Chapter 15: Storm of the Lost
Lira Valenti's heart thundered, Sarn's ruins pulsing with sixth-nation runes under a sky fractured by violet lightning.
The crimson illusion faded, but its weight lingered—crimson sands replaced by cold stone, the air thick with dust and blood.
Five beasts roared, their scales glinting like molten iron, claws raking the shrine's remains. The sixth-nation army—spectral warriors with glowing blades—closed in, chanting: "Blood seals the Accord." Kael's ship loomed, its crystal blazing with Lira's stolen runes, his possessed figure a shadow in the storm.
Veyra stood frozen, her eyes wet with regret, the crystal shard's betrayal summoning the fifth beast. "I had no choice," she whispered, her brother's fate binding her to the Silent Council. Mira, barely alive, leaned against a broken pillar, her crimson cloak soaked in blood, her dark energy flickering as she faced the fifth beast. "Lira, don't give up," she gasped, her eyes heavy with guilt—a soft "I can't undo it" escaping her lips. Elias held Lira's hand, his sea-glass eyes fierce, blood dripping from his arm. "We fight together," he said, his Veyran pendant glowing, a tether in the chaos.
Lira's arm burned, her runes dim, her parchment icy in her pocket. Her Echowriting, sixth-nation rune-magic, flickered under the specter's grip, its voice—her voice—hissing: "You're mine." Her body trembled, possession clawing her mind, her muteness a prison. Koren, the traitor, gripped his star-etched staff, his blade stained from slicing the orb. "I hid the truth to survive," he said, his treachery raw. "The Accord enslaved Voicekeepers, and Kael was its blade." Lira's heart sank—Kael, the enforcer, and Koren his accomplice?
Her runes flared, resolve igniting. I will break the Accord, she thought, her vow from the illusion burning. Even if it kills me. She scratched a star-circle into the stone, her nails bloody, silver light surging.
The spectral army staggered, blades dimming, and the specter screamed, its grip weakening. Lira stood, her vision sharp, Sarn's ruins trembling. Elias pulled her close, his breath ragged. "You're unstoppable," he whispered, his lips meeting hers—a kiss, fierce and warm, her heart racing. But Koren's taunt lingered: "He's tied to Kael, Lira." Her gray eyes searched Elias's, doubt gnawing. What are you hiding?
Mira's dagger sank into the fifth beast, her energy fading, blood pooling. "Live, sister," she whispered, her face pale, guilt etched in her gaze. Lira's heart broke—Mira, her betrayer, now her savior? The fourth beast lunged, and Lira scratched a jagged star into the air, light exploding, shoving it back. Pain seared her chest, the specter clawing deeper, her breath shallow. "Your voice is ours," it hissed, her runes faltering.
Elias's POV
Elias's heart pounded, Lira's gray eyes a storm he'd drown in.
He'd aided Kael once, a debt from a past he couldn't confess—not yet.
Her kiss burned, her trust his only redemption. I love you, he thought, his pendant heavy with guilt.
Kael's shadow loomed, and Elias would die before letting it take her.
Her runes flared, and he gripped his dagger, ready to fight.
End Elias's POV
Lira's runes pulsed, Elias's touch grounding her, but his flickering eyes betrayed a secret. Koren kicked a second artifact—a rune-etched sphere—from the rubble, its glow matching her parchment. "The lost city holds the truth," he said, his blade raised. Lira touched it, and a vision struck—crimson sands, a sixth-nation city burning, a Voicekeeper chained, Kael's blade at her throat. "Your blood rewrites the Accord," her echo whispered, light surging. Lira woke, gasping, her vow solidifying: I'll rewrite it.
Veyra's hands shook, her regret raw. "I betrayed you for him," she said, her brother's fate her chain. The spectral army charged, and Lira's runes flared, shattering a dozen warriors. The fifth beast roared, Kael's crystal pulsing. "Your blood awakens the curse," his voice boomed from the ship. Koren's blade struck the sphere, summoning a sixth-nation storm—sand and lightning swallowing the ruins. A rune-message glowed: "Toren awaits, Voicekeeper." Lira's heart raced—a survivor, her ally?
The storm trapped them, the second artifact blazing, a greater curse stirring. Elias's eyes flickered—guilt, tied to Kael. A new beast rose, its claws aimed at Lira, whispering: "He helped him bind you."