deeper into the sanctuary.

Each step stirs memories I've spent years burying, running these halls as a child, hiding in alcoves I once thought were secret, trailing my fingers along walls that seemed to pulse with life.

Before the corruption drove us out. Before everything changed.

"The healing chambers are ahead," Kieran says, his ancient power rolling off him in waves.

"Through the crystal archway," I finish quietly. His sharp look makes me add: "I remember. "

"When you said you were from another realm," Finn says beside me, his usual playful tone tight with worry, "I pictured something less dramatic." His shoulder brushes mine as we walk, a casual touch that sends warmth through my chest despite everything—and I hate how much I need it.

"Everything about him is dramatic," Torric mutters behind us. "You've seen his wardrobe."

I ignore them both, too focused on the way Kaia's wings shudder with each breath.

Her shadows ripple with shared distress, both the ones I've grown familiar with and new ones still gathering around her.

Bob maintains a careful perimeter while Patricia's frantic documentation feels more desperate than usual.

We pass the great hall where I once sat at my father's feet during council meetings, pretending to understand politics while secretly counting the crystals embedded in the ceiling.

The room where my mother taught me to dance, her laughter echoing off walls that no longer gleam.

The corridor where I first learned to manipulate shadows, my father's patient guidance making the darkness feel like an extension of myself.

The healing chamber glows with soft golden light when we enter, crystals humming with ancient magic. More shadows appear as we cross the threshold, drawn to Kaia's presence from all corners of the sanctuary.

"Put her here," Kieran instructs, laying Kaia on a crystal bed that pulses with healing energy. Her wings settle naturally against the smooth surface, and I have to force myself to let go of her hand.

"The corruption's spreading faster," Aspen observes, frost forming in his hair as he studies the black veins. "Like it's trying to reach something."

"The Heart," Kieran confirms grimly. "It wants the Heart of Eternity. And it knows she's the tether. "

My throat tightens as another memory hits—my mother's voice, urgent and breaking, as she pushed me through a portal. "The Heart must be protected," she'd said. "No matter the cost." Then the portal closed, and she was gone.

A warm hand settles on my shoulder, surprising me. Finn stands closer than I expected, his usual mischief replaced by quiet understanding. "Hey," he says softly. "We're not losing her."

The certainty in his voice makes something in my chest ache.

Before I can respond, Kaia's wings flare with sudden light.

The corruption recoils as more shadows gather around her, dozens now, drawn from every corner of the sanctuary.

Their movements are purposeful, coordinated, like an army remembering its strength.

"It's happening again," I breathe, watching the shadows gather around her. "Just like when my father—" I stop, the words catching in my throat. "When he disappeared."

Kieran's ancient eyes fix on me. "Your father understood, at the end. Before he vanished. Why the corruption wanted Absentia." His gaze drops to Kaia's unconscious form. "She's not just connected to this place. She's bound to it, just as you are."

"Great," Finn says, though his hand hasn't left my shoulder. "No pressure or anything. Just realm-saving destiny and ancient evil. Totally normal Tuesday."

A laugh threatens to break free despite everything. Trust Finn to find humor even now. The corruption pulses darker across Kaia's skin, but before we can act, a familiar wisp of shadow approaches.

Walter settles over one of the black veins, his strange, ethereal form pulsing soft gold where he touches her skin.

For once, he's focused—no drifting or chaos, just stillness and light.

The sight is unexpected, this strange shadow, usually so detached from everything, now focused entirely on healing.

More shadows surge forward, not chaotically, but in perfect formation.

Bob directs them with military precision as they line up, each one touching a different spot where corruption threatens to spread.

Patricia's normally frantic note-taking pauses as she joins them, her shadowy form pulsing with gentle light.

Even Finnick's chaos stills into something deliberate and focused.

"They're working together," Kieran says softly, ancient eyes tracking their movements. "Different types of shadows, with different sources, somehow united in purpose."

One by one, more shadows come forward, some I recognize from my years in Absentia, others completely new.

These others gathering now—new, unfamiliar—seem drawn not by duty, but by something deeper.

Recognition. Belonging. Each one adds their light to Walter's, creating a barrier between Kaia and the corruption trying to claim her.

"This is how it starts," I breathe, watching their coordinated effort. "Not just finding them, but bringing them together."

Finn's hand squeezes my shoulder gently. "Leave it to Kaia to turn an army of Valkyrie shadows into a really efficient nursing staff."

Kieran's head snaps up, his ancient eyes suddenly fixed on Finn with unsettling intensity. "What did you just say?"

"Valkyrie shadows," Finn repeats, looking confused at Kieran's reaction.

"At least, the original ones are, Bob, Patricia, Finnick, and the others.

They're the souls of fallen Valkyrie warriors who bound themselves to Kaia centuries ago.

But these new ones gathering here in Absentia, we don't know what they are yet. "

A strange stillness comes over Kieran. For a moment, he looks almost shaken. "How do you know this?"

"Kaia told us," I say, watching his reaction carefully.

"When her wings first manifested. Her original shadows, the ones she's had since the beginning, are her mother's sisters-in-arms. They chose to bind themselves to her through the Heart of Eternity.

These others gathering now seem different, but they're responding to her just the same. "

Kieran's gaze returns to Kaia, something complicated and ancient in his expression. "Solveig's sisters," he murmurs, so quietly I almost don't catch it. "They survived after all."

The information seems to transform something in Kieran's approach as he returns his attention to the corruption. His movements become more deliberate, more certain, as if a missing piece has finally fallen into place.

This is more than just healing, it's proof of something I think we've all felt since meeting her. Kaia doesn't just gather people around her; she gives them purpose, makes them stronger together than they ever were alone.

The corruption retreats slowly, unable to break through the unified barrier of shadow and light.

It's not a cure, but it's hope. And watching the shadows work in perfect harmony, I finally understand what my father was fighting for before the darkness took him.

What my mother sacrificed everything to preserve when she forced me through that portal.

Not just power, but possibility. The chance for something broken to become whole again.

"Stay with us," I whisper, pouring more of my own power into the ward. My shadows join the others, slipping into place as if they've always belonged. "We need you." My voice drops lower, meant only for her. "I need you."

I see it then, the slight movement of her wings, the twitch of her fingers.

The shadows continue to gather, drawn to her from every corner of the sanctuary, moving with renewed purpose.

Standing in this room where I once sat as a child while my father treated wounded soldiers, I can't help but wonder: what happens when they all return?

What happens when the lost are finally found?

The question pulses in my mind, heavy with everything we've seen. Whatever the answer, I'll be there to face it, with her, with Finn, with all of them.

This time, no one gets left behind.