The morning came with a silence that pressed heavily over Elyndra. Though the city bustled faintly in the distance, Kaelis felt the quiet before the storm. He had spent the night turning Orin's words over in his mind, every syllable weighing like iron.
Selara stood by the balcony of the inn they had taken refuge in, her eyes on the horizon. The first rays of dawn caught her hair, but her expression remained unreadable.
"We can't stay here," she said softly.
Kaelis joined her. "You're right. Elyndra is no longer safe. Maelor knows where we are—he's watching."
Selara's hands curled into fists on the railing. "And if he's watching, others are in danger because of us. The people here… they'll suffer for our presence."
Kaelis hesitated. "Then where do we go?"
Before she could answer, a knock sounded at the door. Orin entered, his face pale, his cloak damp with morning mist. "I know what you're thinking," he said. "And you're right. Elyndra cannot shield you any longer. You must leave the city and travel east."
Selara frowned. "East? Into the Wyrdlands? That place is nothing but wilderness and ruins."
"The Wyrdlands hold more than ruins," Orin replied. "They hold the fragments of what Maelor destroyed. In those remnants lies knowledge… and perhaps the key to breaking the curse."
Kaelis narrowed his eyes. "And you'll guide us?"
Orin shook his head. "No. My place is here, to guard what remains of Elyndra. But I will give you something to guide your path."
From within his cloak, he drew out a crystalline shard that shimmered with faint, shifting colors—sometimes silver, sometimes violet.
"This is a fragment of the Mirror you entered," Orin explained. "It resonates with your bond. When you are lost, it will reveal the path forward. But be warned—Maelor will feel it too."
Selara accepted the shard with trembling fingers. The moment it touched her palm, Kaelis felt a pulse echo through his chest, as though the shard recognized them both.
Orin's voice grew solemn. "Every step beyond Elyndra will test you. The curse feeds on doubt, and the shadows will twist to drive you apart. You must trust not in fate, but in each other."
Silence fell between them. For the first time, Kaelis saw something like fear flicker across Selara's face. She met his gaze briefly, then looked away.
"We leave at dusk," Kaelis said finally.
That evening, as the sun bled red across the sky, the two of them departed Elyndra. The city's spires faded into the distance, swallowed by twilight. Ahead stretched the unknown—a vast expanse of dark forests, broken ruins, and the ever-present threat of Maelor's reach.
As they walked, the shard pulsed faintly in Selara's hand, leading them toward the shadows on the horizon.
And though Kaelis's heart burned with determination, he could not shake Orin's warning: the bond is both your weapon and your weakness.