15. Naeris
The Shadow will wake… The Starmap will burn across three who were never meant to shine.
One born of the Abyss will find his light in the daughter of the First Fracture.
When the three maps align, the Veil will tear.
What was erased will be remembered. What was broken will be made whole again.
But beware — the Harrowed One laughs in the silence between stars.
Only the bonded three can silence him… or feed him forever.
Ella’s hand flew to her mouth. “That’s what Nythor was saying. Over and over again in his ramblings."
Thyros spoke. “The Harrowed One talks to me through it,” He said quietly, in a rough voice. “Has for as long as I can remember. Whispers. Promises. Threats. I never told anyone.”
Zapharos looked thunderstruck. Dravok’s aura coiled tightly around him. Under my hand, Thyros stood rigid, the dark mark on his back still pulsing in perfect alignment with the void on the wall.
I stared at the glowing prophecy, brow furrowed.
None of it made sense to me. Three who were never meant to shine?
The bonded three? The Harrowed One laughing in the silence between stars?
It sounded like the ravings of a mad prophet, not something that should be written on the walls of our ancestors’ most sacred place.
Ashley caught my eye across the group. We both shrugged at the same time, the universal gesture of I have no idea what any of this means.
I finally spoke, voice cutting through the heavy silence. “What does this mean?”
The chamber erupted.
Ella started talking rapidly about bloodlines and copies.
Nadine was already trying to cross-reference the glyphs with known star charts.
Zapharos and Dravok began arguing about whether the Shadow referred to Thyros or the Harrowed One.
Thyros himself stayed dangerously quiet, his shoulders tense, and the black mark on his back still glowed ominously.
I rubbed my temple; the golden light from my own Starmap suddenly felt too bright. “Can someone explain it in normal words? Because right now it sounds like a children’s riddle designed to drive us all insane.”
I was ignored. The heated discussion around me only grew louder. And somewhere in the back of my mind, a quiet, terrifying thought took root: We had just activated something ancient. And whatever it was… it had been waiting for us.
Thyros’ hand settled on my lower back, warm, steady, possessive.
The contact sent a sharp jolt straight through me.
The golden thread between us strummed hard, a low, vibrating hum that settled deep in my belly and spread lower.
Heat pooled between my thighs, sudden and undeniable.
I was getting wet. Right here, surrounded by everyone, because of nothing more than his palm pressed against my bare skin.
I tried to ignore it. I failed.
Ella was the first to speak, her voice trembled with awe and recognition. “The Shadow will wake… That has to be you, Dravok.”
Dravok nodded slowly, eyes fixed on the wall.
“And the Starmap will burn across three who were never meant to shine… That’s us. The three Aelyth bonds. Me, Nadine, and Naeris. We are all part of this ancient cycle.”
Nadine stepped closer, her scientific mind already dissecting every syllable.
“One born of the Abyss will find his light in the daughter of the First Fracture.” She looked directly at me, then at Thyros.
“Naeris, you’re clearly the daughter of the First Fracture, Ashera’s direct line.
And Thyros is the one born of the Abyss… ”
She didn’t finish. She didn’t need to.
Thyros’ fingers flexed against my back, pulling me a fraction closer to his side.
The bond thrummed louder. My nipples tightened against my bra.
I was acutely aware of the slick heat building between my legs and the way my pulse hammered in my throat.
When I glanced up at him, and our eyes locked, electricity crackled between us, raw, undeniable, and dangerous.
His crimson-gold gaze burned with something dark and hungry that made my breath hitch.
For a heartbeat, the rest of the room faded.
There was only the heat in his eyes and the way my body responded to him like it had been waiting its entire life for this.
Ashley crossed her arms, bringing me back to reality. “When the three maps align, the Veil will tear.” She gestured at the wall. “We just did that. Your marks, plus their marks, equal the completed map.”
Ella’s voice grew thicker with emotion. “What was erased will be remembered… Earth.”
“What was broken will be made whole again,” Nadine shook her head, "any idea what that means?"
Nobody did.
The final lines hung heaviest in the air.
But beware, the Harrowed One laughs in the silence between stars. Only the bonded three can silence him… or feed him forever.
Xandros rubbed his jaw, looking uneasy for the first time. “So the three of you—the bonded pairs—are the key. The only ones who can stop the Harrowed One… or make him stronger.”
I swallowed hard. The weight of those words settled on my shoulders like stone. Thyros’ hand slid from my back to my hip, fingers splaying possessively. The bond sang between us, hot and insistent. I had to press my thighs together as I fought the urge to lean fully into him.
I wanted him.
I wanted him so badly, it was becoming difficult to think straight. And from the way his fingers flexed on my hip and the dark heat flared in his eyes when he looked down at me, he knew it too.
The chamber was silent except for the faint pulse of the completed Starmap.
I let out a shaky breath. “So… we’re the ones who either save everything or doom it?”
Thyros’ voice was a low growl against my ear, meant only for me. “We’re not dooming anything, little rebel. Not while I’m still breathing.”
His hand tightened on my hip. The golden thread between us flared brighter than ever. And for the first time, I wasn’t sure I wanted to push him away.
I was still trying to figure out the growing attraction between Thyros and me when new glyphs began to shimmer into existence beneath the main prophecy, smaller, sharper script that hadn’t been there before. The wall was still reacting to us.
Thyros’ hand remained on my hip, warm and steady.
The golden thread between us kept thrumming, sending slow waves of heat through my body.
I was acutely aware of how close he stood, how his bare chest brushed my shoulder, how my own body was responding with slick, aching need despite everything happening around us.
Ella leaned closer to the new text, reading aloud:
The glowing prophecy still pulsed on the wall, its words hanging heavy in the air like an accusation. The chamber felt smaller, the golden light almost oppressive now.
Ella’s eyes were wide with wonder and confusion. “The bonded three… the maps aligning… it all points to us. But what is the Key? What is the Shard of Echoes?”
Zapharos went very still. His golden aura flickered once, then settled.
“I think I know,” he said quietly. “The Globe.”
All eyes turned to him.
“I still have it,” Zapharos continued. “It’s safe at my home, locked away in my private vault.
I took it from the humans after we rescued Ella.
They had found it in the belongings of an Ohrur, one of the ones we killed during the raid.
I have no idea how the Ohrur got their hands on it.
I assumed they stole it from some ancient ruin… but now…”
He looked at the completed Starmap, then at the new text beneath the prophecy.
Nadine’s sharp mind caught on instantly.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Nobody has been in this chamber for two and a half million years.
The dust, the seals, the way the ruins are fused with the mountain, this place has been untouched.
So how could the Ohrur have stolen the Globe from here? ”
The implication settled over all of us like a cold weight.
Ashley voiced what we were all thinking. “Does it really matter right now? Isn't the important part to get this… vessel and see what you're supposed to do with it?”
Thyros’ hand tightened on my hip, his thumb unconsciously stroking the bare skin there.
I forced myself to focus.
“So the Ohrur found something we haven’t,” I ventured. “A second location. Maybe even the true resting place of the Shard of Echoes.”
Zapharos nodded grimly. “We need to get it. Before the Harrowed One does.”
The completed Starmap pulsed once more, as if in agreement, its golden light flaring across the ancient walls.
We had the prophecy.
We had the map.
We needed to get the globe, or vessel, or whatever.
Xandros exhaled heavily, rubbing a hand over his face.
The weight of everything we had just uncovered seemed to press down on all of us.
“Alright,” he decided. “That’s enough for today.
We still need to make our way back through the tunnel.
Let’s get back to the ship and reconvene in the morning after we’ve all had time to think this through. ”
Ella looked devastated. Her glowing skin still lit up the ruins as she turned in a slow circle, her eyes lingering on the ancient structures, the glowing wall, the ghost of a civilization that had waited millions of years for us. “But… but… but…”
Zapharos stepped behind her and wrapped his powerful arms around her waist, pulling her gently back against his chest. His voice was low, soothing, full of love. “Don’t worry, my heart. I’ll bring you back here. I swear it.”
Ella leaned into him, reluctant but comforted. After a long moment, she nodded. I felt Thyros’ arm slide around my waist, warm and solid. I could have pulled away. I should have pulled away.
Instead, I allowed it.
We started making our way back toward the submerged tunnel in silence. The guardians remained motionless now, watching us leave like ancient sentinels who had decided we were no longer a threat. Or perhaps they knew we would be back.