Chapter 27 #2
Zander turned to Hein without another word, mounting in one smooth movement, but the stiffness in his posture spoke volumes. Remy lingered a heartbeat longer, like he wanted to argue again, but even he knew better than to question a dragon’s urgency.
We returned to our mounts in silence, but as Kaelith and Hein lifted into the smoke-stained sky, I couldn’t ignore the tension still pulsing beneath my skin.
The wind carried the bitter scent of scorched earth and something older, something that didn’t belong in this area as we flew over the broken border between Caston and Amdar. Kaelith’s wings arched wide, riding the updrafts with a grace that belied the tension thrumming through her muscles.
Below, a strange structure emerged from the withered trees, jagged and bone-white, like the skeleton of some forgotten beast. My pulse quickened.
What is that?
We’ll know soon, Kaelith answered, her tone tinged with unease.
Zander and Hein were already descending. We followed, landing in a clearing where the grass had long since withered to ash. The structure stood at its center—an obelisk of white stone carved with glowing crimson runes. It pulsed faintly, like it breathed. Like it waited.
“A Blood Fae shrine,” Zander said grimly, dismounting and approaching the stone. “I read about them in the restricted archives. They’re not just symbols. They’re anchors—points of power that tether the Blood Fae to the land.”
I stepped closer, ignoring the chill sweeping down my spine. The shrine was easily twice my height, and now that I was near it, I could see fine lines of script etched into the base. Runes laced in a spiraling pattern, each one humming with restrained magic. Old magic. Fae magic.
“Why would they erect it here?” I asked.
Zander didn’t look away from the runes. “Because they’re consolidating power. Establishing footholds. This continent won’t remain unclaimed much longer… and this shrine won’t be abandoned. Not for long.”
A beat passed before he turned to the others. “We need to scout the area. There could be more.”
Hein huffed beside him, tail twitching.
I nodded and jogged toward the tree line, adjusting the strap of my dagger as I moved. I heard footsteps behind me and didn’t have to look to know who they belonged to.
Remy.
We walked in silence for a while, the trees thickening and the light dimming beneath their canopy. Just as I was about to suggest splitting off, his voice broke the quiet.
“If you ever wanted to leave it all behind…” He hesitated, just enough to make the words feel real. “I’d go with you.”
I stopped. The wind rustled through the branches, carrying the scent of moss and magic. My back stiffened.
Not this again.
He took a step closer, but I didn’t turn. I couldn’t. Not yet.
“You had your chance, Remy,” I said, my voice harsh. “You could’ve told me the truth. You could’ve come back.”
“I know.” His voice was quiet, rough around the edges. “But if there’s a part of you that still wonders…”
I finally looked at him. His eyes held something raw—regret, maybe. Or desperation.
“I don’t.” The lie tasted like iron on my tongue. “Now help me search the perimeter. You go left. I’ll go right.”
His expression faltered, but he nodded, stepping past me into the trees.
The shrine pulsed behind us, a silent reminder of what waited ahead.
And what could never be reclaimed.
I stepped over a twisted root, Kaelith’s voice still humming softly in the back of my mind as I scanned the trees for movement. The air was heavier here—thicker. Wrong. The shadows bled deeper, pooling between trunks like spilled ink. I reached for my blade instinctively.
She stepped out.
Seraveth.
Her silver-white hair shimmered unnaturally in the dim light, her black eyes catching the red glow from the Blood Fae shrine behind us. She didn’t belong in this realm. She never had.
My blade was in my hand before she took a second step. “Back up.”
She tilted her head, smile curving, cold, patient, knowing.
“It’s time for you to fulfill your destiny,” she said, voice like velvet stretched over something jagged. “We need our dragons’ fertility back.”
I took a step back, blade between us. “Not going to happen.”
She didn’t flinch. “If you won’t do it for destiny…” Her gaze drifted upward. “Then do it to save your dragon.”
My heart dropped. Cold settled into my chest like a stone hurled through ice.
“What did you do?” My voice shook. I hated that it shook.
Seraveth stepped closer, as slow as a serpent slithering toward prey.
“Nothing… yet. But the blood shrine has a cost. They all do. And Kaelith is tied to you. Her magic feeds yours. Her life… depends on it.” She stopped just outside my reach.
“If your bond shatters, she’ll die. We both know her evolution is incomplete. ”
I gritted my teeth, Kaelith’s energy pulsing weakly in the back of my mind, as if she sensed Seraveth. As if she remembered her.
“Don’t test me,” I growled. “Because I will kill you.”
Seraveth smiled again, a sliver of white teeth too harsh for her face. “You can try. But the threads of fate are already tangled, little storm. And we both know…” She leaned closer. “You were made for this.”
Kaelith’s voice cracked in my mind. She cannot touch me, not unless you break.
Then I won’t, I told her. Not ever.
But the chill in my bones didn’t ease.
Because Seraveth hadn’t come to fight.
She came to warn.