Aria's POV
The void creatures poured through the broken temple doors like a black wave of nightmares.
I'd never seen anything like them. They looked like shadows come to life twisted bodies with too many limbs, mouths full of razor teeth, and burning red eyes that locked onto us with terrible hunger.
We're going to die, I thought, frozen in terror.
Not if I can help it, Caelan growled.
He moved before I could even process what was happening. His sword flashed in the dim light, cutting through the first creature that lunged at us. Black blood sprayed across the marble floor.
But there were dozens more behind it.
Stay close! Caelan shouted, positioning himself between me and the monsters. The chain won't let us separate, so don't even try!
A creature with six legs skittered toward my side. I raised my hands instinctively and drew a glowing symbol in the air blast of pure force. The magic slammed into the monster, throwing it backward into three others.
Through our bond, I felt Caelan's surprise: She really can use magic without speaking.
Yes, I shot back. Now focus on not dying!
More creatures charged. Caelan fought like a demon his sword moving so fast I could barely track it. He couldn't see them, but somehow he knew exactly where each attack was coming from. He blocked. Dodged. Struck. Every movement was perfect.
I cast spell after spell fire, ice, force blasts my fingers tracing symbols faster than I'd ever done before. We fell into a rhythm without planning it. When a creature got past Caelan's guard, I blasted it. When three attacked me at once, Caelan was there, his blade cutting them down.
The ten-foot chain forced us to work together. We couldn't run from each other. Couldn't abandon each other. We had to fight as one.
After what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, the last creature fell. Its body dissolved into black smoke, just like all the others.
Caelan and I stood in the center of the temple, both breathing hard, both covered in dark blood that wasn't ours.
Are you hurt? Caelan asked, his blind eyes searching in my direction.
I checked myself quickly. A few scratches, but nothing serious. I'm fine. You?
I've had worse. He wiped his sword clean on his pants and sheathed it. You fight well for a mage.
You fight well for someone who can't see.
He almost smiled. We're both full of surprises, aren't we?
Before I could respond, my legs gave out. The magic I'd used had drained me completely. I started to fall.
Caelan caught me. His arms wrapped around me, steady and strong, holding me up like I weighed nothing.
Easy, he said quietly. I've got you.
Through the bond, I felt something unexpected from him: concern. Real, genuine concern.
Why do you care? I thought before I could stop myself. You said you hated mages.
Caelan was quiet for a moment. Then: I hate traitors. You're not a traitor. You're just... stuck here. Like me.
He helped me sit down on one of the temple benches. My whole body was shaking from exhaustion.
A temple servant appeared different one from earlier, an old man with kind eyes. He brought water, bandages, and food.
The Oracle said you would need these, the servant said softly. She also said the void creatures will return every night. You must be ready.
He left before we could ask questions.
Caelan sat down next to me, close enough that the chain between us went slack. Every night, he repeated. Perfect.
We barely survived this time, I thought, taking a long drink of water. How are we supposed to do that for thirty days?
We get better. Caelan turned toward me. We train together. Learn to fight as a team instead of two separate people.
You want to train with me?
I don't want to die because we're not coordinated enough, he said bluntly. Do you?
I shook my head, then remembered he couldn't see it. No.
Then we train. Starting tomorrow. He stood up and offered me his hand. Come on. The Oracle said we need to seal the heart stone. Morning and evening, remember?
I took his hand and let him pull me up. His grip was warm and calloused from years of sword work.
We walked down a spiral staircase together, staying within the ten-foot limit. I noticed how confidently Caelan moved despite being blind one hand trailing along the wall, his steps sure and steady.
How do you do that? I thought. Move so perfectly without seeing?
I listen, Caelan said. Footsteps. Echoes. Air currents. I feel vibrations in the floor. My other senses got stronger when I lost my sight.
That's... actually amazing.
I felt his surprise through the bond. You're the first person who's ever said that. Everyone else just feels sorry for me.
I know what pity feels like, I thought bitterly. I don't waste it on people who don't need it.
We reached the Heartstone chamber. The stone sat on a pedestal in the center, glowing with soft blue light. But up close, I could see how bad the damage was. Black cracks spread across its surface like a disease.
Describe it, Caelan said quietly.
I thought the description clearly so he could hear: It's about the size of your head. Glowing blue, but sick-looking. The cracks are spreading. It's dying, Caelan. We might be too late.
Then we better work fast. He reached out his hand toward where he sensed the pedestal. Touch it with me?
I placed my hand next to his on the Heartstone's smooth surface.
The moment we both made contact, power surged through us like lightning. My vision went white. Images flooded my mind Caelan's memories, raw and painful.
I saw a man with dark hair and a kind smile. Marcus. Caelan's best friend. I felt Caelan's love for him, his absolute trust. Then I saw Marcus handing him a glass of wine at a celebration. Felt the bitter taste. The confusion as Caelan's vision blurred and failed.
Then darkness. Terrible, suffocating darkness.
Marcus's voice: I'm sorry, but you were always better than me. I couldn't live in your shadow anymore.
Soldiers dragging Caelan away. His father watching with cold, distant eyes, saying nothing. Doing nothing.
The betrayal cut so deep I gasped.
And Caelan was seeing my memories too. I felt his presence in my mind, witnessing everything. Lyra's sweet smile as she handed me poisoned wine. My throat burning. My magic exploding uncontrollably. The ceiling collapsing. People dying.
My parents turning away.
Kaelis calling me cursed.
The Council throwing me into the wasteland.
We both pulled our hands back at the same time, breathing hard.
Tears streamed down my face. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that happened to you.
I'm sorry too, Caelan said, his voice rough. What your sister did... what they all did... you didn't deserve that.
For a long moment, we just stood there in the Heartstone chamber, two broken people who finally understood each other's pain.
We're the same, I thought. Both betrayed by people we loved. Both thrown away like garbage.
Yeah, Caelan agreed quietly. We are.
Something shifted between us then. Not friendship, not yet. But understanding. Recognition.
We weren't alone anymore.
Caelan cleared his throat. Thirty days. We protect this stone, and then we're free to go our separate ways.
Thirty days, I agreed.
But even as I thought it, something in my chest ached. The idea of walking away from Caelan after this was over felt... wrong, somehow.
I felt the same confused emotion from him through the bond.
Before either of us could examine that feeling too closely, the Heartstone pulsed. Once. Twice. Then it started glowing brighter not blue anymore, but blazing red.
What's happening? Caelan demanded.
The Oracle's voice echoed through the chamber, urgent and afraid: The Heartstone is rejecting the seal. Someone is trying to destroy it from the outside. They're already here. In the temple. RUN!
The floor beneath us cracked apart.