For a long moment, no one moved.
Kanah stood in the snow, breath trembling, staring at Owain as if a single wrong word might break what remained between them.
Owain stood a few feet away, shoulders tight, amber eyes uncertain. He didn't look angry. He didn't look afraid. He looked… lost.
"Help me remember," he repeated softly.
Kanah's breath tightened in her throat.
She nodded slowly.
"I'll go at your pace."
Owain swallowed. He looked away, then back at her, as if trapped between wanting to trust her and not knowing how.
"I don't… feel safe," he murmured. "But I don't feel unsafe either. Does that make sense?"
Kanah managed a tiny smile.
"It makes perfect sense."
He exhaled shakily.
"Good. Because I don't understand myself right now."
The Others Step In
Yllas approached cautiously, wings folded tightly behind his back.
"Wolf," he said gently, "you don't have to force yourself. No one expects you to act as if nothing happened."
Owain's gaze flicked toward him, irritation tightening his jaw.
"I'm not forcing myself. I'm trying to understand what I lost."
Helion scoffed softly from behind a boulder, arms crossed despite the blood on his shoulder.
"You lost your damn mind, apparently."
Owain shot him a glare.
Helion rolled his eyes.
"Relax. I didn't say it was your fault."
Gerrin finally stepped forward, resting both hands on his staff.
"Owain," he said quietly, "unbonding doesn't erase instinct. If you're confused or drawn to something… follow it. It will lead you."
Owain frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means," Gerrin said softly, tilting his head toward Kanah, "your heart remembers even when your mind does not."
Owain's eyes flicked to her.
For a heartbeat, Kanah saw something there—
yearning, maybe.
Recognition, almost.
A spark of something trying to surface.
Then it vanished, swallowed by uncertainty.
Owain stepped backward.
"I'm not ready for anything… big," he said quietly.
Kanah nodded immediately.
"I understand."
"But…"
Owain hesitated.
"I want to try something small."
Kanah's breath caught.
"What… what do you want to try?"
Owain looked at her hand.
Hesitated again.
And then—
He reached out.
Slowly.
Tentatively.
A single trembling finger brushed her knuckles.
Kanah froze.
He swallowed.
"Does this feel familiar to you?" he whispered.
Kanah nodded, eyes filling.
"Yes."
Owain breathed out shakily.
"Not to me."
Kanah's heart split.
But he didn't pull away.
He stepped a little closer.
"Tell me something simple," he murmured. "Something… safe. Something true."
Kanah wiped her cheeks.
Her voice softened.
"You once held my hand because you were afraid you'd lose me."
Owain blinked.
He lowered his eyes to their touching hands.
"I'm… afraid I'll lose something again. Even if I don't know what it is."
Kanah took a slow breath.
"You won't. Not this time."
Owain looked up.
His voice broke.
"Why does that sound like a promise I've heard before?"
She smiled weakly.
"Because it is one."
His breath hitched.
And for a moment—
just a moment—
she felt something tug between them.
Not the bond.
Not the anchor.
But the hint of it.
A faint echo.
Owain's fingers curled slightly against hers—
And then the air cracked.
A sound like a bell struck against metal rolled across the mountains.
Yllas tensed.
Helion stiffened.
Gerrin spun toward the sky.
Kanah's eyes widened.
Owain yanked his hand away immediately, instincts snapping forward.
"What was that?"
The First King's voice boomed overhead:
"The Trial of Restoration has begun."
Kanah lifted her head.
She expected the First King to elaborate.
He didn't.
Instead—
A pulse of white energy expanded outward, covering the valley.
The sigil under Kanah's feet flared brighter, spreading into a ring.
Owain stumbled back, breath catching.
"What—what is happening!?"
Gerrin's eyes widened.
"The First King is setting the rules."
"Rules?" Kanah whispered.
Helion's shadowy marks flared.
"Oh great. We're doing this by his terms now? What's the first rule—cry enough tears to fill a lake?"
The First King ignored him.
"Rule One.
Until the bond reforms, the heir may not use her magic."
Kanah's breath froze.
"What—!? Why!?"
"Because magic tied to emotion cannot be wielded when emotion is unstable."
Kanah's hands trembled.
Owain looked at her sharply.
"So you're defenseless?"
Kanah nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Owain snarled under his breath.
Gerrin closed his eyes.
"This is… worse than I feared."
But the First King wasn't finished.
"Rule Two.
The anchored mate must willingly approach the heir."
Owain stiffened.
"What does that mean?"
Gerrin explained softly.
"It means she cannot chase you, pull you, beg you, or command you. You have to come to her on your own."
Kanah stepped back instinctively.
"Owain… I can give you space—"
Owain cut in sharply.
"No."
Kanah blinked.
His eyes softened a fraction.
"…if I need space, I'll ask. But I don't want you to run from me."
She sucked in a breath.
Owain continued quietly:
"You didn't do anything wrong."
Kanah's knees went weak.
"I chose to lose you."
Owain swallowed.
"And? You said you did it to save me. I'm not stupid. Even if I don't remember… I know what sacrifice feels like."
Kanah looked down.
Owain stepped closer.
"You choose with your heart. I… can sense that much."
Kanah's voice shook.
"Owain…"
He exhaled through his nose.
"But I'm still confused. So don't push."
She nodded.
"I won't."
His shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Good. Because part of me wants to trust you. I just don't know why."
Helion muttered, "Because you're an idiot with good instincts."
Owain didn't argue.
Kanah let out a tiny laugh—
the first since the unbonding.
Owain watched her mouth curve.
Something flickered across his face.
Soft.
Familiar.
Lost.
Before anyone could speak—
The First King spoke again:
"Rule Three.
The heir's bond reforms when the mate chooses her."
Kanah inhaled sharply.
Owain tensed.
Helion swore under his breath.
Yllas closed his eyes.
Gerrin whispered:
"It all begins again."
Owain stepped back slowly, chest rising and falling.
"…choose her?" he repeated.
Kanah swallowed.
"It means," she whispered, "you have to fall in love with me again."
Owain's breath caught.
He stared at her.
Quiet.
Searching.
Scared.
Wanting.
And then—
His guard lowered.
Just a little.
Barely noticeable.
But noticeable enough.
He whispered:
"…then let's start."
Kanah looked up, tears welling again.
"Start… what?"
Owain held her gaze.
"The thing I apparently already started once."
Kanah blinked.
Owain stepped one inch closer.
"Learning you."
Kanah's lips parted.
Her heartbeat roared in her ears.
Owain reached out—
Stopped—
hesitated—
fought himself—
Then placed a hand over her heart.
Her breath stilled.
Owain whispered:
"…this feels familiar."
Kanah whispered back:
"It should."
Then—
A soft jolt hit him.
He flinched.
Kanah gasped.
Gerrin whispered:
"Owain… that's the echo. A memory trying to reattach."
Owain pressed harder, trembling slightly.
"I… I saw something—just for a second. Snow. And—"
He gasped.
"—your face."
Kanah covered her mouth, tears spilling.
"You're remembering—"
Owain's knees nearly buckled.
"That hurt," he whispered. "But it felt… right."
Kanah reached for him carefully.
"Owain—"
Before she could touch him—
A new voice echoed.
Cold.
Wrong.
"The trial begins now."
The First King's form materialized in the distance.
But not alone.
Someone—something—stepped out of the shadows beside him.
Tall.
Dark.
Unfamiliar.
Kanah's breath hitched.
Gerrin stiffened.
Helion stepped forward, curse glowing.
Yllas spread his wings.
Owain pulled Kanah behind him, instinct blazing despite the broken bond.
The figure in the shadows stepped fully into the light—
Revealing a mark Kanah had seen once before.
A mark from her world.
A mark from the man who killed her.
Kanah's blood ran cold.
Owain snarled.
The First King spoke:
"The trial of restoration requires facing what broke you the first time."
Kanah's knees shook.
"No…"
The figure smiled darkly.
Owain trembled with rage he didn't understand.
Kanah whispered, voice cracking:
"…that's the man who murdered me."
Owain's vision went red.