The private council chamber of the Iron Palace was rarely used this early in the morning.
Yet today its doors had been opened before the palace had fully awakened.
Duke Garron Dravenhart stood near the center table, arms folded behind his back.
Beside him stood Marquis Cedric Ardenveil and Duke Severin Valcere.
All three men were staring at the markings on the backs of their sons' hands.
None of them looked pleased.
Valen held his hand steady.
The faint sigil glowed softly against his skin.
Rowen's mark looked identical.
Lucien's as well.
For several moments, the three fathers simply studied the symbols.
Cedric spoke first.
"This appeared this morning?"
"Yes," Lucien answered.
"Shortly after sunrise."
Severin's gaze moved carefully across the three marks.
"All at the same time?"
Rowen nodded.
"As far as we can tell."
Garron finally looked up.
"Think carefully."
His voice was calm, but firm.
"Did anything unusual happen yesterday?"
Valen frowned slightly.
"Besides interrogating the prisoners?"
"Yes."
Rowen thought for a moment.
"Nothing significant."
Lucien tilted his head slightly.
"No spells."
"No ritual."
"No visible casting."
Cedric narrowed his eyes.
"Did any of them touch you?"
Valen shook his head immediately.
"No."
Rowen added,
"They remained behind the cell bars the entire time."
Lucien smiled faintly.
"The guards would have been very unhappy otherwise."
Severin's gaze sharpened.
"Did you feel anything strange afterward?"
Rowen considered the question.
"Not that I noticed."
Valen shook his head.
"No."
Lucien answered last.
"No unusual sensations."
Cedric tapped the table once.
"Then the spell may not have been cast during the interrogation."
Severin looked toward him.
"Or it was cast somewhere else."
Garron turned slightly toward Captain Darius.
"Check the prisoners."
The captain straightened.
"Yes, Your Grace."
"For the same mark."
Darius bowed and left immediately.
The chamber fell silent again.
A few minutes later, the doors opened.
Captain Darius returned.
"They have them."
All three fathers looked up.
"The same sigils," the captain confirmed.
"On the backs of their hands."
Cedric exhaled slowly.
"So the connection is real."
Severin's expression darkened.
"This must go to the king."
Garron nodded once.
"Yes."
He turned toward the door.
"Immediately."
The audience chamber of the Iron Palace was unusually quiet when they arrived.
Morning light filtered through the tall windows, reflecting faintly off the polished stone floor.
King Aldric stood beside the long war table.
When the doors opened, he did not turn immediately.
Garron, Cedric, and Severin entered first.
Behind them followed their heirs.
All six men bowed.
"Your Majesty."
Aldric turned slowly.
"I was told this matter was urgent."
Garron stepped forward.
"It concerns the prisoners."
He gestured toward Valen.
"Show him."
Valen raised his hand.
Rowen and Lucien did the same.
The faint sigils were clearly visible.
Aldric stepped closer.
At first his expression remained calm.
Then something shifted.
Recognition.
"Hold still."
Valen extended his hand.
The king studied the symbol carefully.
Thin lines.
Circular pattern.
Interlocking runes.
His expression darkened.
Rowen noticed the shift in the king's expression immediately.
"Your Majesty?"
For several seconds, Aldric said nothing.
Then he exhaled slowly.
"I have seen this before."
The room went still.
Cedric's gaze sharpened.
"Where?"
Aldric straightened.
"Years ago."
His eyes drifted briefly toward the tall windows.
"The previous king possessed a collection of forbidden texts."
The words carried quiet weight.
Severin frowned slightly.
"And this mark appears in those records?"
Aldric nodded once.
"Yes."
Garron's voice was calm but direct.
"What exactly are we looking at, Your Majesty?"
Aldric looked back at the sigils.
"A binding spell."
Cedric tilted his head slightly.
"A contract binding?"
Aldric shook his head.
"No."
His voice hardened.
"It is far worse than a contract."
Severin spoke next.
"The prisoners."
Aldric looked toward him.
Cedric answered instead.
"They bear identical marks."
Aldric was silent for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"The spell is called Soul-Bind."
Silence filled the chamber.
Cedric frowned.
"I am familiar with most recorded binding magic."
"But not this one."
"You would not be," Aldric replied.
"The knowledge was never meant to spread."
Garron crossed his arms.
"Then explain it."
Aldric's gaze moved across the heirs.
"It ties two lives together."
Severin narrowed his eyes.
"In what manner?"
Aldric answered calmly.
"If one of the bound dies…"
He paused.
"…the other dies as well."
The chamber fell completely silent.
Valen's expression hardened.
"You're saying—"
"Yes."
Aldric's voice remained steady.
"If the prisoners carry the matching marks…"
He did not finish the sentence.
Rowen's expression changed immediately.
Lucien did not visibly react, but his attention sharpened.
Cedric spoke first.
"So harming them harms our sons."
Aldric nodded once.
"That is the implication."
Garron's jaw tightened.
"That is not acceptable."
Severin's voice remained controlled.
"Is there a way to break the spell?"
Aldric was silent for a moment.
Then he nodded slowly.
"There are two methods recorded."
Everyone in the room focused on him.
"The first…"
He looked again at the sigils.
"…is to find the caster."
Cedric's gaze hardened.
"And then?"
Aldric's voice was cold.
"Kill them."
The words hung heavily in the chamber.
Severin spoke next.
"And the second?"
"If the caster willingly releases the binding."
Cedric considered that.
"So the bond remains until the caster dies… or lifts it."
"Yes."
Garron spoke again.
"And if neither occurs?"
Aldric met his gaze.
"Then the bond remains."
Silence filled the chamber.
After a moment, Cedric spoke quietly.
"That means the caster is still alive."
Lucien finally added, almost thoughtfully,
"And very confident."
Severin's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Confident enough to cast such a spell inside the Iron Palace."
No one in the room liked that conclusion.
Far beneath the palace—
Inside the prison chamber—
Three girls sat quietly.
They were staring at the strange sigils on the backs of their hands.
Still unaware—
That their lives might now be tied to the heirs of the most powerful houses in Rovenwale.