"Kael'thor ven drae,
Il'sahn tu'rei.
Var'mal en'soul,
Heartstone, rise."
Translation:
"By blood let fate be tied,
By will, let life defy.
From sacrifice of soul,
Heartstone, rise."
Icarus's voice was steady but heavy, each word of the ancient chant sending ripples through the air. The room dimmed, the walls pulsing as if breathing. Magic — ancient, forbidden, and blood-bound — awakened from its slumber.
Kaelen knelt beside Selene, cradling her in his arms as if she were made of glass. His hand trembled as he clasped hers.
Icarus joined him, placing one palm gently over Selene's heart and the other over Kaelen's chest.
A sudden pressure wrapped around the room, thick as fog. The atmosphere bent — air heavy, almost sacred.
When the last syllable left Icarus's lips, he gave a small nod.
That was the signal.
Kaelen didn't hesitate.
He stabbed the blade into his own chest.
Once.
Twice. Crimson erupted, soaking his cloak, splashing onto the floor.
"NOOOOO! PLEASE—NO! DADDYYYY! PLEASE, STOP!"
Aria's scream shattered the air. She lunged forward, but Abigel caught her from behind, wrapping strong arms around her as she thrashed wildly.
"LET ME GO!"
"Aria—no. Don't look," Abigel whispered, her voice cracking as she pressed a hand over Aria's eyes.
The others stood still, unmoving. They already knew.They had all already said goodbye.Then it appeared.
A glowing red thread — thin as silk, strong as fate — stretched from Kaelen's chest to Selene's heart.
A deep voice echoed from the void.
"Are you willing to sacrifice your soul?"
Kaelen's voice was quiet… but clear.
"Yes."
A gasp tore from Kaelen's lips, blood soaking through his robes as Selene's chest rose with a shallow, painful breath.
"Selene…" he whispered, voice broken and raw.
Then he collapsed, his body falling to the floor beside the bed like a warrior laid to rest.
"DADDY!" Aria screamed again, struggling in Abigel's arms. Her golden aura flickered wildly—wild, chaotic, desperate.
And then, the room darkened.
A deep voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere.
"You meddled in what was sealed. You trespassed into the realm of the gods."
Icarus stood firm, eyes glowing faintly.
"I had to," he said. "I couldn't let them both die."
A silence fell. Heavy. Immense.
Then the voice returned, quieter—but colder, ancient.
"Then you are marked, wizard. You've cheated me once. But fate is patient… and it remembers."
Icarus's hand twitched. A thin thread of crimson shimmered at his fingertips—barely visible, barely there.
"You may walk free today," the voice hissed, "but the price will find you."
Then—nothing.
The presence lifted, leaving only the raw, quiet sound of Aria sobbing into Abigel's chest and the shallow, shaky breaths of a mother who should've been long gone.
And Icarus, though silent, stared down at his own hand—where that thread of crimson remained, pulsing once like a heartbeat.
AT NIGHT
Aria woke up screaming.
The image of Kaelen stabbing himself repeated in her dreams like a curse. She couldn't escape it.
Her voice cracked through the silence, raw and trembling:
"Daddd… please—don't…"
She jolted upright, breathless, sweat clinging to her temples. But then—
A warmth wrapped around her. Familiar. Safe. Steady.
A scent she knew better than her own—a scent that grounded her like earth after a storm.
Abigel.
He didn't speak right away. He just held her, arms firm, protective, unshaking.
She collapsed against his chest, sobbing silently.
"I know," he whispered, his voice low and quiet against her hair. "I'll be here with you."
Aria's voice cracked again.
"Did… did everyone else know?"
A pause. Then, his deep voice came again—slightly softer now.
"Sir Kaelen asked us not to tell you. He'd been looking for it everywhere. Days outside the walls. Barely eating. Restless. He knew the cost… but he didn't want you to carry it."
Aria squeezed his coat tightly, her knuckles pale.
"Please… stay with me."
No hesitation.
"I will," Abigel replied.
And he did. No questions. No expectations. Just unwavering presence.
She cried until her breath quieted, until the world stopped spinning around her grief. Her fingers stayed tangled in his clothes, and her cheek pressed to his chest, where his heartbeat kept time with hers.
THE MEETING ROOM
The wind outside howled softly against the ancient palace walls, but inside the meeting room, silence reigned.
Icarus stood by the tall arched window, arms folded behind his back, eyes fixed on the moonlit desert beyond. The faint reflection of his own troubled face stared back at him through the glass. He had no idea how to explain what was coming—what he feared might already be written in fate. But more than that, he didn't know if he could explain it to Aria.
"You can't," Theo's voice broke the silence.
Icarus turned slightly. Theo was watching him, arms crossed, eyes sharp—but not cold. He knew. Of course he did.
"It's already written," Liam added from his seat. "We all have to go through this together. And we will solve this."
Icarus looked at Theo again as they holding something beyond.
Icarus glanced to the side, toward the small enclosed chamber where Kaelen now lay beside Selene, unconscious, being tended to by both magicians and physicians. The couple looked… peaceful. As if caught between two worlds.
"What's next?" Caisson's voice rose from the head of the table as he stood,
Icarus turned to him.
"We have time. Khalid won't be able to fully recover for a while. Not after what happened. And the wall—" he nodded toward the barrier of magic surrounding the palace, "—will hold. It was built to resist even time itself."
Just then, a sharp flutter of wings echoed in the chamber.
Vireth burst in through a high window, wings beating furiously before settling on the arm of Icarus.
"Master," his voice always slightly metallic. "I found it."
Icarus's breath hitched. His fingers curled slightly at his side.
"Good," he said quietly. But his eyes… they looked distant. Almost resigned.
And whatever Vireth had found… would not come without its own price.