Aria's POV
I was practicing combat magic in the temple courtyard when someone grabbed me from behind.
Strong arms wrapped around me, lifting me off my feet. I tried to scream but nothing came out. My magic flared instinctively fire blazing around my hands.
Whoa! Aria, it's me! It's me!
I knew that voice. I stopped fighting immediately and spun around.
Elira stood there, hands raised, her curly red hair wild around her face. I'm sorry! I shouldn't have surprised you like that!
Elira? I thought in shock.
Then I threw my arms around her and hugged her so tight I probably broke a rib. Tears streamed down my face. I hadn't seen my best friend in three years. Three years of exile, of loneliness, of believing everyone had abandoned me.
But Elira was here. She'd come.
I got your message, Elira said, pulling back to look at me. I came as fast as I could. Are you okay? Are you hurt? And what is that glowing thing on your wrist
She stopped mid-sentence, staring past me. I turned and saw Caelan standing in the courtyard entrance, sword in hand, body tense.
He must have felt my panic through the bond and come running.
It's okay, I thought to him quickly. She's my friend. The healer I told you about.
Caelan relaxed slightly but didn't sheath his sword. You should announce yourself before grabbing people. She almost burned you alive.
Elira's eyes went wide. Did he just... did you two just communicate without talking?
It's complicated, I thought, knowing Caelan would hear me too. Very complicated.
Over the next hour, I explained everything to Elira the Heartstone, the Oracle, the magical bond, the mind reading, Marcus and Lyra's alliance, the three-day deadline. I wrote frantically in my journal while Caelan added details out loud.
Elira listened to everything, her face growing more serious with each revelation.
This is bad, she said finally. Really, really bad. But you're not alone anymore. I'm staying. I'm helping.
Through the bond, I felt Caelan's surprise. He hadn't expected anyone to voluntarily help him.
Before I could respond, someone else called out from the temple entrance.
Caelan Ashford! Still alive and causing trouble, I see!
A man walked into the courtyard lean and muscular, with scars on his face and a cocky grin. He moved like a predator, all confidence and controlled danger.
Dante, Caelan said, and I felt relief flood through him. He actually smiled real smile. Took you long enough.
I had to shake off three of Marcus's spies on the way here, Dante said. They clasped forearms like brothers. Your old friend really doesn't want anyone helping you.
He's not my friend.
No, Dante agreed, his smile fading. He's really not.
Dante's eyes found the glowing chain on Caelan's wrist, then traced it to where it connected to mine. He whistled low.
So the rumors are true. You're magically bound to a mage. He looked at me with curious eyes. And you must be Aria. The famous exiled High Mage.
Former High Mage, I corrected in my head.
She says 'former,' Caelan translated.
Dante's eyebrows shot up. You can hear her thoughts? That's either really useful or really awkward.
Both, Caelan and I said at the same time him out loud, me in his head.
Dante laughed. I like her already.
We gathered in the temple's main hall. Elira spread out maps and ancient texts she'd brought. Dante shared intelligence he'd collected about Marcus's movements over the past two years.
Marcus is the Commander of the Royal Guard now, Dante said, his voice bitter. He used Caelan's 'betrayal' to climb straight to the top. And he's been meeting secretly with someone from the Mage Council.
Lyra Silvane, Elira added. Aria's sister. She took Aria's position after the exile.
My hands clenched into fists. Through the bond, Caelan felt my rage and pain.
They're working together, Dante continued. Soldiers and mages. Marcus wants power. Lyra wants magic. And they both want the Heartstone.
How much time do we have? Elira asked.
Less than three days now, Caelan said grimly. They left us a message. A threat.
I pulled out the black roses we'd found wilted now, but still ominous. Elira's face went pale when she read the cards.
They're not just coming for the Heartstone, she whispered. They're coming for you two specifically. This is personal.
Everything they've done has been personal, Caelan said. Marcus didn't just want my position. He wanted to destroy me. Same with Lyra and Aria.
They want us dead, I thought. The Heartstone is just an excuse.
Then we make sure they fail, Dante said fiercely. We train. We prepare. We make them regret ever crossing you both.
For the first time since the Oracle had kidnapped me, I felt something besides fear and exhaustion.
Hope.
I had allies now. Real friends who chose to stand with me.
Caelan felt my hope through the bond. I felt his answering warmth gratitude and relief that he wasn't alone anymore either.
That evening, the four of us stood together in the Heartstone chamber. Elira examined the cracks with a healer's eye. Dante studied the defensive positions.
We can hold this temple, Dante said. With four of us working together, we have a chance.
The Heartstone is responding better when you two touch it together, Elira observed, watching the blue glow brighten slightly under our hands. The bond is helping stabilize it.
But the cracks are still spreading, I thought.
We'll figure it out, Caelan said firmly. Out loud, but I knew he meant it for me.
We were heading back upstairs when the temple shook. Not violently just a single tremor. But it was enough to make us all freeze.
What was that? Elira whispered.
Then we heard it. A sound that made my blood run cold.
Horns. War horns. Coming from outside the temple.
Dante ran to the window and cursed. No. They're not supposed to be here yet. We still have three days!
What is it? Caelan demanded. How many?
Dante's voice was shaken when he answered. An army. Marcus brought an entire army. There must be two hundred soldiers out there.
Elira looked at me with terrified eyes. And there's someone with them. A woman in green robes. She's glowing with magic.
My sister. Lyra was here.
Through the bond, I felt Caelan's fury matching my own.
They lied, he growled. The three-day warning was a trick. They wanted us to let our guard down.
The war horns sounded again. Then a voice amplified by magic echoed through the temple.
Marcus's voice.
Caelan Ashford! Come out and face me like the warrior you used to be! Or stay hidden like the blind coward you've become!
Another voice joined his. Lyra's. Sweet and poisonous.
Sister! Did you really think you could hide from me forever? Come out and let's finish what we started three years ago!
My hands were shaking. Two hundred soldiers. Lyra's magic. Marcus's strategic brilliance. And only four of us.
We were outnumbered fifty-to-one.
We're going to die, I thought.
Caelan's hand found mine and squeezed. No. We're going to fight.
They're setting up siege equipment, Dante reported from the window. Battering rams. Catapults. They're not just attacking they're planning to tear the temple down around us.
Elira's voice was small. What do we do?
Before anyone could answer, the first catapult fired.
A massive boulder slammed into the temple's outer wall with a deafening crash. The entire building shook. Dust rained from the ceiling.
Then another boulder hit. And another.
The siege had begun.
And somewhere in the chaos, I heard the Heartstone scream a sound that only Caelan and I could hear through our bond. A sound of pure agony.
The cracks were spreading faster. The impacts were destroying it.
We had minutes, maybe hours, before the Heartstone shattered completely.
And when it did, the void would consume everything.