Morning came sharp and cold — frost on the rocks, breath visible in the air.
Rhea woke them early — led them back to the same clearing.
Torin was already there — the crystal fragments arranged in a circle on the ground.
Miko felt the seal stir — not eager this time.
Cautious.
Torin spoke without preamble.
"Yesterday you touched it without breaking.
Today you hold it longer.
And you let it hold you."
Miko looked at Kael.
He stood a few steps back — shadows calm, eyes steady.
Torin continued.
"Step into the circle.
Reach for the largest fragment.
When the connection forms — don't shape it.
Don't release it.
Just… be with it."
Miko stepped into the circle.
The runes on the fragments flared — soft crimson.
She reached for the largest shard.
The seal answered — warm, steady.
The connection snapped into place — stronger than yesterday.
Not a fight.
Not a flow.
A presence.
Like standing in a room with someone who had always known her name.
The seal pulsed — once, deep.
Here.
Miko breathed — slow.
The presence expanded — filling her chest, her arms, her mind.
It didn't demand.
It waited.
Torin's voice came from outside the circle.
"Feel it.
Don't fight.
Don't accept.
Just feel."
Miko felt.
The seal showed her things — flashes, not visions.
A girl — Lirien — laughing with friends before the seal.
A boy — younger Kael — watching from the shadows, eyes wide.
A chamber — the one they'd found — blood on stone.
A whisper — More.
Miko's breath hitched.
The seal tightened — not painful.
Curious.
You see.
Miko nodded — inside her mind.
"I see."
The presence softened.
Good.
Time stretched — minutes, hours, she couldn't tell.
The seal pulsed — gentle.
Enough.
The connection faded — slow, reluctant.
Miko opened her eyes.
She was still standing.
The fragments were dim.
Torin watched her — expression unreadable.
Kael stepped forward — hand on her elbow.
"You okay?"
Miko nodded — shaky.
"I… saw things.
Lirien.
Before.
And after."
Torin spoke.
"What did it show you?"
Miko looked at him.
"That she was happy once.
Then she wasn't.
And the seal… it remembers."
Torin nodded.
"It always remembers."
Miko looked at Kael.
"It showed me you too.
Watching her."
Kael's face tightened.
"I know."
Miko squeezed his hand.
"It's not your fault."
Kael looked away.
"Maybe."
Torin spoke again.
"Rest.
Tomorrow — we test how long you can hold it."
Miko nodded.
They walked back to the tent.
Kael was quiet.
Miko stopped him outside.
"Kael."
He looked at her.
She stepped closer.
"I saw how you looked at her.
Back then.
You were scared for her."
Kael's voice was low.
"I was."
Miko reached up — touched his cheek — the faint scar from an old wound.
"I'm not her."
Kael met her eyes.
"I know."
Miko leaned in — forehead against his.
"I'm scared too."
Kael's arms came around her — slow, careful.
"I know."
They stood like that — in the cold morning light.
The seal pulsed — once, almost approving.
Stay.
Miko smiled — small, against his shoulder.
"I will."
To be continued…