The violet light surrounding the runic stone did not fade.
On the contrary.
It pulsed a second time.
Then a third.
Like an ancient heart that had just awakened.
Lyra jerked her hand away from the stone, breathing hard, but the glow did not disappear. The runes engraved on its surface continued to shine beneath her fingertips as if they had recognized her.
Or worse...
As if they had been waiting for her.
Kael immediately stepped in front of her.
A reflex.
Always that reflex.
His arm moved instinctively in front of Lyra, subtly pushing her back while his dark eyes remained locked on the stone with icy intensity.
— Step back, he said in a low voice.
Lyra frowned slightly.
— Kael—
— Step back.
This time, it was not anger.
It was worse.
It was that tone he used when something touched his deepest fear.
When he felt he could still lose her.
Eryan approached the stone as well, more cautiously, his gray eyes studying the symbols with a tension he was no longer even trying to hide.
The wind around the clearing had stopped.
Completely.
And that kind of silence was bad.
Too heavy.
Too alive.
As if the entire valley was holding its breath with them.
Then the stone spoke.
Not with a human voice.
Not really.
But with an ancient vibration that passed directly through their souls.
When the Three remember,
The Thread shall awaken.
When Love chooses instead of Fate,
The World shall pay the price.
Lyra's heart missed a beat.
Kael, however, remained perfectly still.
Then, very slowly, he turned his head toward Eryan.
— The Three?
Eryan did not answer right away.
Bad idea.
Very bad idea.
Because Kael already hated this prophecy.
And he hated even more the thought that Eryan might understand something he did not.
Lyra felt her throat tighten.
— What does it mean... when love chooses instead of fate?
Eryan stared at the stone.
Then finally spoke, more quietly.
— It means the Original Thread was never meant to depend on human choice.
Kael narrowed his eyes slightly.
— Speak clearly.
Eryan inhaled slowly.
— The Council created the cycles to control soul unions. To prevent emotions from becoming stronger than the laws of the Source.
The silence around them thickened.
Then Lyra whispered:
— So... they wanted to decide who was meant to love who?
Eryan slowly turned his head toward her.
And this time, there was such ancient sadness in his gaze that it was almost painful to look at.
— Yes.
Kael immediately felt a cold rage climb up his spine.
He did not know exactly who it was directed at.
The Council.
The past.
Fate.
The entire world, maybe.
But one thing was painfully clear in his mind:
No one was ever going to decide Lyra for him.
Or for her.
Or for them.
His hand immediately found Lyra's.
Firmly.
Possessively.
And he squeezed just enough for her to feel that he was there.
That he had no intention of letting go.
Ever.
— Then they failed, he said coldly.
Lyra turned her head slightly toward him.
His expression was hard.
Beautiful.
Dangerous.
— Because I never needed fate to tell me who to choose.
Lyra's breath wavered.
And despite the tension, despite the prophecy, despite the invisible threat hanging around them...
Her heart still did that stupid thing.
That small, irrational acceleration he caused in her almost effortlessly.
Eryan briefly lowered his eyes.
And Kael noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
Because right now, Kael was noticing absolutely everything involving Eryan and Lyra in the same space.
Every glance.
Every hesitation.
Every silence that carried just a little too much weight.
And it was truly not helping him stay reasonable.
The stone vibrated again.
Then the violet light suddenly climbed along the runes and projected a new vision into the air.
This time, it was not a memory.
It was a living prophecy.
A glimpse of the future.
Lyra's eyes widened.
Before them appeared an enormous black hall, like a palace swallowed by darkness. Broken pillars surrounded an empty throne, and above it floated a circle of gold and shadow intertwined.
Then she saw herself.
Herself.
Standing in the center of that hall.
Alone.
Her white dress covered in blood.
Kael felt his entire body tense violently.
— No.
The word left him before he could stop it.
The vision continued.
The future Lyra slowly lifted her eyes.
And behind her...
Kael appeared on his knees.
A black spear driven through his chest.
Lyra's breath caught so violently that she lifted a hand to her mouth.
— No...
Her voice was barely a whisper.
Kael, however, had almost stopped breathing.
Because he was looking at himself.
And in the eyes of that future version of him...
There was unbearable pain.
But worse than that...
There was choice.
As if he had accepted it.
As if he had placed himself there willingly.
As if he had taken that blow for her.
Of course.
Of course he would have.
But seeing it was another kind of violence entirely.
Then the vision showed something else.
At the far end of the hall, Eryan stood surrounded by white light, his hands stretched toward Lyra as if he were trying to stop her from something.
Or someone.
Then everything shattered.
The vision broke into thousands of luminous fragments that drifted down into the clearing like ashes.
The silence afterward was unbearable.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Then Lyra suddenly turned toward Kael.
— You are not doing that.
Her voice trembled.
But not with weakness.
With fear.
Pure fear.
Kael lowered his eyes to her.
And despite what they had just seen, despite the weight crushing his chest...
He almost wanted to smile.
Because she already knew him well enough to understand instantly.
She knew he would do it.
Without hesitation.
Without asking permission.
Without regret.
— Kael, she repeated more firmly, you are not doing that.
He did not answer right away.
Mistake.
A very big mistake.
Because the longer he stayed silent, the more Lyra saw the truth in his eyes.
So she let go of his hand.
And that—
That, Kael did not like at all.
Not at all.
His gaze dropped immediately to their separated fingers as if she had just committed a deeply offensive emotional crime.
Lyra stepped closer to him.
Her eyes were shining.
— Answer me.
Kael tightened his jaw slightly.
— If it saves you, I would do it again in every lifetime.
Silence crashed between them.
Lyra felt her eyes burn.
And this time, it was not romantic.
Not only.
It was painful.
Terribly painful.
Because she knew he meant it.
Not to impress her.
Not to seduce her.
Not to make it sound beautiful.
He was simply telling the truth.
The raw, cruel, breathtaking truth of a man who loved her enough to die again and again... if it meant she would live.
— I hate when you say things like that, she whispered.
Kael tilted his head slightly.
And when he spoke again, his voice was softer.
Lower too.
— And I hate the idea of watching you fall while I'm still standing.
Lyra lowered her eyes for one second.
Just one.
Because she felt like she was going to break if she kept looking at him too long.
Eryan looked away slightly, as if he understood that this moment did not belong to him.
But before the silence could turn tender again—
the runic stone cracked.
Not completely.
But a black fracture split through its center.
Then another.
Then a third.
Kael immediately grabbed Lyra by the waist and pulled her against him, stepping back in one brutal motion.
A wave of black energy exploded from the stone, flattening the violet grass around them.
The ground trembled.
The air tore.
And in the center of the clearing, an unknown voice rose from the darkness.
— I've finally found you.
Lyra felt her heart freeze.
A figure slowly emerged from the black smoke.
Tall.
Mineral.
Almost regal in the way he carried himself.
His body looked as though it had been made of shadow and shattered glass, as if someone had built a man from pure night and broken memories.
His eyes...
His eyes were gold.
And they landed directly on Lyra.
Not on Kael.
Not on Eryan.
On her.
As if she was the only thing he could see.
Kael felt it immediately.
And his whole body changed.
Not in a dramatic way.
But in a way far more dangerous.
His gaze darkened.
His posture closed.
His presence grew heavier.
That thing had just looked at Lyra as if she belonged to him.
And that...
That was a very, very bad way to meet Kael.
— Who are you? Eryan asked, his voice harder than usual.
The figure tilted his head slightly.
Then replied:
— Malrik.
The name slid through the air like ancient poison.
Instantly, Eryan paled slightly.
Aelys had spoken of him before.
The Devourer of Bonds.
The being exiled between worlds.
The one who fed on the rarest soul connections to grow stronger.
And if he was here...
Then it meant only one thing.
The Original Thread had truly awakened.
Lyra frowned.
— You were looking for us?
Malrik smiled.
And his smile was worse than a threat.
It was calm.
Certain.
Almost admiring.
— I was looking for you.
Kael immediately stepped forward.
Then another step.
Until he placed himself fully in front of Lyra.
As if his body had made the decision before his mind even formed it.
— No, he said simply.
Malrik observed Kael.
Then his smile widened slightly.
— Ah.
His golden gaze slid briefly toward Lyra.
Then returned to Kael.
— The possessive guardian.
Kael did not move.
But Lyra felt his magic awakening around them.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
Like black shadows slipping beneath the skin of the world.
— Say that again, he said calmly.
Lyra briefly closed her eyes.
Oh no.
Not that voice.
Not his calm voice.
Because that voice always meant he was exactly two seconds away from doing something completely insane and potentially very attractive.
Malrik, however, seemed almost amused.
— You think you can frighten me because you love her?
Kael tilted his head slightly.
Then he answered with almost terrifying calm:
— No.
He slowly raised one hand, and the darkness around him began crawling across the ground like a beast waking up.
— I think I can frighten you because you're still breathing after looking at my wife like that.
Silence fell.
Complete.
Brutal.
And Lyra felt her heart literally skip a beat.
Behind him, Eryan turned his head sharply toward Kael.
Even he had not looked like he was expecting that.
As for Malrik...
He let out a soft laugh.
— Your wife?
Kael did not even blink.
— Do you want to debate or die?
Lyra's breath wavered dangerously.
Because he had not even said that to play.
He had said it in that tone.
That tone of absolute truth.
As if, in his mind, the matter had already been settled.
As if the world could keep inventing cycles, prophecies, guardians, threads, ancient truths...
Lyra was his.
And apparently, he was going to make that insufferably clear.
Malrik took one step.
Then another.
And the air began to vibrate around him.
— Give me the Reincarnated One, he said calmly, and I will let all of you live.
Kael let out a laugh.
A real one this time.
But without any warmth.
— Ah.
His eyes darkened even further.
— So you've chosen death.
And before Lyra could stop him—
Kael attacked.
His body tore through the air with almost inhuman speed, his power exploding around him like a storm of pure shadow.
Malrik immediately raised an arm to block, but the impact of their collision shattered the ground of the clearing.
Lyra stumbled back violently.
Eryan caught her by the wrist just in time to stop her from falling.
— Stay behind me, he said.
But Lyra was already only looking at Kael.
Always Kael.
Always him.
Because he was fighting like someone who had no restraint left.
Like someone who had just been handed the perfect excuse to destroy something.
And honestly?
He was terrifying.
Terrifying... and impossible to ignore.
The shadows around Kael struck almost like living creatures, closing around Malrik with every movement. The air itself seemed to want to obey his rage.
But Malrik was not weak.
He was still smiling.
And that immediately worried Lyra.
Because a man who smiles while Kael is very clearly trying to erase him from existence is probably not a normal man.
Then everything shifted.
Malrik suddenly stretched a hand toward Lyra.
Not to attack her.
To call her.
And the glowing mark inside Lyra's wrist ignited violently.
She let out a strangled cry.
Kael turned instantly.
— LYRA!
In one second, he completely abandoned his advantage to rush back to her.
And that single action said far too much already.
He could win.
He could maybe destroy Malrik.
But if Lyra was hurting, he dropped everything.
Without hesitation.
Always.
Malrik took advantage of that to step back into the shadows, his smile still in place.
— So that is your weakness, he murmured.
Kael dropped to his knees in front of Lyra, immediately taking her burning wrist between his hands.
— Look at me.
His voice was no longer anger.
No longer battle.
No longer threat.
Only urgency.
Pure urgency.
— Look at me, Lyra.
She lifted her eyes to his with difficulty, her breathing broken.
The mark was glowing so brightly that even Eryan stepped back.
Then the voice of the stone echoed through the clearing again, louder and more terrible than before:
The Reincarnated One has been recognized.
The Choice will begin at the next Red Moon.
The silence that followed was freezing.
Then Malrik smiled one last time.
— Prepare her well.
His golden gaze slid over Lyra with a possessive coldness that instantly reignited the violence in Kael's eyes.
— Because when the time comes...
He placed a hand over his own chest.
— she will come to me.
And then he disappeared.
As if he had never been there.
The clearing fell silent again.
But nothing was the same anymore.
Lyra was breathing with difficulty.
Kael still had not let go of her wrist.
His fingers were trembling slightly.
Only slightly.
But enough for her to feel it.
Enough for her to understand that he had been afraid.
Truly afraid.
Not jealousy.
Not possessiveness.
Not anger.
A raw, animal, absolute fear.
She slowly lifted her free hand to his face.
And when her fingers touched his cheek, Kael briefly closed his eyes.
As if that alone was enough to keep him standing.
— He won't have me, she whispered.
Kael opened his eyes again.
And in his gaze, there was now something darker than jealousy.
Something larger.
More dangerous.
A promise.
— He can try.
His voice was low.
Almost soft.
But what he said sounded like a vow of war.
— And I swear on every lifetime I spent searching for you...
He leaned even closer.
His eyes anchored to hers.
— that if this world wants to take you away from me, then it's this world I will break.
Lyra's breath caught.
And this time...
This was no longer just a love story.
This was the beginning of a war.