The chamber exploded into chaos. Shards of glass whirled like knives, reflecting a thousand distorted versions of Kaelis and Selara locked in combat. Shadows surged at them, monstrous and relentless, their forms shifting between wolf, serpent, and faceless men.
Kaelis raised his hand, his gift flaring with golden light. He reached into the hearts of the creatures—not men, not beasts, but fragments of fear. He poured empathy into them, unraveling the rage binding them together. One dissolved in a shimmer of mist, then another.
But there were too many.
"Selara!" Kaelis shouted, his voice barely audible above the storm.
She stood in the center of the chaos, her illusions spiraling wildly—fire, lightning, and blinding light weaving together in dazzling patterns. For a moment, Kaelis thought they might succeed. Then her power twisted, the light turning black, crackling like broken glass.
Selara screamed, clutching her head. Her illusions turned monstrous—phantoms with her own face, laughing cruelly as they attacked indiscriminately.
"Selara, stop!" Kaelis ran to her, blocking a strike from one of the shadowy doubles. "It's the curse—you have to fight it!"
Through the haze, her real eyes met his. They were wide with terror. "I can't—I can't control it!"
Maelor's laughter echoed from the fractured walls. "Do you see now, boy? She is mine. The curse will consume her, as it consumed me. You cannot save her."
"No!" Kaelis's voice rang with defiance. He wrapped his arms around Selara, holding her even as her cursed magic lashed at him, searing his skin. "You're stronger than this. You're not alone. Look at me—look at me!"
Selara trembled, her body shaking violently. The storm of illusions faltered, then flared brighter, teetering on the edge of collapse. "Kaelis… if I give in… I'll destroy you too."
"Then destroy me with you," he whispered fiercely. "Because I'm not letting go."
Something within her broke—not into darkness, but into light. Selara gasped, the black fire around her shattering into fragments of silver and gold. The illusions vanished, leaving only the two of them, locked in each other's arms.
Maelor's eyes narrowed, his smile fading. "So… the bond is stronger than I thought."
Kaelis glared at him, chest heaving. "You'll never have her. You'll never control us."
Maelor raised a hand, shadows gathering like a storm behind him. "Then you'll fall together."
Before the wave of darkness struck, Orin's voice boomed through the chamber: "Enough!" A radiant barrier surged between them, forcing Maelor back.
"Your time here ends, Maelor," Orin commanded, his voice resonant with power. "The prophecy has not chosen you."
Maelor hissed, retreating into the shadows. "Prophecy chooses nothing. I will return. And when I do, she will beg me to free her from herself."
The chamber shattered into silence. Kaelis and Selara collapsed to the glass floor, exhausted.
Selara buried her face against Kaelis's shoulder. "I almost lost myself…"
He held her tightly. "But you didn't. And as long as I'm here, you never will."
For the first time, she allowed herself to believe him.