Alright — here's Chapter 10 of Affinity: The
They didn't stop moving until the marsh gave way to solid ground. A jagged ridgeline loomed ahead, offering a narrow path between black stone cliffs. Seris finally called for a halt, leaning on her crossbow.
"Sit," she ordered. "You look like you're about to drop dead."
Lucas obeyed, though his pulse was still a thunder in his ears. The Orb was cool against his chest now, almost deceptively quiet, as if it hadn't just tried to burn him alive from the inside.
Kaelen crouched beside him, examining his face. "Your pupils are blown. That's the first sign of overdraw."
"Overdraw?" Lucas rasped.
"Affinity burn-out," Kaelen said. "The Orb's power isn't endless. It pulls from you to shape its magic — your stamina, your focus, even your life force. Push too far, and it won't matter how strong you are. You'll just… stop."
Lucas swallowed. "So what was that thing? The… hunter?"
Seris sat opposite him, her expression grim. "We call them Echo-Beasts. They're drawn to high-affinity sources — relics, conduits, people who've… bonded with something they shouldn't." Her eyes flicked to the Orb. "Like you."
Kaelen added, "They weren't made naturally. Centuries ago, a sect of war-mages tried to create the perfect guardian using mixed affinities. But magic like that doesn't bend — it breaks. The guardians turned on their masters. Now they roam, hunting anything that smells of concentrated power."
Lucas shivered. "So you're saying… it smelled the Orb on me?"
"No," Seris said flatly. "It smelled you. The Orb's already linked itself to your essence. That bond is a beacon in the dark — to things like the Echo-Beasts, you're a walking bonfire."
Lucas's chest tightened. "Then why not take the Orb off me? Give it to someone else."
Kaelen's gaze shifted uneasily. "That's… the problem. Once the Orb chooses, it doesn't let go. We could cut your heart out and maybe, maybe, it would release. But by then, you'd be too dead to care."
"Comforting," Lucas muttered.
Seris leaned forward. "You need to understand something. You've stumbled into something far bigger than you realize. That Orb — it's not just 'all affinities in one.' It's the last of the Spectrum Relics. The others were shattered in the Sundering War. And every faction worth its teeth is going to want it — or want you buried in the deepest hole they can find."
Lucas felt the weight of the Orb like a stone on his ribs. "So I'm… what? A target for the rest of my life?"
"Until we find a way to shield you," Seris said. "Or until someone kills you. Whichever comes first."
Kaelen shot her a look. "Optimism, Seris. It's an art."
Seris ignored him and pulled something from her belt — a small, silver coin etched with concentric circles. "This is a ward token. It'll dull your signature for a while. Not perfect, but it might buy us enough time to get to Redmark."
Lucas turned it over in his palm. The etching seemed to shimmer faintly in the fading light. "And what's in Redmark?"
"People who know more than I do," Seris said. "And maybe, just maybe, a way to stop the hunters from tracking you like bloodhounds."
A cold wind swept through the pass, carrying with it a faint, almost imperceptible sound — a scrape, like claws on stone. Lucas froze.
Seris's hand went to her weapon. Kaelen's eyes darted toward the cliffs.
Lucas felt it before he saw it — a low vibration in his bones, the Orb's pulse quickening.
"They've found us again," Seris whispered.