The fire in Harlen's hearth had burned down to red coals by the time Kael finally spoke.
"I've been feeling something… off," he said, his voice low. "Ever since we left the ruins. Like something's moving inside me."
Selene glanced at him, concern flickering across her face. "What do you mean 'moving'?"
Kael hesitated. "When I sleep, I hear whispers. When I'm awake, I feel cold, even under the sun. And my dreams…" He stopped himself, jaw tight. "They're not mine."
Harlen stood slowly from his chair, the journal still clutched in one bony hand. "Take off your shirt," he said.
Kael blinked. "What?"
"Now."
With a reluctant nod, Kael pulled off his tunic. Selene gasped.
A black, spidery mark had bloomed across Kael's left shoulder, like cracks in old glass. It pulsed faintly, as if alive.
Harlen stepped closer, muttering to himself. "I'd hoped we still had time."
"What is it?" Selene asked.
"A god's mark," Harlen replied, voice grave. "It's a tether—part curse, part bond. It means the god beneath the ruin has seen him. Claimed him."
Kael's hands curled into fists. "Then how do I get rid of it?"
"You don't." Harlen turned away. "You run, and pray you die before it wakes."
Selene stepped forward. "No. There has to be a way. You studied the ruin, didn't you?"
Harlen sat again, suddenly looking a hundred years old. "The ruin is older than language, older than time. The god beneath it—if it can even be called that—was buried for a reason. When people worshipped it, the skies turned black. The rivers ran dry. It gives power, yes, but takes more than you can imagine."
Kael looked down at the mark, breathing hard. It was colder now, like it had heard them talking.
"Then what do we do?" he asked.
Harlen didn't answer right away. Finally, he spoke. "There's a place in the Deadlands. A ruined cathedral that predates even the ruin. If anything remains that can sever a god's bond, it's buried there."
Selene nodded. "Then we go there."
Harlen gave a dry laugh. "You won't make it far without being followed. That mark draws things to it. Beasts. Cultists. Those who want the god awake again."
Kael stood. "Then let them come. I'm not letting some cursed thing decide what happens to me."
Harlen's eyes flickered with something close to admiration. "You sound like Elira."
Kael looked at Selene. "We leave at first light."
She nodded firmly.
As they prepared for the journey ahead, Kael felt the mark throb against his skin like a second heartbeat. But it wasn't fear he felt.
It was resolve.