The guardian slammed into Victor so hard the sound cracked through the garden. He flew like someone had ripped gravity away from him, skidding across stone that shattered under his weight. I jerked back, nearly losing my balance, but Kael's wrist was still in my grip, warm and shaking.
Victor groaned an ugly broken sound, trying to push himself up. His robe hung in pieces, one sleeve half burned off, his staff bent like a cheap toy. Fury lit up his eyes, bright and manic. "Elara! This isn't...., you don't understand what you're….."
I lifted my hand without thinking. The chains wrapped around the guardian rattled, humming like a warning. Its amber stare snapped to Victor, and he froze like the world had suddenly gone still.
Kael leaned in close, breath brushing my ear. "Careful, don't let it crawl too deep into you."
"I'm trying," I whispered, though my hands were shaking hard enough to hurt.
Victor moved again, or tried to, but the guardian stalked forward. Claws scraped stones, slow and deliberate, like it wanted him to understand exactly how doomed he was.
"You're out of your mind!" he spat, speaking with his crackly voice. "You think you can hold that thing? You're nothing but a....."
He didn't finish. The guardian lunged again, quicker than before. Victor thrust his staff up, but the hit tore it clean out of his grip and hurled him backward. He slammed into the ground, coughing blood.
"Elara! Don't let up!" Selene shouted.
My arms burned and my muscles were already screaming. But the chains tightened around Victor on their own, curling like living ropes. He choked and struggled uselessly.
Kael's hand brushed mine. "You've got him, just stay steady."
I shut my eyes for half a second. The guardian's growl vibrated up my spine. All that old, ancient ritual power, everything Victor thought belonged to him poured into me like a river breaking its banks.
Victor's expression shifted. Fear...., real fear. "No… no, you don't get to….."
Golden light surged, his hold over the magic snapped like a dry twig.
The guardian stepped beside me, lowering its head with a strange calm weight. Its eyes met mine, not angry, not wild, just aware, like it recognized me.
"It listens…?" I breathed.
Kael's voice warmed my skin. "It's yours now, you are the channel."
Heat washed through me, dizzying and sharp. I could feel Victor's panic twisting in the air, but I wasn't here to kill him, not like this.
I loosened my grip a little and chains slackened. Victor collapsed to his knees, panting like the fight had been sucked out of him.
"You'll suffer for this," he gasped. "All of you."
"I'm done suffering under you," I said, my voice was unsteady but real. "I'm done letting you decide anything."
The guardian shifted, planting itself between us and whatever Victor was planning next. Even the elders hesitated.
Selene blew out a breath. "You just did the impossible."
Kael squeezed my hand, awe flickering beneath the exhaustion. "You're incredible," he murmured.
Victor staggered up again, barely, but an elder let out a shriek and charged. The guardian's head snapped sideways, and that thing went flying. Another dove from above, but the chains flared like a shield.
"Still not done," I muttered under my breath. "We're nowhere near done."
Kael slid closer as his eyes were searching mine. "Whatever comes next, we stay together. Always."
"Together," I echoed, my heart tripping over itself.
Victor slammed his fist into the ground like he could punch the magic back into place. "THE RITUAL ISN'T OVER! I WILL….."
The guardian roared, thunder rolling straight through my ribs and the whole garden quivered.
Something moved fast and dark across the yard. One elder vanished, he was just gone, swallowed by a shadow that hadn't existed a heartbeat ago.
I stiffened. "Selene… please tell me you saw that."
She stared at the darkness with a pale face. "That wasn't… living. Whatever it was."
The guardian snarled, stepping forward, chains pulsing like heartbeats, and the entire estate trembled.
Kael grabbed my arm, his voice steady but urgent. "Elara. Don't let the power drown you, you need to stay you."
"I'm trying," I said.
Kael leaned his forehead against mine. "We're alive. But…" His voice dropped. "This fight isn't done."
"It's just beginning," I whispered.
Behind us, the house groaned like something deep inside it had woken up.
A crack sliced down the stone, and from the shadows, a whisper slid out like cold breath: "You cannot run from what waits."
I felt my blood turn to fire.
Kael's hand tightened. "We face it together," he whispered.
I nodded as my heart was pounding so loud it drowned the world for a moment. "Together."
The ground shuddered under our feet. Something huge stirred inside the manor: awake, aware and watching.