Cassian's POV
Dawn broke over the Whisperwood, and I'd never been so grateful to see—well, feel—morning arrive.
The Guardian had kept its word. Nothing had attacked us during the night. As the first rays of sunlight filtered through the twisted trees, the ancient being materialized one last time.
"You survived," it said, sounding almost surprised. "The temple lies three days north. Follow the river until you reach the volcanic mountains. There, you'll find what you seek."
Then it vanished, leaving us alone in the cursed forest.
Seraphina and I packed our supplies in complete silence.
It was the most awkward silence I'd ever experienced.
After last night—after seeing each other's worst memories, after sharing pain we'd never wanted anyone to see—what were we supposed to say? "Sorry I watched your family get murdered"? "Thanks for experiencing my blinding with me"?
There were no words for this.
So we packed without speaking, without even thinking loudly. Both of us kept our mental walls up as high as exhaustion would allow.
I rolled up my bedroll, wincing as my wounded leg protested. The bite was worse this morning—hot and throbbing. Probably infected.
Through the bond, I felt Seraphina notice my pain. Felt her concern.
I'm fine, I thought automatically.
You're limping.
I said I'm fine.
She didn't push, but her worry lingered in the back of my mind like an itch I couldn't scratch.
We mounted our horses and started riding north, following the sound of running water. The river, presumably. The one the Guardian had mentioned.
For the first hour, neither of us broke the silence.
I focused on the sounds of the forest—birds calling, water rushing, our horses' hooves on soft earth. Anything to avoid thinking about last night.
But my mind kept drifting back to what I'd seen.
Seraphina, eighteen years old and terrified, watching her entire family die. Watching Helena Frost—the same woman who'd orchestrated my blinding—place that curse on her throat.
The rage I'd felt during the memory hadn't faded. If anything, it had grown stronger overnight.
Helena had destroyed both our lives. Methodically. Deliberately.
And now she'd bound us together and sent us into danger.
Why?
Stop thinking so loud, Seraphina's thought cut through my brooding. I can hear you.
Sorry.
You're angry.
Yes.
Me too.
We rode in silence again, but it was different now. Less awkward. More... united.
Around midmorning, my leg started really hurting. Every movement sent pain shooting up to my hip. I gritted my teeth and tried to ignore it.
Seraphina's concern spiked through the bond. You need to rest.
We need to keep moving.
Cassian—
I said I'm fine!
I felt her flinch at my mental shout. Guilt followed immediately.
Sorry, I thought. I didn't mean to snap.
Your leg is getting worse. I can feel it through the bond.
Then stop paying attention to it.
That's not how this works.
She was right. The bond meant we felt each other's pain whether we wanted to or not.
We rode for another hour before Seraphina finally had enough. She stopped her horse abruptly.
We're resting, she declared. Now.
"We don't have time—"
Make time. You're hurt and getting worse. If the infection spreads, you'll die. Then I'll die. So we're resting.
I wanted to argue, but she was right. Again.
We dismounted in a small clearing. I sat heavily against a tree while Seraphina unpacked our medical supplies.
She knelt beside me and reached for my leg. I pulled back instinctively.
"I can do it myself," I said.
She grabbed my leg firmly—not roughly, but leaving no room for argument—and started unwrapping the bandage.
I felt her shock through the bond when she saw the wound.
It's infected, she thought. Badly.
"I know."
Why didn't you say something?
"Because there's nothing we can do about it except keep moving."
There's plenty we can do. She rummaged through the supplies, found a small jar. This is healing salve. It won't cure the infection, but it'll help.
"How do you know?"
Helena made me learn basic field medicine. Said her weapons should be able to maintain themselves.
The casual way she said "weapons" when talking about herself made something twist in my chest.
She applied the salve carefully. It burned like fire, and I hissed through my teeth.
Sorry, she thought.
"It's fine. Do what you need to do."
She worked in silence, cleaning the wound properly this time, applying the salve, wrapping it with fresh bandages. Her hands were gentle but efficient.
Where did you learn to do this so well? I asked.
Ten years of Helena's training. She wanted me to be self-sufficient. Can't have a weapon that breaks down every time it gets hurt.
There was that word again. Weapon.
"You're not a weapon," I said aloud.
She paused in her bandaging. What?
"You're not a weapon. You're a person. A mage. A..." I hesitated. "A survivor."
Through the bond, I felt something shift in her. Surprise. Then something warmer.
She finished the bandaging and sat back.
Thank you, she thought quietly.
"You're welcome."
We sat in the clearing, not moving, not talking. Just existing together.
Finally, I broke the silence with a question that had been nagging at me since last night.
"The curse on your throat," I said. "Can it be broken?"
I felt her tense immediately. Why are you asking?
"Because I want to know. You've been silent for ten years. There has to be a way to undo it."
She was quiet for a long moment. Then she pulled out her chalk and wrote on a flat rock: ONLY DEATH BREAKS IT.
"Death? Whose death?"
MINE. The letters were harsh, pressed deep into the stone. WHEN I DIE, THE CURSE DIES TOO.
"That's it? That's the only way?"
YES.
I felt the resignation in her thoughts. She'd accepted this years ago—that she'd never speak again, never scream, never laugh out loud. Her voice was gone forever.
"No," I said firmly.
She looked at me—I felt her gaze through the bond.
"No," I repeated. "I don't accept that. There's always another way."
She wrote: THERE ISN'T. I'VE SEARCHED. I'VE TRIED EVERYTHING.
"Then we'll find something you haven't tried. Some old magic, some forgotten spell, some—" I stopped, running my hand through my hair. "There has to be something."
WHY DO YOU CARE?
The question caught me off guard.
Why did I care? A week ago, I wouldn't have. A week ago, she was just a mute mage I was stuck with. An obstacle to my ten thousand gold.
But now...
Now I'd seen her memories. Felt her pain. Fought beside her. She'd saved my life, and I'd saved hers.
We were bound by more than just a spell.
"Because it's not right," I said finally. "Helena stole your voice to control you. To silence you. And I..." I paused. "I want to hear what you'd say. Your real voice. Your thoughts spoken aloud instead of just in my head."
Emotion flooded through the bond—shock, hope, fear, and something else I couldn't name.
She wrote slowly: NO ONE HAS EVER OFFERED TO HELP BEFORE.
"Well, I'm offering now."
WHY?
"Because..." I struggled to find the right words. "Because you're not just my partner in this insane mission. You're—" What was she? Not a friend, exactly. Not yet. But not just an ally either. "You matter. What happened to you matters. And I want to help fix it."
Tears. I couldn't see them, but I felt them through the bond—the hot sting in her eyes, the tightness in her throat.
No one has ever said that to me, she thought. Not in ten years.
"Then everyone else is an idiot."
She almost laughed—I felt the emotion spike through the bond, felt her surprise at her own reaction.
We sat together in the clearing, the awkwardness from this morning completely gone. Something had shifted between us. Something important.
I wasn't just tolerating her anymore.
I wanted to help her. Genuinely help her. Not because the binding spell forced me to, but because I chose to.
Thank you, Seraphina thought. For caring.
"You're welcome. Now let's get moving. We have a temple to find and a Council to destroy."
She nodded, and I felt her determination matching mine.
We mounted our horses and continued north, following the river through the Whisperwood. The trees were still twisted and dark, but they felt less threatening now.
As we rode, Seraphina started asking me questions through the bond—small things at first. How long have you been a mercenary? What's the strangest job you've taken? Do you miss being a Knight Commander?
I answered honestly, surprising myself. Normally I hated talking about my past. But with her, it felt... safe.
In turn, I asked her questions. What was your kingdom like before the massacre? Do you remember being happy? What would you do if the curse broke?
She answered too, slowly at first, then more freely.
We were getting to know each other. Actually getting to know each other, beyond the memories that leaked through uninvited.
It felt good.
By afternoon, the forest began to thin. I could hear less wildlife, feel more heat in the air.
"We're getting close to the volcanic region," I said. "The Guardian said the temple is in the mountains."
How much farther?
"Two days, maybe three if we're careful."
We should be careful. Helena knows where we're going.
"She hasn't caught up to us yet."
That's what worries me. Why let us get this far?
Good question. If Helena wanted us dead, she could have killed us a dozen times already.
"Maybe she needs us to reach the temple first," I said slowly. "Maybe we're supposed to retrieve the relic for her."
Then why the binding spell? Why not just order me to do it?
"Because the temple requires two people bound by fate. She needs both of us."
Through the bond, I felt Seraphina's realization matching mine.
We're not retrieving the relic for ourselves, she thought. We're retrieving it for her.
"Which means whatever the Heart of Aethermoor is, it's something Helena wants badly enough to orchestrate this entire mission."
What could be worth all this trouble?
I didn't have an answer.
We rode until sunset, then made camp beside the river. As I built a fire, Seraphina unpacked our supplies.
Everything felt almost... normal. Like we were partners who'd worked together for years instead of days.
As darkness fell, we sat across the fire from each other.
"Can I ask you something personal?" I said.
You've already seen my most personal memories. What's left to ask?
"Fair point." I smiled slightly. "What would you do if we survive this? After the mission, after the binding breaks?"
She was quiet for a long time. Then: I don't know. I've spent ten years just trying to survive each day. I never thought about after.
"Think about it now."
What would you do?
"Take my ten thousand gold and disappear. Start over somewhere the Council can't find me." I paused. "Maybe buy a small house by the ocean. Learn to fish. Be boring."
I felt her amusement through the bond.
You? Boring?
"I could try."
You'd fail spectacularly.
"Probably."
She was quiet again, then: If I survived... if the curse somehow broke... I think I'd want to speak. Just once. Out loud. My own voice, saying whatever I wanted.
"What would you say?"
I don't know. Maybe just... my name. Seraphina. I haven't heard it in my own voice in ten years.
Something tightened in my chest.
"Then we'll find a way," I said firmly. "We'll break the curse, and you'll say your name, and Helena will pay for what she did to you."
To both of us, she corrected.
"To both of us," I agreed.
We settled in for the night, taking turns keeping watch. When it was my turn to sleep, I lay down and closed my eyes.
Just before I drifted off, Seraphina's thought drifted through the bond: Cassian?
Yeah?
I'm glad it's you. The person I'm bound to. It could have been worse.
Warmth spread through my chest. I'm glad it's you too.
I slept peacefully for the first time in days.
I woke to Seraphina shaking my shoulder frantically.
Cassian! Wake up!
I sat up immediately, reaching for my sword. "What's wrong?"
Listen.
I focused my enhanced hearing.
At first, just normal forest sounds. Then I heard it—voices. Multiple people. Moving through the trees toward our camp.
And at the center of those voices, one I recognized immediately.
Helena Frost.
"How close?" I whispered.
Too close. Maybe a hundred yards.
We had minutes. Maybe less.
Run? Seraphina thought desperately.
"The binding spell. We can't get more than a hundred feet apart without dying."
Then we fight.
"Against Helena and however many soldiers she brought? We're still wounded from the shadow wolves."
So what do we do?
I grabbed our packs, my mind racing. There had to be a way out. Had to be—
Then I heard something that made my blood freeze.
Helena's voice, clear and cold through the trees: "I know you can hear me, Cassian. Your enhanced senses are remarkable. So listen carefully."
We both went still.
"I'm not here to kill you," Helena continued. "Not yet. I'm here to make you an offer."
Don't listen, Seraphina warned.
But I was already listening. I couldn't help it.
"Bring me the Heart of Aethermoor, and I'll break the curse," Helena called. "Seraphina will get her voice back. You'll get your ten thousand gold and your freedom. Everyone wins."
Hope flared in Seraphina's chest—I felt it through the bond.
Don't trust her, I warned.
But what if she's telling the truth? What if she can break the curse?
"You have until you reach the temple to decide," Helena said. "Betray me, and you both die. Serve me, and you both get what you want most."
Silence fell.
I waited, listening, but the voices were retreating. Helena was leaving.
Giving us time to think. Time to be tempted.
Seraphina turned to me, and through the bond, I felt her desperation, her hope, her fear.
What if this is my only chance? she thought. My only chance to speak again?
"It's a trap," I said firmly.
But what if it's not?
And that was the question, wasn't it?
What if Helena was telling the truth? What if we could get everything we wanted just by giving her what she needed?
Through the bond, I felt Seraphina's resolve wavering. Felt the terrible weight of ten years of silence crushing down on her.
She wanted her voice back. Desperately. More than anything.
And Helena knew it.
Cassian, Seraphina thought quietly. What if I want to take the deal?
My heart sank.
Because I didn't have an answer.
And through the bond, I felt something that terrified me more than any shadow wolf or forest guardian:
Seraphina was seriously considering betraying our mission for the chance to speak again.
And I had no idea how to stop her.