The Seal in the Ruins
The air tastes of dust and secrets.
I shouldn't be here.
Every step deeper into the forgotten ruin feels like trespassing on a graveyard of things better left buried. My boots crunch over shattered stone, and the soft scrape echoes like whispers against the cavern walls.
Grandfather used to warn me about this place. "The Pact ruins are cursed, Lyra. Blood was spilled there, and blood calls for blood."
But I don't believe in curses. Not really.
At least, I didn't… until the whispers started.
I reach the heart of the chamber—a circle of cracked stone, covered in faded runes that seem to pulse faintly beneath the dirt. My torchlight flickers as if something unseen is breathing with it. Cold crawls up my spine, sharp enough to make me shiver.
And then—
A voice.
Not in the room.
In my head.
"You found me."
I jerk back, nearly dropping the torch. My pulse slams into my throat as I spin around, searching for… someone. Something. But there's nothing—just me and the silence.
>"You carry the blood."
I take a step back toward the archway, but my heel catches on a loose stone. I stumble, and my hand slams down to steady myself—
on the seal.
The stone isn't cold. It's warm.
It thrums like a heartbeat beneath my palm—fast, strong, alive.
And then light explodes from the cracks.
The blast knocks me onto my back, the torch clattering away and snuffing out in the same breath. Darkness swallows everything—except the seal.
It's glowing now, lines of crimson light crawling outward like veins. The air grows thick, heavy, pulling at my lungs like I've fallen underwater.
I should run.
But I can't.
Because something is rising from the light.
A figure steps out of the seal—tall, broad-shouldered, shadows clinging to him like a cloak. He moves like the darkness itself bends for him.
His voice, when it comes, is deep and smooth, but sharp enough to cut.
"Who woke me?"
My lips part, but no sound comes. I can't move, can't breathe—not with those eyes locked on me. Silver. Cold. Glowing faintly like moonlight off a blade.
"Answer me," he commands, stepping closer.
"I… I didn't mean to—"
> "You broke the seal," he says, voice low and dangerous. "Which means…"
He stops an arm's length away, studying me like a hunter deciding whether to kill or spare prey. His gaze drops to my hand—the one still faintly glowing from where I touched the stone.
> "Which means you're bound to me now."
I shake my head hard, trying to scramble to my feet. "Bound to you? No. I don't even know who you are!"
His mouth curves—not into a smile. Something darker.
"Kaelen Veylor," he says softly, like the name itself is a threat. "Last heir of House Veylor. And you…"
He tilts his head slightly, eyes narrowing.
"…just became my Life Anchor."
The ruin trembles, dust raining down from the cracked ceiling. Somewhere beyond, a howl cuts through the night—long, low, and hungry.
Kaelen's gaze flicks toward the sound before snapping back to me.
"They know I've awakened," he says. "And they'll come for you first."
"Who—"
"Later." He grabs my wrist, pulling me close enough to feel the unnatural heat radiating from his skin. "For now, you need to run."