The golden glow faded slowly, like embers dimming after a violent flare. Elara stood trembling, her breath sharp, her skin still humming with a force she didn't understand. The room felt too small, too quiet—too shocked to breathe.
Elder Marcellus stared at her as though he were looking at a ghost.
Or worse—
A weapon.
Elias moved first, stepping protectively in front of her. "Marcellus. You will not touch her."
Marcellus didn't blink. "The Awakener… after all these centuries. The prophecy warned us this day might come."
Elara forced herself to stand straighter. "What prophecy? Stop speaking in riddles!"
The Elder's eyes flicked to her hands—still faintly glowing. "Long ago, before the War of Blood, there was a being blessed with Creation's first light. A healer whose power could either save the world… or unmake it. The Awakener."
Her pulse thundered. "I—I don't want to unmake anything! I just want to help Lucien!"
Marcellus's face hardened. "And that is precisely why you're dangerous. Your power reacts to your emotions. To your attachments."
Elias's jaw clenched. "You want to separate them."
"I want to prevent a cataclysm," Marcellus snapped. "The vampire has already awakened forces within her that should never have been touched."
Elara stepped forward. "Lucien didn't force anything out of me. I changed because I wanted to protect him."
"Exactly," Marcellus said quietly. "Your desire alone nearly shattered the Sanctuary's wards. What happens when you lose control again? When the vampire is threatened? When you feel pain?"
"I have control."
"No," he whispered, "you have an ancient storm inside you. One you cannot predict."
Elara tried to speak—but the ground suddenly trembled beneath them.
A distant roar echoed through the halls.
Not a beast's roar.
A cry of fury. Pain. Hatred.
Lucien.
Elias paled. "They must've started the interrogation."
"No," Elara breathed, her heart tightening. "He felt my fear. He felt the spell they tried to cast on me."
And she felt him back—faint, aching, desperate.
Elara… I'm coming. Don't let them take you.
The bond flickered, unstable but alive.
Before anyone could stop her, she ran for the door.
"ELARA!" Elias shouted.
Marcellus raised a barrier of shimmering light.
Elara didn't stop.
She slammed into it—and the barrier shattered like cracked glass, exploding outward in a flash of white fire.
Marcellus stumbled back, horrified.
Elias shielded his eyes.
Elara didn't even fully understand how she'd done it.
"I have to go to him," she said, voice trembling but firm.
"No!" Marcellus roared. "If the vampire reaches you in his current state—if your powers surge again—you could tear open a rift between realms! You could doom us all!"
Elara's stomach twisted.
But her decision didn't waver.
"I'm not afraid of him," she whispered. "And he's not afraid of me. Whatever is happening—I have to be there."
She turned—
But Marcellus raised a hand, summoning a chain of silver symbols that lunged for her like snakes.
"STOP!" Elias shouted.
Elara lifted her arm instinctively—
Light erupted from her palm—
The spell shattered midair.
Marcellus gasped. "She can break Elder magic—impossible…"
Elias looked between them, face torn with conflict.
But Elara didn't stay to hear more.
She ran.
✦ The Lower Halls — Holding Chambers
The deeper she ran, the colder it became. The Sanctuary lights flickered, torches guttering as if afraid.
Lucien's presence pulsed through her—not words, just emotion.
Pain.
Fear.
Rage… but not at her.
He was fighting something.
Or someone.
Elara's breath quickened. She pushed faster, turning corner after corner until she nearly collided with two Sanctuary guards.
They blocked the hallway leading to the holding chambers.
"Elara of the Riverborn," one guard said nervously, "you are forbidden from entering this level."
"I don't care," she hissed.
The second guard swallowed. "We have orders."
Elara's power surged again—unbidden, unstoppable.
The air shimmered around her.
The guards stepped back in fear.
"We mean you no harm," the first said, hands raised.
"I know," Elara whispered. "But I'm not staying away from him."
Before they could respond, another roar shook the halls.
But this one wasn't rage.
It was suffering.
Lucien.
Something inside her snapped.
Her powers rushed outward—not explosive this time, but soft, fluid, ancient. The guards froze mid-step, not harmed, just immobilized—held gently in place by golden threads of light.
She slipped past them.
Her heart pounded louder with every step, until she reached the final door—
The one leading to Lucien.
She pushed it open.
And stopped breathing.
✦ Inside the Chamber
Lucien was chained to the stone floor—silver chains burning into his wrists, his skin smoking where they touched. His hair hung wild around his face, his eyes glowing blood-red.
But worst of all were the Elders surrounding him, chanting binding spells that struck his body like shards of ice.
"STOP!" Elara screamed.
Her voice cracked through the chamber like a whip.
The Elders spun around.
Lucien lifted his head—
And the moment his eyes found hers, every spell faltered.
"Elara…" he breathed.
His voice was broken. Raw.
Something inside her shattered.
"What are you doing to him?" she cried, rushing forward.
But the closest Elder raised a hand. "Stay back, girl! He is losing control—he's a danger to you!"
Lucien snarled—not at her, but at the Elder who touched him.
Chains rattled violently.
"Elara, go," he choked. "They'll hurt you. Please—just go."
"No," she whispered, tears burning her eyes. "Not again. Not ever."
The Elders resumed their chanting.
Lucien screamed—his body arching in agony.
Elara felt the pain through the bond, sharp and blinding.
"STOP IT!" she sobbed.
But they didn't.
They only increased the spell.
Her vision blurred.
Lucien collapsed, shaking violently. "Elara… run…"
Something inside her broke open.
Light—pure, ancient, overwhelming—exploded from her in a golden wave that threw every Elder backward into the walls.
The chains binding Lucien shattered.
Silence fell.
Lucien collapsed to his knees, gasping.
Elara ran to him, dropping beside him.
"Lucien," she whispered, cupping his face.
His skin was cold, trembling beneath her touch. But his eyes—when they met hers—they softened instantly.
"You came," he breathed.
"I always will."
He closed his eyes, forehead resting against hers. "They… they said you were dangerous. That they had to separate us. That you weren't human."
Her heart tightened. "Lucien, I don't know what I am. But I know what you mean to me."
He shuddered, gripping her arms weakly. "They fear you, Elara. But I—"
She waited.
Lucien opened his eyes, voice cracking.
"I don't fear you. I fear losing you."
Her breath hitched.
Before she could speak, footsteps echoed at the chamber entrance.
Elias stood there, panting.
Behind him—
Marcellus.
"Elara…" Elias warned, "you have to leave. Now. Before the Elders recover."
But Marcellus's eyes weren't angry anymore.
They were… terrified.
He stared at Elara as though she were the dawn and the world ending at once.
"The prophecy," he whispered hoarsely. "The Awakener will bind her light to the monster of the night… and together, they will rewrite fate."
Lucien stiffened.
Elara froze.
Rewrite fate?
"What does that mean?" she whispered.
Marcellus looked at them both with resignation—and fear.
"It means your bond was never forbidden…" he said softly.
"It was never meant to be prevented."
His voice dropped to a trembling whisper—
"It was meant to change the world."