The night was heavy with whispers.
Even the stars seemed dimmer, as if the heavens themselves leaned closer to listen.
Seraphina sat by the moonlit fountain in the Queen's inner garden, her thoughts spiraling like the ripples in the water. The reflection staring back at her no longer looked mortal, her eyes shimmered faintly gold, and faint scales glowed along her neck whenever the moonlight caught them.
She touched the mark on her wrist, the dragon's seal pulsing beneath her skin. The Queen called it a bond, but why does it feel like a chain?
The sound of boots on stone broke her thoughts.
Kael.
He approached silently, cloak brushing the marble path. The faint light played across his face, sharp lines, golden eyes, haunted and weary.
"You shouldn't be alone," he said softly. "The Queen's shadow never sleeps."
Seraphina managed a faint smile. "And yet you're here, breaking her command."
He stopped beside her, gaze lowered. "You remind me of someone I once knew."
"Your mortal love," she whispered. "The one who died in the old war."
He nodded, pain flickering in his eyes. "Her soul burned when I failed to save her. Every time I look at you, I see the same light… and the same danger."
Before Seraphina could respond, the air around them shimmered, faint, silvery threads of energy spiraling through the garden.
A low voice followed, ancient and soft.
"Two flames reborn, bound by blood… the fire of life and death entwined."
Kael's sword was in his hand instantly. "Who's there?"
From the shadows stepped an old woman, frail, hooded, her eyes glowing faint blue. Her presence carried the weight of ages.
Seraphina rose. "Who are you?"
"I am Nyssa," the woman said, her voice echoing like wind through old halls. "The Queen's seer… and the last keeper of the Prophecy of Ash."
Kael tensed. "You shouldn't be here."
The seer ignored him. She looked at Seraphina with pity and awe. "The curse you carry was written long before you drew breath, child. You and the Bloodhound were not meant to meet again."
Seraphina's chest tightened. "Then why did we?"
Nyssa's gaze deepened, ancient and sorrowful. "Because fate was rewritten the day you defied death. You carry not one soul, but two, the mortal girl who loved him, and the dragoness who once destroyed him."
Kael froze. "That's impossible."
Nyssa raised a trembling hand. "Look deeper, Bloodhound. You've felt it, haven't you? The same warmth… and the same fury."
Seraphina's mark began to burn. Visions flared behind her eyes, a battlefield, a crimson sky, a dragon screaming her name.
"Kael…" she whispered, staggering. "I remember fire. I remember your voice…"
The seer's tone hardened. "Then remember the rest, before the bond consumes you both again."
The air shuddered. The fountain's water rose into a spiral, shimmering with images, fire raining from the sky, two dragons locked in a deadly embrace, and a single line of glowing text written in flame.
' When the Bloodhound's flame meets the heart reborn, the heavens will burn, unless love breaks the chain of ash.'
Nyssa's voice trembled. "That is the Whispering Prophecy."
Kael's hand clenched around his sword. "And if we fail?"
The seer's eyes flickered with sorrow. "Then not even the gods will remember your names."
The wind howled, snuffing out the moonlight.
The temple was a grave of whispers.
Every step echoed against ancient stone, the sound swallowed by the weight of centuries. Strange symbols glowed faintly on the walls, runes written in dragonfire. Seraphina's heartbeat quickened as she brushed her fingers across them.
"They're warm," she whispered. "Like they're… alive."
Kael's eyes flickered in the dark, catching the red glow from the runes. "They are. These were carved by blood magic, the kind that binds souls to flame."
A faint hum rippled through the air, followed by a whisper that wasn't theirs.
"Welcome back, daughter of fire."
Seraphina froze. "Did you hear that?"
Kael's hand went to his blade. "Stay behind me."
But the voice came again, softer now, haunting and sorrowful.
"You left me to burn, child. You left us all."
A cold wind surged through the chamber. The torches flickered blue. Then, from the far end of the hall, a veil of smoke began to form, spinning and thickening until it shaped into a figure.
It was a woman, tall, robed in shadows, her eyes like twin embers. She wore a crown of ash.
"Who are you?" Seraphina asked, though her voice trembled.
The woman tilted her head. "You do not remember? I am what remains of the Queen you once were."
Kael tensed. "Impossible."
But Seraphina couldn't move. The voice, the face, the fire in those eyes, it all felt familiar. Like a half-remembered nightmare.
The woman stepped closer, her form flickering between smoke and flame.
"You burned this world, Seraphina. You shattered the bond of dragons. You betrayed the Bloodhound, and condemned us all."
Kael's jaw tightened. "She's not that monster anymore."
The Queen's spirit turned toward him, smiling faintly. "And yet you still wear her mark upon your soul. You can never run from fire, Bloodhound. It always finds you."
The floor split with a violent crack. Fire surged up from the cracks, circling them both in a ring of light.
Kael grabbed Seraphina's arm. "We have to go!"
But the Queen's spirit raised her hand. "Leave, and you'll never know the truth of your bond."
Seraphina's voice was barely a whisper. "What bond?"
The Queen's eyes softened. "The one sealed in blood and flame. The pact that made you mine."
The fire flared bright, then vanished.
The temple went silent again, save for Seraphina's shaking breath.
Kael looked at her, expression torn between anger and fear. "Tell me that's not true."
"I don't know," she whispered, her eyes wide. "But I felt her, Kael, she knew me."
He looked away. "Maybe you don't want to remember what you were."
The silence between them was heavier than stone.
Then, deep within the darkness, the runes began to pulse again, this time forming a single line of words across the wall.
' When the bloodhound and the dragon's flame meet again, the world shall burn anew… or be reborn.'
Kael's eyes met hers. "So the prophecy was real."
Seraphina swallowed hard, fire glinting behind her tears. "And we're right in the middle of it."
The temple breathes. The past wakes. The bond burns anew.
The air was heavy with smoke and silence.
Seraphina's heartbeat echoed in her ears as the glow from the runes dimmed. Kael stepped closer, his voice low.
"We should leave. This place..."
"Wait," she said suddenly, staring at the last rune still glowing faintly on the wall. The pattern formed a circular symbol, half flame, half claw. Her hand trembled as she touched it.
The symbol pulsed, and the wall moved.
With a deep rumble, the stone shifted aside, revealing a narrow passage filled with red mist.
Kael drew his sword, its edge flickering blue in the dim light. "Every time we go deeper, something worse happens."
Seraphina forced a weak smile. "Then maybe we'll finally find what's worth dying for."
They stepped through.
The tunnel opened into a cavern lined with bones, dragon bones, vast and gleaming with crystal fire. At the center of the chamber stood a pedestal, and on it rested an ancient sigil carved into obsidian.
It shimmered like liquid blood.
Kael moved closer. "I've seen this before… in my nightmares."
Seraphina's eyes widened. "Then it's real."
She reached out, and the sigil flared, wrapping her wrist in a band of red light. Kael grabbed her hand, but the light jumped from her skin to his, linking them both in the same fiery bond.
"The Blood Pact awakens," a voice whispered through the cavern, the same voice as before, only louder now. "Two souls, one destiny. One flame, one death."
Seraphina gasped, feeling the heat surge through her veins. Her eyes glowed gold. Kael's fangs lengthened, his breath coming in ragged bursts. The bond wasn't just magic, it was life itself, binding them down to the marrow.
Kael clenched his jaw. "Break it. Now."
"I can't!" she cried. "It's part of the prophecy. We were never supposed to fight it..."
The ground shook violently. The dragon bones began to stir, wings stretching as though waking from eternal sleep.
Kael pulled her back, shouting over the thunder. "Then what do we do?"
Seraphina stared up at the skeletal beast as fire lit its hollow eyes.
"We fulfill it."
A deafening roar shattered the air.
The cavern exploded in flame, and in that firestorm, Seraphina saw visions of herself standing atop a burning citadel, wings made of fire, Kael at her side, his eyes filled with both love and ruin.
When the flames faded, they were outside the temple again, coughing, trembling, the bond mark still glowing faintly on their wrists.
Kael turned to her, breathing hard. "What did you see?"
She looked at him, voice breaking. "The end."
He frowned. "The end of what?"
Her gaze lifted to the crimson horizon. "Everything."