Dawn never came.
The Blood Moon clung stubbornly to the sky, crimson and swollen, refusing to fade into morning. The forest was drenched in red light, every shadow sharpened, every whisper amplified. The ground throbbed faintly, as though the realm itself was holding its breath.
Elara lay in Kael's arms, too weak to walk. Her skin glowed faintly along the mark over her heart, pulsing with an inner rhythm she couldn't control. Every pulse was pain—sharp, burning, relentless.
Kael carried her as if she weighed nothing, one arm under her legs, the other supporting her shoulders.
"Tell me if the pain worsens," he murmured.
She shook her head slightly. "It's… the same. Just keep going."
Her voice was strained, but steady. Stronger than she felt.
Elias and Tamsin walked beside them, Marcellus leading the way with rigid posture and a hand never leaving his sword. The Ghostborn drifted behind them in lazy arcs, humming a tune far too cheerful for the circumstances.
Branches snapped as they moved deeper into the woods.
The Ghostborn finally spoke, tapping his staff on a mossy root.
"Time grows thin. The Veiled Path only opens while the Blood Moon is at full height. If we miss the window, we wait another cycle."
Kael's jaw tensed. "Elara won't survive another cycle."
Marcellus glanced over his shoulder. "Then pick up the pace."
Kael growled softly but obeyed, moving faster.
Elara lifted her head weakly. "Kael… you don't have to carry me the whole way."
His arms tightened protectively, shadows curling faintly around his wrists.
"You're not walking anywhere in this condition," he said. "You're barely conscious."
"I'm awake," she lied.
"Barely," Tamsin muttered, frowning at the mark glowing through Elara's torn tunic. "That seal burn is worse than it was an hour ago."
"I know." Elara took a trembling breath. "It keeps pulling… like something trying to claw through me."
Kael flinched at the word claw. His hands tightened around her.
Elias looked grim. "The Devourer must sense her awakening."
Marcellus stopped abruptly, lifting a hand.
"We're here."
They had reached a cliff edge—a sheer stone wall wrapped in vines and shadows. At first glance, the cliff looked solid, ordinary.
But under the Blood Moon's glow…
The rock shimmered.
Runes—ancient and silver—slithered across the surface like awakened serpents, shifting and weaving into new patterns. The air buzzed faintly, charged with old magic.
Elara stared.
"What is that?"
Tamsin lowered her hood. "The entrance to the Veiled Path."
Kael frowned. "There is no entrance. Only stone."
"Only without the Blood Moon," Marcellus said. "Watch."
He stepped forward, raising his blade. Its metal glowed under the moon's red light. He tapped the flat of the sword against the cliff.
The runes flared violently.
The stone rippled—
like water being disturbed.
A doorway emerged, tall and narrow, carved of shimmering light. Inside lay a tunnel descending downward, its walls lined with faintly glowing symbols.
A cold wind rushed from within, carrying a distant whisper—
"Come."
Elara shivered. "It feels alive."
"It is," the Ghostborn said cheerfully. "But do not worry. It only devours the weak."
Kael glared at him. "Is that supposed to be helpful?"
"No," the Ghostborn replied. "Just true."
Marcellus stepped aside and motioned to the tunnel.
"Time is running out. Enter."
Kael hesitated—but only for a heartbeat. He adjusted his grip on Elara and stepped forward.
The moment his foot crossed the threshold—
The runes reacted.
Shadows surged around the entrance, recoiling from him.
"Interesting," the Ghostborn muttered. "The Path recognizes him."
Kael didn't slow.
They descended.
The Veiled Path
The tunnel swallowed the world behind them, sealing shut with a whisper of stone. The air was cool, metallic, scented faintly of old magic and—strangely—flowers Elara couldn't name.
Faint bluish light pulsed through veins in the stone walls, pulsing like a heartbeat. The deeper they walked, the brighter it grew.
Elias whistled quietly. "I've never seen anything like this."
Tamsin touched the glowing stone. "This magic… it's ancient. Older than the Elders. Older than the First Healer's archives."
Kael said nothing. He simply walked, silent and tense, eyes scanning the shadows for threats.
Elara stirred in his arms.
"Something's here," she whispered.
Kael slowed. "Where?"
"I don't know." She rested her palm against her chest. "The mark feels hotter. Like something waiting ahead."
The Ghostborn drifted past her. "Of course. The Veiled Path tests all who enter. It reads your past, your blood, your fears."
Kael stopped walking. "And if it decides she is unworthy?"
"Oh, it won't kill her," the Ghostborn said lightly.
"It will simply show her the truth she has refused to accept."
Elara stiffened.
"What truth?"
The Ghostborn smiled too softly.
"That your fate was written long before you were born."
Kael shifted her closer to him. "She chooses her own fate."
"Perhaps," the Ghostborn murmured. "If she survives the Path."
The First Echo
Far ahead, the tunnel widened into a chamber covered in runes. The air shimmered. The stone glittered as though dusted with frost.
Kael entered carefully, holding Elara.
The moment her foot brushed the chamber floor—
The runes ignited with blinding light.
Elara gasped as the air around her thickened, pulling, dragging—
Kael tightened his hold.
"Elara?! Elara, stay with me—"
Her fingers slipped through his.
Kael lunged, shadows whipping desperately—
But the light swallowed her whole.
"Elara!!"
Kael slammed against an invisible barrier as the chamber sealed itself off. Elias and Tamsin pulled him back to keep him from shattering every bone in his body.
Marcellus cursed. "The Path is isolating her."
Kael roared at the shimmering wall. "ELARA!"
His voice echoed uselessly.
Inside the chamber, Elara floated weightlessly in a dome of light, her hair suspended, her limbs drifting.
The world around her shifted—
And she heard footsteps behind her.
Slow. Familiar. Impossible.
"Elara."
Her heart seized.
She turned.
A woman stood before her, dressed in flowing silver robes, hair long and dark like ink, eyes glowing the same golden-blue as Elara's new magic.
Elara staggered.
"M–Mother?"
Her mother smiled softly. "Look at you. You've grown."
Elara's knees buckled. She covered her trembling mouth.
"No. This isn't real. You died. I saw you die."
"I did," her mother said gently. "My body died. My spirit… did not."
Elara sobbed, stepping closer before stopping abruptly.
"Are you really here?"
"I am an echo," her mother said. "A memory sealed into the Veiled Path to guide you when your power awakens."
Elara swallowed hard. "Why didn't you tell me? About my bloodline? About what I am?"
Her mother's smile faded, replaced by sorrow.
"Because I wanted you to have a childhood free of prophecy. Free of fear. Free of destiny clawing at your heels."
Tears rolled down Elara's face.
"But you left me unprepared."
"No," her mother said softly. "I left you free. Until the world needed you again."
The chamber pulsed.
Her mother's eyes softened.
"Elara… my light… my shadow… you are not meant to die from this power."
Elara stared.
"But the mark—it's destroying me."
"Yes," her mother whispered, stepping closer. "Because you are trying to hold it alone."
Elara's breath shook. "Kael—"
"No," her mother said, touching Elara's cheek with a hand warm as sunlight. "You must not give it to Kael. Not yet. His curse is not ready to balance the Second Seal."
Elara's heart twisted painfully.
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
Her mother smiled gently.
"You must claim the First Gift fully. Not the healing part."
She touched Elara's glowing mark.
"But the shadow part."
Elara froze.
"What shadow part?"
Her mother's voice fell into a whisper.
"The part that belonged to your father."
Elara's world shattered.
"My father? But—"
"You were told he died before you were born." Her mother's expression darkened. "But that was a lie I crafted to protect you. Your father is alive."
Elara staggered backward.
"Who is he?"
Her mother stepped closer and whispered—
"He is the Shadowborn King."
The chamber trembled.
Elara's eyes widened in horror.
"I am half First Healer… and half—"
"Yes," her mother said softly.
"You are heir to the Shadowborn Throne."
Elara gasped—
The chamber shattered.
And she fell back into darkness.