The light was soft here—warm, golden, endless.
When Elara opened her eyes, she was lying in grass that shimmered faintly like glass dusted with sunlight. A river curved through the valley nearby, flowing not with water but with liquid light. The sky was painted in hues of rose and gold, the horizon breathing slowly, alive.
She blinked. "Where are we?"
"The Realm of Dawn," came a familiar voice.
She turned. Darius stood a few feet away, wings gone but his aura still faintly glowing. His black coat was torn, his expression unreadable—but his eyes softened when he looked at her.
"This is where the light of both worlds meets," Lyssara said, appearing behind him. "A place between dreams and memory. Few mortals ever see it."
Elara sat up slowly, touching the grass. "It feels… peaceful."
"For now," Lyssara murmured. "But peace is never free."
She stepped closer, kneeling beside Elara. "Your mark is changing again. The Veil's seal is awakening inside you. If it completes, the boundaries between realms will fall—and everything will burn."
Elara's breath caught. "So you brought me here to train me? To control it?"
Lyssara's eyes softened. "To understand it. Power without purpose is destruction. But with intent… it becomes creation."
Her words echoed in Elara's mind like a melody.
"Rest tonight," Lyssara said, standing. "At dawn, we begin."
She walked away, fading into light, leaving Elara and Darius alone beneath the glowing sky.
For a long moment, neither spoke. The air was still, scented faintly with silver flowers.
Elara broke the silence first. "You didn't tell me everything."
Darius exhaled. "I never do."
She frowned. "Why?"
He hesitated, then looked at her—the fierce, guarded look gone. "Because every time I try to protect you, I end up hurting you instead."
Her heart ached. "You can't protect me from everything, Darius."
"I know," he said quietly. "But I'll still try."
The honesty in his voice hit deeper than any promise.
For a moment, she forgot about the bond, the danger, even the worlds breaking apart. It was just the two of them—two souls caught in a web of fate neither had chosen but both refused to escape.
The bond between them pulsed again, soft this time, like a heartbeat beneath her skin.
Elara reached for his hand. "When the Court said this bond could destroy us… do you think they were wrong?"
Darius's gaze dropped to their joined hands, shadows curling faintly around his fingers. "Maybe," he said. "Or maybe they were right in all the wrong ways."
"What do you mean?" she whispered.
He leaned closer, his voice barely audible. "Maybe the bond wasn't meant to destroy us. Maybe it was meant to save us."
The words hung in the air, trembling with something dangerous and beautiful.
Before she could answer, the horizon shifted—the golden sky flickered red, and a sharp wind tore through the valley.
Lyssara's voice echoed distantly: "It begins."
Darius rose instantly, eyes narrowing. "Something's here."
Elara stood beside him, clutching her mark as it burned again. This time, the whisper in her mind wasn't her own voice.
It was darker. Older.
You cannot run from what you are, Veilborn.
The light around them dimmed, and the first shadow fell across the Realm of Dawn.
✨ End of Chapter 9 ✨