The Sanctuary felt different after the titan's fall—quieter, almost reverent. But beneath the silence, Elara felt something else.
A vibration.
Gentle, constant.
Like a second heartbeat trying to sync with her own.
By midday, the vibration had grown into a restless thrum in her bones.
"Elara, sit," Kael commanded softly.
He knelt in front of her, fingers brushing her temples. She hadn't even realized she was trembling until his touch steadied her.
"It's the Mirror," she whispered. "Ever since the titan died… it hasn't stopped reacting."
Kael's jaw tightened. "You overextended your anchor ability. Even ancient healers did not attempt that alone."
She managed a faint laugh. "Kael… no ancient healer had you and Aren tied to their soul. I just—felt like I could see everything."
"That doesn't make it safe."
His eyes softened with that fierce protectiveness that always both steadied and shook her.
"Elara," he murmured, "tell me exactly what you feel."
She drew a long breath.
"Like threads pulling in different directions. You. Aren. The Mirror itself. And something else—something cold. Watching."
Kael stilled.
"That's the Devourer," he whispered darkly. "It touched the bond when it spoke to Aren."
Elara flinched. "Then the Devourer can reach me?"
Kael cupped her face firmly.
"No. It will try. But it cannot touch you while I stand."
She leaned into his palm, breathing in the strange warmth he carried—like fire wrapped in frost. It was comfort and danger all at once.
But before she could speak again—
A knock echoed.
Aren stood in the doorway.
He looked worse. Pale. Drained. Eyes too bright. His hands trembled as though the Mirror's rhythm lived inside them too.
"Elara," he whispered, "the Council wants all three of us."
Kael rose immediately, positioning himself slightly in front of Elara out of habit. "Why?"
Aren swallowed.
"They're saying… the Mirror bond may be unstable."
🔥 The Council Summons
The Council chamber felt colder than usual. A half-circle of Elders waited beneath silver lanterns. Their runic tattoos glowed faintly—some with caution, some with suspicion.
Elder Seran, the eldest among them, leaned forward.
"Elara. Kael. Aren. Sit."
They obeyed, though Kael's hand remained on the hilt of his blade.
Seran's sharp eyes flickered between them.
"We felt the Mirror flare during the titan's defeat," Seran said. "That kind of surge has not occurred in centuries."
Elara glanced at Aren. "I anchored the titan. The Mirror showed me how."
Several Elders stirred.
"You anchored a Hollowborn?" Elder Vael demanded. "Alone?"
Kael's voice rumbled. "She was not alone."
Aren added softly, "None of us were. That's how anchors work."
But Seran did not look convinced.
"Elara," he said, "describe what you saw."
She hesitated—Kael squeezed her hand.
"I saw its structure," she said. "Threads. Weak points. As if the Mirror was mapping it for me."
Seran exhaled slowly.
"That ability has only been recorded once," he said. "By the First Healer of the Mirror. Who died after attempting it."
Kael stiffened. "She is not dying."
Elara placed her other hand over his. "Kael—"
But Aren beat her to it.
"Elder Seran," Aren said tiredly, "we need more information on the Mirror's origin. The Devourer spoke to me. It knew the structure Elara created."
Whispers rippled around the chamber.
Seran looked sharply at Aren. "You heard it directly?"
Aren nodded, though the admission clearly cost him. "It said every new shape has… breaking points."
Elder Vael stood abruptly. "So the Devourer is studying the bond."
A coldness crept down Elara's spine.
Seran's voice dropped to grave quiet.
"Elara… Kael… Aren… we believe the Mirror's awakening is accelerating. And with it… something else."
"What?" Elara whispered.
Seran gestured, and a scribe unrolled an ancient parchment.
The ink was faded, but one phrase burned clearly:
WHEN THE MIRROR AWAKENS IN THREE,
THE DEVOURER MARKS ONE.
Elara's stomach dropped.
Aren inhaled sharply. "Marks… one?"
Kael snarled. "No."
But Seran pressed on.
"We have reason to believe the Devourer has chosen its target already."
Silence.
Elara felt every heartbeat in the room slow.
Kael's hand tightened around hers until her fingers tingled.
Aren swallowed, eyes widening in dawning horror.
"Elara," Seran said quietly.
"It is you."
Kael shot to his feet with a sound that was not human.
⚡ The Mark Appears
"No," Kael said, voice shaking with fury. "You will not put that burden on her."
Seran remained calm. "The titan locked onto her across a mile. It ignored all others. And when it died… the Devourer touched her anchor through Aren."
Elara felt faint. "I didn't feel anything."
Aren looked away. "Because the Mirror shielded you through me. But Elara…"
He hesitated.
"Ever since the titan fell, have you had… cold pulses? From your chest? Not from us?"
She froze.
Kael's head snapped toward her. "Elara—why didn't you tell me?"
"I… I didn't want to alarm anyone," she whispered.
Kael's voice cracked. "You think I care about alarms?"
Before she could answer, Aren stepped closer.
"Elara," he said softly, "may I… check something?"
She nodded.
Aren placed his hand lightly over her sternum—over the Mirror's core.
Kael tensed but did not stop him.
Aren closed his eyes.
A beat.
Another.
Then he inhaled sharply.
"Elara… there's a foreign thread in the Mirror."
Cold silence.
Kael's aura burst like wildfire.
"Get it out."
Aren shook his head, horrified. "It's fused too deeply. If I pull it—it could rip her anchor apart."
"Then stabilize it," Kael said darkly. "Now."
But Aren's voice broke. "Kael… it's not destabilizing her. It's… watching."
Elara felt sick.
"Watching?" she whispered.
Aren opened his eyes, voice trembling.
"The Devourer didn't mark you to destroy you."
Elara swallowed. "Then why—?"
"It marked you," Aren whispered,
"to learn you."
The chamber erupted.
Shouts. Protests. Speculations.
Kael stood frozen—like a statue carved from storm and wrath—eyes burning with a lethal promise.
"Elara," he said quietly, dangerously,
"we're leaving. Now."
"No," Seran countered. "She must remain where the Sanctuary can monitor—"
Kael's blade flashed halfway out of its sheath.
"Elara stays with me," he growled. "Or I tear down the Sanctuary stone by stone."
Aren stepped between them, breath shaking.
"Kael, wait. We need to think. If Elara leaves—"
"She will be hunted," Seran finished.
Kael's aura flared. "She is hunted NOW."
"Elara," Aren murmured pleadingly, "if you leave, the Devourer will follow your anchor trail without interference."
"If she stays," Kael snapped, "she becomes a target for everything it controls."
The Council chamber crackled with tension.
And then—
A cold breeze swept through the room.
Lantern flames dimmed.
The walls vibrated.
Elara gasped, clutching her soul-bond.
A whisper—faint, ancient, curling like smoke—slipped into her mind.
"Found you."
The air shattered.
Kael caught her as she collapsed, his voice a terrified snarl.
"Elara!"