Elara hit the ground with a gasp.
Cold stone met her palms. Air rushed back into her lungs like she had been underwater for hours. Her vision flickered—white, blue, red—before settling into the dim glow of the Veiled Path's runes.
"Elara!"
Kael's voice cracked with panic.
He slammed against the invisible barrier again, shadows erupting around him in a frenzy. Elias and Tamsin tried—and failed—to restrain him.
"Kael—KAEL, STOP!" Elias shouted.
"I can't reach her—LET ME THROUGH!" Kael roared, shadows lashing wildly, cracking the stone beneath him.
Marcellus lifted his arm, preparing to strike Kael unconscious—
"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Elara screamed.
The barrier dissolved instantly.
Kael crashed forward and caught her before she hit the ground.
His arms wrapped around her, crushing with fear and relief. "Elara… Elara, please—tell me you're alright. Tell me you're still here."
Her head rested against his shoulder, cheek pressed into the familiar warmth of him.
"I'm here," she whispered. "I'm here."
He held her tighter, pressing his forehead to her hair.
For a moment, he didn't speak—he just breathed her in, trembling.
Marcellus sheathed his sword with a frustrated exhale. Tamsin dropped to her knees beside Elara, examining the glowing mark on her chest.
"Elara… what did you see?" Tamsin asked.
Elara opened her mouth.
But Kael beat her to it, brushing her hair from her face. "Did the Path hurt you? Did it show you something twisted?"
Elara swallowed hard.
"It didn't hurt me," she whispered. "It showed me the truth."
Kael stilled.
Elias approached slowly, concern lining his face. "What truth?"
Elara forced her trembling body upright. Kael tried to steady her, but she shook her head and took one shaky step on her own.
"My mother…" Elara said, voice barely audible. "She was not just a Healer."
Tamsin nodded slowly. "We suspected she was part of the old bloodline—"
"No," Elara whispered. "Not part. Half."
She lifted her hand.
A faint silhouette burned across her palm—gold on one side, deep shadow on the other.
Elias's eyes widened. "Elara… what are you saying?"
"My father," Elara said, her voice breaking. "He isn't dead."
Kael stiffened violently beside her.
"Elara… who is he?" his voice was low, guarded, already afraid of the answer.
She closed her eyes.
When she spoke, it was with a trembling breath.
"He is the Shadowborn King."
Silence hit the chamber like a dropped blade.
Kael staggered backward as if struck. His eyes widened with shock—no, fear.
Marcellus took three steps back, hand flying to his sword. "Impossible."
Tamsin gasped. "The Shadowborn King vanished centuries ago—vanished, not died."
Elias stared at Elara like she had turned into starlight and fire all at once. "You're saying… you're heir to his bloodline?"
Elara nodded, tears sliding down her cheeks.
Kael's chest rose and fell unevenly.
"Elara…" he whispered, "the Shadowborn King is one of the most powerful beings ever recorded. His magic was said to bend reality. He was feared even by the First Healer."
"I know," Elara whispered. "Mother hid it from everyone. From me. Because if anyone knew…"
"They'd hunt you," Kael finished, voice breaking softly.
Elara nodded.
Marcellus regained his voice first—and it came dripping with cold fury.
"Do you understand what this means?"
Kael bristled at his tone. "Watch your words."
"No," Marcellus snapped, pointing at Elara. "She awakened the Second Seal. She reshaped a Hollowborn Titan. And now we find she carries the blood of the creature who almost destroyed the realms!"
Elara flinched.
Kael snarled. "One more insult and I'll rip the life from your throat."
Elias stepped between them again. "This isn't helping."
But Marcellus wasn't backing down. His eyes burned with a dangerous clarity.
"She is both Healer and Shadowborn," he said. "She is the balance of creation and destruction. If the Devourer senses her fully awakened bloodline, it will stop hunting Kael."
Kael froze.
Marcellus whispered the next words like a curse:
"It will hunt HER."
The Seal's Pain
A sudden spike of agony shot through Elara's chest.
She doubled over, gripping the ground. The mark over her heart flared blinding white-blue.
"Elara!"
Kael caught her again, lowering her gently as she gasped through the pain.
"It's the seal," Tamsin said urgently. "Her father's bloodline awakening is accelerating the burn."
Marcellus cursed. "Of course it is. The Second Seal recognizes her lineage now—it is binding itself to her completely."
Elara trembled, teeth clenched. "It feels… like my heart is tearing apart."
Kael cupped her face, his voice so soft it was almost broken. "Elara. Look at me. Look only at me."
She blinked through tears, meeting his gaze.
"You're not dying," he whispered fiercely. "You hear me? You're not dying."
"I'm trying," she whispered, voice cracking. "But it hurts, Kael."
He closed his eyes, pressing her forehead to his. "I know. I know. I am right here."
The Ghostborn drifted forward.
"It is time."
Kael's head snapped up. "Time for what?"
"For her to accept what she is," the Ghostborn said simply. "Only then will the pain ease."
Elara trembled. "Accept…?"
"Your shadow," the Ghostborn murmured. "Your father's blood. The part of you you fear most."
Kael pulled her closer. "No. Not until we understand the consequences."
"Consequences?" The Ghostborn laughed softly. "The consequence is life. Or death. If she denies it, she dies. If she accepts it, she lives."
Kael's shadows flared with panic. "There must be another way—"
"There isn't," the Ghostborn said quietly.
Elara's heartbeat echoed painfully in her ears.
Her mother's last words whispered in her memory:
"Claim the shadow. Claim your father's gift."
Elara wiped her tears with a trembling hand.
"I… I want to live," she whispered. "I have to live."
Kael froze.
The chamber dimmed.
Elara slowly opened her palm.
Golden light flickered on one side.
Deep shadow unfurled on the other, like liquid night.
Elias stepped back.
Tamsin covered her mouth.
Marcellus stared, stunned.
Elara's voice shook with fear and courage.
"I accept my blood. All of it."
The chamber exploded with power.
A wind roared into existence, swirling around her so violently Kael was knocked back. Runes ripped from the walls and spiraled around her like rings of fire.
Her heart burned—but no longer painfully.
This time, it felt like awakening.
Shadow curled up her arms like vines, meeting the golden-blue light at her fingertips. Her eyes glowed silver, then gold, then a color unknown to the world.
Kael shielded his eyes from the radiance.
"Elara…!"
And then—
It stopped.
The energy faded.
Elara stood very still.
Her mark no longer glowed painfully—it pulsed with steady, controlled light. The chamber's runes dimmed respectfully, as if bowing to her.
She lifted her head.
Her eyes had changed.
Not entirely gold.
Not entirely shadow.
Both.
Perfectly balanced.
Kael approached slowly, as if approaching something sacred.
"Elara…?"
She smiled weakly. "I'm okay."
He let out a breath that sounded like a sob. He pulled her into his arms, shaking with relief.
Elias sighed. "Thank the gods…"
Tamsin whispered, "She stabilized the seal. She did what no Healer could do."
Marcellus sheathed his sword. "Then we move. The Sanctuary's relic vault is close."
The Ghostborn smiled faintly. "Yes… and her father is waking."
Elara stiffened. "What?"
The Ghostborn tilted his head.
"The Shadowborn King did not die. He sleeps. And now…"
He tapped the glowing symbol on her chest.
"Your awakening has stirred him."
Kael's eyes darkened with dread.
Elara's heart stilled.
The Ghostborn whispered:
"He is coming for you."