No Escape
Morning comes in a gray wash. The manor's spires slice the sky like black teeth. Sunlight struggles through clouds, weak and cold. The warmth does little to chase the chill clinging to the stone walls.
I stand at the window, watching the mist curl across the courtyard. The manor is silent, but I can feel it breathing—watching. My hand glows faintly, pulse still echoing Kaelen's heartbeat.
Kaelen appears behind me, quiet as a shadow. He doesn't touch me, but the presence alone is enough to steady my racing heart.
"You shouldn't be near the windows," he says, voice low. "The manor sees you there."
I turn, swallowing. "I… I just wanted to see outside. To feel… normal for a moment."
Kaelen's silver eyes hold mine, sharp and cold. "There is no normal for you. Not anymore. You're my Life Anchor. Everything you do… everything you touch… can be used against us."
I press my hand to my chest. The seal pulses faintly, warm but warning me. "Used against… us?"
Kaelen steps closer. "Yes. If you leave the manor, the hunters will find you. They already know where you are, and they are patient. They will wait, and they will strike."
My stomach twists. "But… we can run, right? We can leave and hide somewhere else?"
He shakes his head slowly. "No. Anywhere you go, they will follow. The pact marks you. The bond sings to them. If you try to escape, they will sense it. And then… we both die."
I shiver, chest tightening. The weight of the bond presses through me, sharp and alive. I realize with a sinking fear that the manor, the hunters, and the seal are all connected. Nothing is outside my control anymore.
"Why me?" I whisper. "Why am I… tied to this? To you?"
Kaelen's gaze softens just slightly, but his expression remains unreadable. "Because the seal chose you. Your bloodline carries memory. Power. Life. You were meant to anchor me, whether you knew it or not."
I stare at my glowing hand. It feels heavy, alive. The warmth spreads to my chest, sharp and insistent, like fire that refuses to die. Every heartbeat reminds me of what is at stake.
"Anchors…" I whisper. "It's not just me they'll kill. If something happens to me… to the bond…"
Kaelen's hand brushes my shoulder, light but firm. "Then we both die. That is the pact. That is the Forgotten Pact. And that is why you cannot leave."
The manor seems to shiver around us. Shadows stretch across the walls, curling into corners, whispers brushing the edges of hearing. Names. Threats. Promises of death. I flinch. The bond hums, a pulse in my chest, warning me.
Kaelen steps back, eyes scanning the room. "You will learn to control it. The bond. The seal. Every pulse, every heartbeat… it is your strength. But for now… you stay. You cannot run. You cannot hide. Not yet."
I swallow hard, heart racing. "And if the hunters come?"
"They will come," he says simply. "And we will be ready. Together. But you must understand—every step outside this manor is a step toward death. The pact will not forgive mistakes."
I nod slowly, chest still burning from the seal. The weight of responsibility presses down, but something else sparks inside me. Determination. Fear, yes, but also purpose. I am his Life Anchor. And now I must accept it.
Kaelen moves toward the door, voice dropping to a whisper. "Do not stray. Do not test them. The manor protects you… but only just enough. Beyond its walls, death waits."
I watch him leave, feeling the bond pulse through me, alive and insistent. Outside, the wind rattles the spires. The shadows stir. Somewhere, hunters move silently, patient and watching.
And I realize—there is no escape. Not yet.
The seal hums through me, sharp, alive. The bond screams. And I know, for the first time, what it truly means to carry someone else's life inside my own.