The alley smelled like rain and ash, though the skies were clear. Arielle followed Selene past a row of graffiti-streaked brick walls to a rusted door tucked behind what looked like a boarded-up laundromat. The hum in her chest had grown sharper, more rhythmic, like it was echoing Selene's faintly glowing needle.
Selene drew a spiral across the door with a piece of chalk, whispering words Arielle couldn't catch. The spiral lit up, a soft, white glow that faded as the door swung inward with a groan.
What lay beyond didn't belong to Starlight City.
Threads. Thousands of them. They arced across the air like glowing rivers, their colors shifting from warm golds to deep violets, weaving in complex, fluid patterns. The space felt endless, though Arielle was standing on solid ground. The air thrummed with the hum she'd been feeling in her bones for days.
She stopped dead, overwhelmed. "What is this place?"
Selene stepped lightly across the concrete floor, the silver needle drawing subtle arcs of light as they moved. "A Conduit Chamber. One of the few left unclaimed by the coven. The weave's heart beats loudest here. Which is why it's the safest — and most dangerous — place to learn."
"Learn?" Arielle echoed, her voice low. Her eyes caught on a dim, flickering thread sagging near the ground. It pulsed weakly, each glow shorter than the last.
Selene gestured to it. "That one's fraying. Two people's lives are bound by it. If it snaps, they lose more than love. They lose themselves. You can stabilize it — if you focus."
Arielle crouched, heart hammering. The thread vibrated as her fingertips neared, faint but insistent. She closed her eyes, picturing the bond whole, picturing the way it might look if it wasn't unraveling.
Heat surged up her arm. Flashes hit her — a pair of voices laughing in a kitchen, a hospital room at 3 a.m., fingers interlocked in silence. It wasn't hers, but the emotions washed over her, heavy and intimate.
"Breathe," Selene murmured, their hand steadying her wrist. "You're not stealing their memories. You're holding their connection. Now make it whole."
She imagined the frayed strands weaving together, tight and smooth. The thread in her hand glowed brighter, its pulse steadying.
When she opened her eyes, the thread floated strong, luminous, no longer sagging. The hum in her chest faded to something gentler, almost like a sigh of relief.
Selene's hand lingered on her wrist a second longer before releasing her. "Your first weave," they said softly. "Now you understand why I found you. The weave doesn't let Threadbinders hide forever. And soon…" Their eyes lifted to the ceiling, where the massive black tether loomed faintly beyond the chamber's glow. "…you'll have to face that."
The black thread pulsed once, its rhythm slow and hungry.
And Arielle realized this wasn't just about saving connections anymore. Something was devouring them, and she was running out of time to stop it.