They left the Archives under a sky that looked like it had been wounded.
Veins of scarlet lightning laced the clouds, and the moon—what should have been a gentle crescent—burned with a sickly amber glow. The wind howled through the forest, carrying whispers in a tongue none of them dared translate.
Elara kept the spellbook clutched to her chest, its silver-leaf pages humming with restrained power. Each step they took away from the mountain felt like walking further into the maw of something ancient and vengeful.
Kael was the first to speak. "We can't return to the city."
Elisia glanced at him, confused. "Why not?"
"Because if Umbriel is already feeding, then cities will draw him like blood draws wolves. We need to find a place where we can set up the ritual without risking more lives."
Elara nodded slowly. "The cliffs of Dareth. They're abandoned, remote, and soaked in old magic. I read about them in the journal. My mother wrote there."
Kael frowned, considering. "That could work. If the ley lines still cross there."
"They do," Elara said. "I checked once."
The journey took another day and a half. They moved quickly, sleeping in brief shifts and speaking little. Each of them was lost in thought. Kael, always watching the skies; Elisia, pale and silent, flinching every time the spellbook pulsed in Elara's arms.
And Elara… she couldn't stop thinking about the choice that loomed ahead.
The book had been clear. To seal Umbriel again, a life had to be given. A life of blood connection—Elisia. The spell would not accept substitutes. Magic, for all its wonder, had always been cruel when it came to balance.
By the time they reached the cliffs, the wind had grown sharp and wet, and the sea below churned with unnatural fury. Towering rocks jutted from the shoreline like broken teeth, and waves crashed like drums against the stones.
They set up camp in the ruins of an old watchtower. Its walls were mostly rubble, but its foundation still held firm.
Elara spread the silver book open on a slab of stone, and Kael began drawing the circle—an intricate pattern of stars and flame, lined with symbols only visible under moonlight. Each stroke of chalk sizzled faintly on the stone.
Elisia sat by the edge of the cliff, legs drawn up to her chest. Her hair danced wildly in the wind, and her eyes were hollow.
Kael paused and looked at Elara. "We have maybe a day before it reaches us."
"How do you know?" she asked.
He pointed to the horizon, where a faint black mist had begun to crawl over the sea. "Because the birds are gone, and the mist is moving against the wind."
Elara's fingers tightened around the edge of the spellbook. "There has to be another way."
"There isn't," Kael said, not unkindly. "But there might be a delay spell. Something to give us time to find an answer."
Elara nodded. "I'll look."
Hours passed. The sun bled into the ocean, and the mist grew closer, stretching dark tendrils toward the cliffs like fingers. Kael finished the outer ring of the circle, and Elara had scanned through nearly half the book.
"Elara," Elisia said quietly.
Elara turned to her sister. Her heart ached at the sight of her—fragile and brave and too young for the weight she carried.
"If I don't make it through this… promise me you'll find out what really happened to Mother."
"What are you talking about?" Elara asked, stepping closer.
"She didn't just die," Elisia whispered. "She was taken."
Elara froze. "What?"
"I remember now," Elisia said, voice trembling. "The night she vanished… there were voices. Whispers in the mirror. She was arguing with someone—something. And then she was just gone. I told Father, but he didn't believe me."
Elara dropped to her knees beside her sister. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was scared. And then you were so angry all the time, after… I thought you hated me."
"I never hated you," Elara said fiercely, grabbing her sister's hands. "Never. I just—didn't know how to protect you. I didn't even know how to protect myself."
Elisia's eyes shimmered. "Do you think it was Umbriel? That he took her?"
"I don't know," Elara said. "But I swear to you—I'll find out. Whatever it takes."
A distant howl split the night.
Kael rose from his place at the circle. "It's here."
The three of them stood at the edge of the tower ruins, staring out into the mist. Shapes moved within it—tall, distorted figures with hollow faces and too many limbs. And at the center of the fog, a shadow darker than anything Elara had ever seen pulsed like a second heartbeat against the world.
Umbriel.
Kael drew his twin daggers and stepped in front of the sisters. "Get behind me."
Elara opened the book, its pages fluttering to the one marked with the binding spell. "We need to start now."
Elisia stepped forward. "Tell me what to do."
"No," Elara said. "Not yet. I'm going to try something first."
Kael spun to look at her. "What are you thinking?"
"I read about something in the Archives," Elara said, already tracing a symbol on her palm with a drop of her own blood. "A siphoning spell. It draws from the caster's life force instead of another's. If I can channel enough energy—"
"It'll kill you," Kael snapped.
"It might," Elara said. "Or it might buy us time. That's all we need right now."
Kael stepped forward. "Let me do it."
"No," Elara said firmly. "It has to be someone with the Mark. This is my choice."
The mist was almost upon them.
Kael looked like he wanted to argue more, but then his jaw set. "If you die, I'll bring you back just to yell at you."
Elara gave him a small smile. "Fair enough."
She stepped into the circle, and the spellbook began to glow. Wind howled louder, and the cliffs trembled.
"Elisia," she said. "If I can't hold it—then, and only then, you say the words."
Her sister nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks.
Elara placed both hands on the stone and began to chant.
The symbols ignited.
And the sky cracked open.