The shrine is left behind at dawn. Mist coils across the fields, clinging to Kael's boots as he walks the worn road. The mark on his chest burns faintly, as if reminding him of the choice he never made. Elira keeps close at his right, Lyra at his left, neither willing to let the other have even a step's advantage.
Silence hangs heavy. Every time Kael opens his mouth to speak, one of them looks at him with such intensity that the words die on his tongue.
By midday the path winds into a forest, the canopy blotting out the sun. Birds fall silent. The air grows thick with damp earth and moss. Kael's unease rises.
"We should not linger here," Lyra murmurs, her blue eyes scanning the trees. "The woods hide more than shadows."
Elira smirks. "If something appears, I will kill it. Simple."
Kael tightens his grip on his sword. "Be cautious. Both of you."
The warning comes too late. From the undergrowth surge creatures unlike any Kael has seen. Their bodies are wolf-like, but their hides shimmer with dark scales. Their eyes burn red, and their teeth glisten with venom. Three of them circle the group, growling low.
Kael steadies his stance. His heart hammers, but he forces himself not to falter. "Stay together."
Elira laughs softly, spinning her dagger. "I will tear them apart."
Lyra raises her staff, light gathering at its tip. "I will shield him. Do not fail."
The wolves leap.
Kael swings his sword, clashing against scaled hide. The impact jars his arms, but his blade draws a shallow line of blood. The creature snarls, striking again. Kael ducks, rolling to his feet with ragged breath.
Elira is faster. She slashes across a wolf's throat, golden eyes alight with joy. Blood spatters her face, but she smiles as if painted in glory.
Lyra's voice rises in chant. A shield of shimmering light forms around Kael, absorbing the strike of another wolf. Sparks scatter, the force rattling him but leaving him unharmed.
"Stay behind me," she calls.
"I am not helpless," Kael snaps, but another strike nearly drops him to his knees. His chest burns, the mark surging with painful heat.
Elira darts in front of him, stabbing the wolf that threatened him. She twists the blade cruelly, her laughter ringing through the trees. "See, Kael? You cannot survive without me."
Lyra's magic flares brighter. A lance of light pierces the third wolf, searing through its skull. The beast collapses, smoke rising from the wound. She turns to Kael, her voice firm but soft. "See, Kael? You cannot endure without me."
The last wolf, wounded but not dead, limps away into the trees. Silence falls again, broken only by Kael's ragged breaths.
Elira wipes her blade on the grass, her smile wide and sharp. "That was nothing. I will kill a thousand more if they come near you."
Lyra lowers her staff, her calm gaze steady. "Killing endlessly will not save him from the curse. He needs healing, not slaughter."
Their eyes lock, fire against ice.
Kael grips his sword tighter. His body trembles with exhaustion, but his voice comes harsh. "Enough. If you want to fight, fight the curse. Not each other."
For a moment, both fall silent. Yet Kael feels the chains tightening. The mark burns hotter, feeding on their rivalry, feeding on his fear.
He knows Thornhall lies ahead, deeper in a world that already wants to devour him.
And with each step, the chains only multiply.
*****
The forest thins by nightfall, giving way to broken plains. Ruined watchtowers rise in the distance, their stones cracked and blackened by war. Kael's legs ache with every step, but he forces himself onward. The mark burns constantly now, a reminder that his fate is not his own.
Elira walks at his right, her golden eyes watching every shadow. Lyra remains at his left, her staff glowing faintly as a ward against the dark. Neither speaks to the other. Both claim silence as their weapon.
Kael feels it pressing on him like a weight. He wants to rest, to breathe, but between them there is no peace.
As the sun sinks, they hear it. A faint cry carried on the wind. At first Kael thinks it is an animal, but then words form through the echo.
"Help me… please…"
He stiffens. "Did you hear that?"
Lyra nods. "A voice. A girl."
Elira tilts her head, her smile sharp. "A trap, perhaps. We should ignore it."
But Kael is already moving toward the sound. His chest burns hotter with every step, as if the mark itself pulls him forward.
They follow the voice to the ruins of a collapsed tower. Beneath fallen stone and broken chains, a girl kneels. Her hair is black as midnight, her eyes pale violet that glow faintly in the dusk. Shackles bind her wrists, and strange sigils are carved into the ground around her.
When she sees them, her gaze fixes on Kael. Not on Elira. Not on Lyra. Only on him.
"You… you came," she whispers, her voice trembling.
Kael freezes. "Do I… know you?"
The girl shakes her head, her chains rattling. "Not yet. But I have dreamed of you. Every night. The mark binds us already."
Elira's smile vanishes. She steps forward, dagger in hand. "Another one." Her voice is cold. "He does not need you."
Lyra lifts her staff, barring Elira's path. "If she is bound by the curse, killing her may only strengthen it. Let him decide."
Kael swallows hard, torn between their glares. His eyes return to the chained girl. She looks fragile, her wrists raw where the shackles cut into skin. Yet her gaze burns with desperate devotion.
"Free me," she whispers. "Please. I belong to you."
The mark on Kael's chest sears with unbearable heat. He staggers, clutching it. He knows if he frees her, another chain will lock around him. Yet leaving her here feels impossible.
Elira grips his arm. Her voice is sweet, but her nails dig into his skin. "She is lying. She will only steal you from me. Walk away, Kael."
Lyra's hand rests lightly on his other arm, her tone calm but unyielding. "If you leave her, the curse will haunt you. Free her, and we may learn more of its nature."
Two voices already bound him. Now a third waits, her chains ready to become his own.
Kael breathes heavily, trapped between fire, ice, and shadow. He knows no matter what choice he makes, the mark is already deciding for him.
He steps forward.
The girl's lips curve into a trembling smile, tears running down her cheeks. "I knew you would save me."
Behind him, Elira's golden eyes blaze with fury. Lyra's blue gaze narrows with cold determination.
And Kael realizes the chains around his heart are multiplying faster than he can break them.