The stillness around the sealed door was suffocating.
The chains binding it rattled softly, as if breathing. Emberlynn couldn't tear her gaze away from them, couldn't shake the feeling that whatever lay beyond wasn't merely waiting—it was listening.
Her hand itched toward the obsidian shard tucked close to her heart, the warmth of it pulsing insistently against her skin. It whispered temptations she didn't want to hear, promises she didn't dare believe.
"You said I carry the key," she said finally, breaking the silence. Her voice sounded small in the cavernous hall.
Malphas nodded, slow and deliberate. His silver eyes gleamed in the half-light, reflecting more than the flickering torches.
"You do. Not just the shard. You, Emberlynn."
"But why?" she demanded, her voice cracking under the weight of fear and frustration. "Why me? Why not you? You're stronger. Smarter. You know things. I'm just..." She trailed off, bitter laughter bubbling in her chest. "I'm just some girl you dragged out of a crumbling village."
"You are more than you know," he said, stepping closer, voice dangerously soft. "More than anyone has dared to tell you."
She shook her head violently. "I don't believe you."
A shadow passed across Malphas's face—an old, familiar shadow that made him look untouchable, ancient.
"You don't have to believe me," he said, quieter now. "But you will learn the truth."
Before she could argue, the chains on the door jerked violently, rattling like bones.
Emberlynn flinched back, heart hammering against her ribs.
The mark on her shoulder burned hotter.
"They know you're here," Malphas said grimly, his hand going to the hilt of his shadow-forged blade. "And they're waking up."
The ground trembled beneath their feet. From the corridors behind them, a low groan echoed—the sound of something massive and angry dragging itself closer.
Panic surged through Emberlynn.
"What do we do?" she gasped, whirling around.
Malphas grabbed her hand without hesitation, pulling her sharply into the shadows of a collapsed alcove.
"We run."
There was no time for questions.
The creature that emerged into the hall was hideous—a twisting, shifting mass of teeth, limbs, and smoke, barely contained by the broken flesh that formed its body. It sniffed the air once, twice, then let out a guttural roar that made the stone walls tremble.
Emberlynn clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.
The creature turned toward the door—but paused.
It tilted its head, sensing something.
Sensing her.
Its smoky tendrils reached out, groping blindly along the cracked floor.
Malphas pressed closer behind her, shielding her with his body. She could feel his heart pounding hard and fast against her back, a rare crack in his constant calm.
He leaned close, lips brushing the shell of her ear.
"Don't move," he breathed. "Don't even think."
Every muscle in Emberlynn's body locked into place.
The tendrils brushed past their hiding spot, curling inches from her face. For a moment, she swore she could hear the creature's thoughts—an endless, gnawing hunger that clawed at her mind.
Found you, it hissed.
A jolt of terror snapped through her.
Before she could react, Malphas moved.
In a blur, he struck the tendril with his blade, severing it cleanly.
The creature shrieked, recoiling violently. Black smoke poured from the wound, filling the corridor with a blinding mist.
Malphas seized Emberlynn's wrist and yanked her into a sprint.
They ran.
Through the twisting corridors, past broken statues and forgotten altars. The mist swirled around them, obscuring their path. Emberlynn stumbled, gasping for breath, but Malphas never let go of her.
Somewhere behind them, the creature pursued, its howls splitting the air.
"We can't outrun it forever!" she cried.
"We're not trying to!" Malphas snapped back. "We're leading it!"
"Leading it where?"
He didn't answer.
Not until they burst through a crumbling archway into a wide, circular chamber.
Emberlynn skidded to a halt, nearly slamming into him.
The chamber was empty except for a massive mirror standing in the center—an ancient thing framed in iron, its glass cracked and blackened.
The mirror pulsed with dark energy.
"Inside!" Malphas commanded, dragging her toward it.
"Are you insane?!" she shouted, yanking against his grip.
The creature roared behind them, closer now.
Malphas turned to her, his eyes blazing.
"Trust me."
It wasn't a request.
It was a demand.
A plea.
Emberlynn hesitated for one heart-stopping moment.
Then she nodded.
Together, they dove toward the mirror.
The surface swallowed them whole.
—
For a terrible second, there was only darkness.
Weightless.
Breathless.
Then they crashed hard onto cold stone.
Emberlynn gasped, her vision swimming.
Malphas rolled to his feet instantly, sword raised, scanning the new surroundings.
They were no longer inside the Citadel.
They stood on the edge of a vast cliff, overlooking a sea of swirling shadows. The sky above was bruised purple, split by jagged lightning.
Emberlynn staggered upright, still clutching the shard to her chest.
Malphas turned to her, expression grim but relieved.
"You did well," he said quietly.
She laughed bitterly. "I almost got us killed."
"You survived," he said, stepping closer, his voice dropping. "That's more than most could have done."
The sincerity in his voice caught her off-guard.
For a long moment, they simply stood there—two fugitives against an endless storm, their only anchor each other.
"Where are we?" she asked finally.
"A sanctuary," Malphas said, glancing out at the dark horizon. "For now."
The way he said for now made her stomach twist uneasily.
She knew better than to believe they were truly safe.
Not with the shard burning hotter against her skin.
Not with the memory of the creature's whisper still lingering in her mind.
Not with Malphas looking at her like he saw both her salvation and his ruin.
And not with the door they left behind... still waiting.
Still listening.
Still hungering for her return.