Lyra didn't stop running until she reached the abandoned interceptor in the valley, the Nullifier Blade clutched to her chest. She was shaking violently, not just from the cold, but from the searing, incapacitating pain in her chest—Elias's wound. The disruptor blast had been close-range and immense.
She collapsed into the pilot seat, her vision blurring. She knew, without needing a thought from the link, that Elias was gravely wounded. The bond was a screaming siren of agony and fading consciousness.
Lyra... run... His mental voice was a weak, fractured whisper.
No! I'm coming back! she screamed mentally, trying to fight the pain and restart the engines.
The Blade... is the only way... to fight the Spire... Elias projected, his consciousness flickering like a failing lamp. Don't lose it... Don't lose the Crystal...
Lyra realized the terrible truth: Elias was using the pain of his wound to force her to flee, knowing that if she came back, Kaelen would kill them both. His final act was to sacrifice his safety for the mission.
She fought back tears, channeling her terror into fierce resolve. She powered the interceptor's Aether engine.
"I will not let you die for nothing, Elias Vane," Lyra vowed, her voice raw. "I will not let this love be your tomb."
She set the autopilot for the safest, most distant landing zone she could think of—a hidden monastery retreat on a neutral peak—and then, unable to bear the searing, shared pain any longer, she ripped a piece of Aether-damping cloth and tightly wrapped it around her wrist sigil, trying to temporarily dampen the immense psychic feedback.
Lyra landed the interceptor hours later, the flight a blur of pain and panic. She immediately set out on foot toward the small, remote monastery, carrying the Memory-Crystal and the Nullifier Blade.
She found the monastery—a small, insulated structure on a rocky outcrop—and pleaded for help. The monks, accustomed to isolation and silence, were wary but agreed to give her shelter.
Inside, alone in a cold, stone room, Lyra unwrapped her wrist. The pain surged back, but it was different now: a rhythmic, shallow thrumming, a sign of severe trauma, but stable. He was alive, but barely. He was likely Kaelen's prisoner.
She looked at the Nullifier Blade—the only object that could sever their agonizing connection and save their memories. And she looked at the Memory-Crystal, the only evidence that could save Aerthos.
Lyra knew her next move was clear: she couldn't face the Spire alone, but she couldn't leave Elias to die.
She focused her entire being through the link, sending a single, clear thought, pushing past the fog of Elias's pain and unconsciousness: I know you are alive. I have the Blade. I will not use it until you are safe. I will not stop until I save you, and then, together, we save the world.
She received nothing in return—only the faint, rhythmic drumming of a barely beating heart.
Lyra laid the Nullifier Blade on a stone altar. The Blade, the weapon of separation, was now her silent witness.
She took the Memory-Crystal and sat before it, beginning the meticulous work of setting the evidence for a public display. She had only three days left. She had to figure out how to get the evidence to the Arcane Council and use the Blade's Aether-neutralizing properties to protect herself.
Her mind worked with cold, scholar's focus, but her heart was bleeding for the man who had traded his life for her mission. The romantic love, forged in chaos, was now tempered by profound sacrifice.
She looked at the Blade, the symbol of their freedom. She could use it, break the connection, erase the trauma, and erase the love. She would be free to deliver the evidence without the distraction of his constant agony.
But she couldn't. The moment she fled, Elias had become more than just her bound partner; he was her purpose.
Lyra Vane (she thought of him now, using his name, claiming him), the heiress who had chosen the assassin, made her final vow. She would use the Blade to cut down the Spire, but she would never use it to cut her love.
Her new mission: Rescue Elias, then execute the mission at the Grand Obsidian Atrium.