Lianna floated in darkness.
At first, she thought she was dreaming, but the weightlessness was too sharp, too vivid. There was no ground beneath her, no ceiling above—only endless black.
Her wrist pulsed like a heartbeat, light threading out from it, weaving patterns through the void.
Where am I?
Her voice didn't echo. It simply dissolved into the silence.
Then, faintly, she heard it. A whisper. Not from the void, but from the light itself.
Find me.
The words shivered down her spine, delicate and commanding all at once.
"Who's there?" she called, spinning in place, searching for the source.
The light from her wrist stretched farther, unraveling into strands that wove themselves into shapes—arches, pillars, fragments of a broken hall. It was like watching pieces of a memory assemble themselves in front of her eyes.
At the far end of the hall, she saw a figure.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. His back turned to her.
Her heart thudded painfully. She couldn't see his face, only the dark silhouette framed by light, but something inside her stirred—an ache that felt too familiar for a stranger.
The whisper came again, clearer this time.
Lianna…
Her breath caught. "Who are you?"
The figure didn't move. But when the light swelled, she thought she saw the faint outline of a crown.
Before she could step closer, shadows surged into the hall, swallowing the light in a violent rush. The figure blurred, vanishing, and Lianna's cry echoed into nothing—
She jolted awake with a gasp.
The sanctuary's ceiling loomed above her, runes glowing faintly. Her body was damp with sweat, her chest heaving.
A hand steadied her shoulder. "Easy. You're safe."
Auren.
His silver hair gleamed in the dim light, his eyes filled with worry. He knelt beside her, one hand bracing her back as though she might collapse again.
"You've been unconscious for hours," he said softly. "I thought…" His words faltered, but his hand lingered at her shoulder, steady and warm. "I'm glad you woke."
Lianna swallowed, still shaken. "I saw…" Her voice cracked. She pressed her wrist to her chest, the faint glow still there, as stubborn as ever.
Auren leaned closer. "What did you see?"
Her lips parted, but she hesitated. If she told him, would it make sense? The shadowy figure, the whisper, the crown—it all felt too fragile, too unreal.
Kael's voice cut in before she could answer.
"Another vision."
Lianna turned sharply. He stood in the corner, shadows still clinging faintly to him, his gray eyes narrowed. He looked like he hadn't moved since she fell unconscious—like he'd been watching her the entire time.
"It wasn't just a vision," Lianna said hoarsely. "It felt… real."
"Dreams always feel real when you're drowning in them," Kael replied, his tone sharp. "That doesn't mean you should trust them."
Auren's jaw tightened. "Don't dismiss her so easily. If the bond is awakening, then what she saw could be a piece of truth."
"Or a trap," Kael countered.
The tension between them was suffocating, thick enough to press against Lianna's skin.
"Stop," she snapped, her voice trembling. "Stop treating me like some—some prophecy you can argue over. I'm still me. I'm still—"
Her voice cracked, the weight of exhaustion crushing her chest. She pulled the blanket tighter around her, wishing the ground would swallow her whole.
Silence stretched.
Then Auren's voice softened. "You don't have to carry this alone, Lianna. Not with me here."
Kael's gaze darkened, but he said nothing.
Lianna looked between them, her heart aching. Auren's warmth felt like safety she craved. Kael's shadows felt like storms she feared… yet couldn't ignore.
But the whisper still echoed in her mind. Find me.
Her hands tightened into fists. Whoever that figure was, whatever the bond meant, she needed answers.
No more being treated like a fragile vessel. No more half-truths.
"I want to know what this bond really is," she said, forcing strength into her trembling voice. "No more secrets. Tell me everything."
Both men froze.
Kael's storm-gray eyes locked onto hers, unreadable, as though weighing the risk. Auren's lips pressed together, hesitant, protective.
Finally, Kael spoke. "The bond ties your soul to another. Whoever it is, wherever they are—it's written. You cannot escape it."
Lianna's chest tightened painfully. "And what happens if I don't want it?"
Kael's silence was answer enough.
Auren's voice was gentler, almost pitying. "Then the bond will consume you."
Lianna's throat closed, tears burning her eyes. Her life—her choices—reduced to nothing but a chain she never asked for.
The mark at her wrist pulsed again, as if mocking her despair.
Her voice cracked as she whispered, "Then I need to find him. Whoever he is. I need to know if… if this fate is worth it."
Both Kael and Auren stiffened at her words, though neither stopped her.
For the first time, Lianna felt the faintest spark of resolve. She might not control the bond—but she could control how she faced it.
And somewhere out there, in light or shadow, the man with the crown was waiting.
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