Elira didn't sleep.
Not because she was afraid.
Because something inside her refused to rest.
Her body lay still on the mattress, eyes closed, breath slow and controlled, but awareness hummed beneath her skin like a low current—every sound in the building registered. Pipes settling. A door opening three floors down. The faint vibration of traffic through concrete.
She was listening without trying.
"You're doing it again," she whispered.
Kael was already aware of it.
The bond is stabilizing, he said. Sleep is no longer a requirement. It is an option.
Her eyes snapped open. "That's not normal."
Neither are you.
The words landed heavier than they should have.
Elira sat up, rubbing her arms as if she could shake the sensation crawling through her veins. The apartment felt tighter now, like it had shrunk overnight. Or maybe she'd grown beyond it.
"You said they set a timetable," she said. "Tell me what that means."
Kael did not answer immediately.
She felt him calculating, measuring how much truth her body could carry without breaking.
It means you are no longer a question, he said finally. You are a decision.
Her stomach knotted. "Whose?"
The council's. A pause. And mine.
She stood and crossed the room, stopping at the window. Dawn hadn't fully broken yet. The city hovered in that fragile grey between night and morning.
"How much time?" she asked.
Hours. Perhaps a day. Another pause. They will not wait longer.
Elira laughed softly, the sound brittle. "So that's it. I just sit here and wait to be claimed or killed."
Kael's presence sharpened.
No.
She turned. "Then what?"
Then you move.
Her pulse spiked. "You said moving makes it worse."
Moving unthinkingly does. His tone shifted. Moving with intent changes outcomes.
Elira folded her arms, grounding herself. "You're talking like you have a plan."
A faint, dangerous satisfaction brushed through her blood.
I always have a plan.
She hesitated. "Does it involve telling me what you haven't told me yet?"
Silence.
Then, slowly, Kael said, Yes.
Her breath caught. "Start talking."
The pressure behind her eyes returned, not as a warning this time, but as a connection. Images slid into her mind, fragmented but sharp.
Stone halls. Ancient symbols. Blood pooling in carved grooves.
Crowns.
Fire.
She gasped, gripping the edge of the counter.
"They didn't just exile you," she said, breathless. "They… dismantled you."
Yes.
"They broke you into pieces."
Anchors, Kael corrected. Vessels. Bloodlines.
Elira's heart slammed. "And now I'm one of them."
You are the last one, he said.
The truth hit her like a blow.
"The last… meaning if they take me—"
There will be nothing left of me to bind, Kael finished calmly. And nothing is left of you to survive it.
Her knees weakened. She sank into the chair, chest tight. "You let this happen."
I allowed it centuries ago. His voice darkened. I will not allow it again.
Fear twisted into something sharper. "So what's your plan?"
Kael's presence pressed closer, heavier, like a hand settling between her shoulders.
We leave the city.
Her head snapped up. "You just said—"
I said distance weakens you when you are unprepared—a pause. You are no longer unprepared.
Her throat went dry. "Where would we go?"
Kael's answer was quiet and dangerous.
Somewhere, they cannot follow without consequence.
A sound cut through the room.
A vibration. Low. Subtle.
Elira stiffened. "Did you feel that?"
Yes.
Her skin prickled. "What was it?"
Kael didn't answer right away.
The vibration came again, stronger this time, like a pulse moving through the ground.
Her breath caught. "That's not normal."
No, Kael agreed. It is a signal.
Her blood heated, responding before fear could form.
"A signal from who?"
Kael's voice dropped, almost reverent.
From the others who are still awake.
Elira stared at the wall, heart pounding. "Others like you?"
Others who remember what I was. A pause. And what I will be again.
The implications crashed over her.
"You're not the only one coming back," she whispered.
No.
The apartment lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then steadied.
Elira stood slowly, dread and awe tangling in her chest. "And they know about me."
Kael's presence coiled tighter, protective and possessive all at once.
They feel you. His voice softened dangerously. You are loud now.
Her pulse thundered. "So what happens if we don't leave fast enough?"
Kael didn't hesitate.
Then the council will come into force.
The vibration pulsed again, closer.
Elira swallowed hard. "And if we do leave?"
A pause.
Longer this time.
Then Kael said, Then the world will notice.
The words settled over her like a warning etched in stone.
Elira looked around the apartment, at the life she no longer fit inside.
"Tell me what I need to do," she said.
Kael's answer came immediately.
Pack nothing. Say goodbye to no one. And do not hesitate when I tell you to run.
Her heart slammed. "When will that be?"
Kael's presence sharpened, attention locking onto something far beyond the walls.
Now.
The floor trembled beneath their feet.
And somewhere in the city, something ancient turned its gaze fully toward Elira Vale, marking the moment she stopped being hunted—
and became a signal.