Kaelen didn't wake up the next morning.
Not really.
His eyes opened, but the man I knew wasn't the one in front of me, something was off
They looked too cold and old. Like something inside him had stopped pretending to be him.
"Kaelen?" I whispered, kneeling beside him on the moss near the Cradle's altar. "You're safe. It's just us."
His lips moved, but no words came out of them Just breath. Then he finally spoke
"The field is burning."
My chest began to pind . "What field Kaelen?"
"The one we die in," he said slowly
Then he blinked, and it was gone. Like something just left his body, returning him to his original self , He gasped and sat upright, sweat dripping down his face.
"Seraphina." His hands grabbed my arms, shaking. "I saw you screaming. Covered in ash. You were holding the child but… it wasn't a child anymore."
"What do you mean?"
He looked away. "It had my eyes. But they were empty. Like the Wyrm's."
We left the Cradle not long after.
Maelin habded us a scroll, wrapped in black silk. "This will take you to the Oracle," she said. "But it won't open unless one of you bleeds for the other."
"Where do we go?" Kaelen asked.
She pointed north. "The Hollow of Ash. The Oracle lives in what's left of the first haven between witches and wolves. You'll need answers before the curse decides for you."
I nodded, but deep down I already knew answers here never came free , a price must be paid
---
We walked through the Hollowlands in silence.
The land changed fast as soon as we got there. Green trees became dying woods, the ground became scorched and black. No birds, no sound , nothing .Just shadows that didn't belong, hanging around too long.
Kaelen walked ahead. His movements were sharp and uneasy like he wasn't comfortable with his own body
It was sunset, the sky was already dark but the moon was barely out we were already exhausted when we stopped.
We set camp by a stream, the water was red and smelt like blood
Kaelen was uneasy he twisted in his bedroll, restless, sweat dripping down his skin.
I sat by the fire, staring at the scroll Maelin had given me. My hands wouldn't leave it alone. It felt like it was daring me.
Before I even thought, I cut my palm. Blood dripped on the silk,the scroll moved,Then opened. Like it had been waiting.
Black words scattered across the page:
"To find what you seek, you must lose what binds. The Oracle sees no lies. Only truths you fear."
A mark glowed next: a snake eating its own tail, circled by flames.
Kaelen stirred, then with a firm voice he said
"You opened it?"
I nodded, trying to hide my bleeding hand.
"You shouldn't have done that." His eyes glowed, silver burning in the dark.
"I had to," I said quietly. "You feel it too, don't you? Time's running out."
He didn't answer. But I saw it in his face. The same fear he couldn't hide
---
That same night, I had a dream.
But it wasn't mine alone.
I stood in a forest burned down to nothing, the Trees were black sticks, the sky was red, and the wind made a loud noise like wolves.
Then I saw a figure in smoke raised a hand.
Kaelen appeared, chained to a stone and bleeding gold.
I tried to run to him, but fire held me still.
The figure's voice echoed. "You must choose! His life… or the child."
"I won't choose!" I screamed.
The figure lowered its head. "Then the curse will."
I jumped up choking.
Immediately Kaelen sat up too gasping.
"You saw it," he whispered.
I had cold rashes. "How do you know?"
"I saw it too."
Then his eyes slid to my stomach, this time not soft but Afraid.
"We're running out of time," he said.
---
Two days later, we arrived the Hollow of Ash.
Or what ever was left of it.
It has Once been a haven but Now all that was left was broken pieces, the Pillars were split in half, Statues of wolves and witches were smashed to pieces.
But in the middle of it all stood a giant Black gate Untouched.
The same mark from the scroll glowed above it.
Then a voice came out of the stone:
"Name your pain."
Kaelen stepped forward, his shoulders stiff.
"I carry a bloodline cursed to destroy the ones I love."
The gate made a sound like it responded
Then its attention shifted to me.
"And you?"
I felt a nut in my throat My voice barely made it out.
"I carry the child of a curse… and I don't know if it's a miracle or a monster."
The gate made a loud lazy sound
And then it opened.
---
Inside was nothing like I expected
It was a round chamber without a roof, open directly to the sky and Stars spinning above us, even though it was still day.
In the middle sat a young girl age Sixteen at most. Her Eyes were big, like they held the whole world. Her skin looked carved, almost like a stone.
"Are you the Oracle?" I asked.
She didn't answer she Just lifted her hand.
And The world shifted
---
Suddenly, I was inside a memory.
Not mine.
Kaelen's.
He was six years old, Shaking in a stone room His father standing over him with blade in one hand and branding iron in the other.
"You will endure," the man said
Kaelen's scream filled the air ,then the scene shattered.
Another memory hit. This time mine.
My mother, holding a baby, Her voice was sharp but with fear: "She must never know. Or the prophecy will wake."
Suddenly From the shadows, someone stepped closer.
Maelin.
The memory broke apart.
---
I gasped back into the chamber,with my chest heavy . Kaelen was pale beside me, shaken too.
The Oracle finally spoke.
"You weren't cursed for falling in love. You were cursed because your love could end everything."
My voice cracked. "What does that mean?"
"The first hybrid child was meant to bring peace. But the world wasn't ready. They killed her. And in dying, she cursed the bloodline that betrayed her."
Her gaze went to Kaelen. "And you, Alpha you are her blood."
Then she turned to me. "And you… are her soul."
Then everyone went silent for a moment as if thinking of what next to say
Kaelen's voice came rough and low. "Is there a way to stop it?"
"Only one," the Oracle said.
"What?"
"A death before the eclipse."
I held my belly. "What eclipse?"
But she was already gone.
The chamber shookas the Stars disappeared Suddenly we were outside again, ash falling all around.
---
a figure stepped out from the trees Cloaked in silver
"Seraphina," the voice said soft and familiar.
Kaelen froze ,His eyes turned gold.
His voicwas broken and ,filled with anger.
"Malric."