They barely made it to the square before it started.
The Grand Parade — the heart of Pride Month — had always been a celebration of color and connection, but tonight the threads over the square writhed like tangled serpents, snapping and binding at random. Draven's influence hung heavy, turning the festive lights into eerie, shifting glows.
Thousands of people moved below, unaware of the chaos above their heads. Arielle could feel every bond straining, tugging toward the black tether like metal filings to a magnet.
Draven emerged atop the central monument, his shadow stretching impossibly far. His hands moved lazily, threads twisting around his fingers like obedient pets. The marionette figures reappeared, descending into the crowd.
Panic erupted as the first bonds snapped audibly, people collapsing as if their strings had been cut. Arielle felt the shockwave of each one, her chest seizing as the hum became a scream.
Selene spun their needle, threads bending violently around them. "We have to stop him before the coven shows up. If they see this…"
"They'll kill us both," Arielle finished, breathless.
The air crackled as Draven's gaze found them, his smile sharp enough to cut. "So. Shall we see how many bonds you can hold before you break, little Binder?"
He snapped his fingers.
Every thread in the square went taut, glowing with blinding intensity. The tether above split wider, pouring black light into the streets. People screamed as bonds shattered like glass.
Arielle grabbed Selene's hand, the resonance nearly knocking her to her knees. "If we don't do something now, there won't be a weave left to save."
Selene glanced at her, their silver eyes glinting with something fierce. "Then hold on to me. No matter what happens, don't let go."
As Draven raised his hands and the sky itself began to tear, Arielle tightened her grip. The threads around them swirled violently, converging on the two of them like a storm.
And for the first time… Arielle felt something new. Not just the hum. Not just the pain. But power.
Volume 2 surges forward as the square becomes a battleground — and Arielle begins to understand that saving Starlight City may mean becoming something she swore she'd never be.