Owain's breathing was ragged.
Shallow.
Unsteady.
Painful.
But he was alive.
Kanah held him against her, hands gripping his shoulders like anchors. Her heart slammed so violently she could barely hear anything except his strained breaths.
"Owain— stay with me—stay—stay—"
He managed a faint, exhausted laugh.
"After everything… you still think I'd leave you now?"
Kanah choked on a sob.
"You almost died! Again!"
Owain lifted a shaking hand to cup her cheek, thumb brushing away tears he couldn't bear to see.
"I didn't die," he whispered.
"I came back."
Kanah swallowed.
"You always come back."
Owain nodded against her hair.
"Always."
But then—
The air shifted.
A pressure like cold fingers wrapped around their bodies.
Yllas moved instantly, wings rising.
Helion stepped forward, dark marks crackling.
Gerrin raised his staff, grounding the unstable magic bleeding off Owain.
The First King's voice bled into reality.
"The Heart returns.
Now—
the Promise."
Owain forced himself to stand.
Kanah reached to steady him, but he gently laid his hand over hers.
"I can stand."
She frowned.
"You're trembling."
Owain smiled weakly.
"But I'm standing — because you asked me to."
Kanah nearly broke again.
But the First King's presence thickened, icy and suffocating.
"One memory remains unrevealed."
Owain stiffened.
Kanah blinked.
"No… Owain remembered everything. He said he did—"
Owain's frown deepened.
"I… did."
The First King remained unmoved.
"You remembered the heart.
Not the promise."
Owain's breath caught.
Kanah whispered:
"What promise…?"
Helion muttered, "Probably some dramatic ancient oath he forgot."
Yllas shot him a look.
Gerrin stepped forward, face pale.
"No.
There is a specific type of oath in beast culture—
A Promise Mark."
Owain's eyes widened.
Kanah looked between them.
"A… what?"
Gerrin took a slow breath.
"Every beast race has one.
A vow that binds instinct and will together.
Unbreakable.
Irreversible."
Kanah froze.
"Owain… did you swear something to me?"
Owain didn't answer.
His breath quickened, eyes flickering with half-formed memory.
"I… said something.
Something important.
Something final."
Kanah reached for him instinctively.
"Owain, whatever it is—"
He stepped back.
Kanah's hand froze mid-air.
Owain whispered:
"I don't know what I promised you."
Kanah's chest squeezed painfully.
"But you will," she whispered.
Owain's jaw tightened.
"I'm afraid of what I promised."
She touched his wrist—gentle, steady, grounding.
"Then let me face it with you."
Owain swallowed hard.
The First King's voice tremored across the snow:
"To restore the bond,
the wolf must reclaim the Promise he made."
Kanah exhaled shakily.
"All right. Then show it to us."
The First King answered:
"Very well."
The world twisted.
Snow dissolved into shadows.
Light collapsed inward.
Kanah felt herself falling—
but Owain grabbed her hand before she slipped into the void.
His grip tightened.
"I won't let go."
Kanah held on.
"I know."
The Memory Realm Opens
Blackness faded into a hazy field.
Silver grass.
Soft wind.
A sky that looked like dusk and dawn at once.
Kanah recognized this place.
"So this is… your memory?"
Owain stilled.
His voice was rough.
"No.
This… isn't a place I remember."
Gerrin nodded gravely.
"It's the realm of instinct.
Where beasts make their deepest vows."
Helion huffed.
"Great. We're in the wolf's emotional stomach."
Yllas glared.
"Not now."
Owain stepped forward slowly.
The silver grass whispered around his legs, rustling like voices too faint to form words.
He looked around.
Confusion etched into every line of his face.
"I don't… understand. When did I come here?"
Gerrin answered gently:
"You came here the night you made the Promise."
Owain jerked slightly.
Kanah stiffened.
"Owain… what were you doing that night?"
Owain rubbed his temples.
"I remember… holding you.
You were trembling.
I told you I'd never leave."
Kanah swallowed.
"You said that many times."
Owain's brow furrowed harder.
"No…
this one was different."
Kanah stepped closer.
"How?"
Owain's voice dropped to a whisper.
"I meant it as a vow."
Then—
A figure formed in the silver fog.
A silhouette.
Kanah gasped softly.
It was Owain.
A younger version of him.
More instinct-driven.
Conflicted.
Desperate.
He stood alone in the silver field.
Head bowed.
Hands clenched.
Breathing hard.
Kanah whispered:
"That's you…"
Owain stared at his own ghostly form.
"What was I doing…?"
The memory-Owain lifted his head toward the sky and shouted into the light:
"If she dies, take me instead!"
Kanah's breath STOPPED.
Helion's jaw dropped.
Yllas staggered.
Gerrin's eyes widened in horror.
Owain froze completely.
Kanah trembled.
"You… what…?"
The memory-Owain continued:
"If she falls, take my strength, take my life—
just let her walk again."
Kanah covered her trembling lips.
"Owain… you didn't…"
Owain stared at the vision of himself — horrified, confused, speechless.
The memory-Owain dropped to his knees.
Hands pressed to the ground.
Voice breaking:
"I don't care what you take.
Just let her live."
Kanah shook her head violently, tears pouring.
"No—NO—Owain—why—why would you—"
But the First King's voice answered:
"Because that is the Promise the wolf made.
A life-for-life vow."
Owain staggered backward.
Kanah grabbed his arm.
"Owain—Owain—look at me—please look at me—"
His eyes were wide, unfocused.
"I… asked him to take my life for yours…"
Kanah sobbed.
"NO—NO—Owain—don't you ever—ever say that—"
"I DID," Owain whispered hoarsely.
His voice broke.
"I asked to die in your place."
Kanah collapsed into him.
"Don't say it—please—please—Owain—"
He held her tight even as his world shattered.
"I didn't remember," he said, voice hollow, "but I meant it."
Kanah clutched his shirt.
"Don't ever leave me.
Not like that.
Not ever."
Owain lowered his forehead to hers.
His voice soft.
Terrified.
"I don't want to die."
She sobbed harder.
"Then don't."
Owain's breath trembled.
"Then don't ask me not to protect you."
She pulled him tighter.
"You protect me by staying alive."
Owain exhaled sharply.
A broken laugh.
A broken cry.
Both at once.
The First King's voice cut through the moment:
"The Promise must be remade.
Correctly."
Owain looked up.
"What does that mean…?"
"The wolf must vow again."
Kanah stiffened.
Owain whispered:
"And if I don't?"
"The bond remains broken."
Kanah's heart dropped.
Owain swallowed.
He looked at her.
Her tear-streaked face.
Her shaking hands.
Her soft, desperate whisper:
"Owain… don't leave me."
And he said:
"I won't."
The First King's voice pressed harder:
"Then make your vow."
Owain held Kanah's hand.
Tight.
Warm.
Alive.
He whispered:
"I promise—"
Kanah lifted her eyes to his.
Owain's breath shook.
"—I'll stay with you."
The silver realm trembled.
Kanah smiled through tears.
"Owain…"
But the First King interrupted:
"Incomplete."
Owain stiffened.
Kanah froze.
"What!?" she cried.
The First King's voice boomed, final and merciless:
"The vow must match the one broken.
He offered his life.
He must decide again."
Kanah's blood went cold.
Owain's pulse stopped.
Gerrin whispered, horrified:
"The Promise Trial…
demands he choose between her life and his."
Kanah screamed:
"NO—NO—OWAIN—DON'T—DON'T YOU DARE—"
Owain turned toward her slowly.
His expression darkened.
Resolved.
Loving.
Broken.
He whispered:
"Kanah."
She shook her head violently.
"No—NO—Owain—you choose US—choose us together—"
But he stepped closer.
And said:
"I promise—"
Her heart stopped.
"—to do whatever keeps you alive."