The return felt wrong.
Not gentle. Not smooth.
It tore through Elara like claws through silk.
One moment, emerald light and ancient gold still burned behind her eyes, Kaelen's fingers tight around hers, warm and unbreakable. The next—everything collapsed. Space twisted. Time screamed. The world snapped shut.
Elara staggered forward with a broken gasp.
The air turned cold and heavy, thick with the sour bite of ozone and something darker—burnt magic, corrupted and angry. The familiar scent of old books and dried herbs in her antique shop was drowned beneath it.
Her knees almost buckled.
Kaelen caught her instantly.
His arm wrapped around her waist, solid, grounding. Too solid. Too real.
We're back.
The floorboards beneath her boots were scarred and cracked. Glass crunched underfoot. A shattered display case lay like a corpse near the counter. Shelves were overturned. Books torn apart. Sigils carved into the walls flickered weakly, bleeding light like dying stars.
This wasn't the sanctuary they had left.
"This—" Lyra's voice trembled as she stepped inside, eyes wide. "This looks like hell paid a visit and didn't clean up."
Oberon said nothing at first. His sharp gaze moved slowly across the shop, taking in every fracture, every burn mark. His jaw tightened.
"The King's presence is heavy here," he finally said. "Far heavier than before. Time did not slow him. It fed him."
Kaelen released Elara slowly, but his body stayed close. Too close. As if distance itself was dangerous now.
"He felt the breach," Kaelen said, voice low. Controlled. Deadly calm. "The moment we crossed timelines. He knows the amulet returned. He knows she returned."
Elara's fingers tightened around the Sunstone Amulet hanging at her chest. It pulsed once—soft, warm, alive.
Her heartbeat matched it.
"Morwen!" she called out, fear slicing through her chest. "Volkov!"
For a terrifying second, only silence answered.
Then—
"Still breathing, dearie."
Morwen emerged from behind a fallen bookcase, leaning hard on her staff. Her robe was torn, ash smeared across her cheek, but her eyes burned brighter than ever. Volkov stepped out beside her, blood streaking his temple, sword still gripped like he expected another attack any second.
Relief crashed through Elara so hard it nearly hurt.
"You're alive," Elara whispered.
"Barely," Volkov said dryly. "But alive."
Morwen's gaze snapped to Elara's chest. Her breath caught.
"You have it," she said softly. "The Sunstone."
Elara nodded. "We destroyed the Dark Echo. The King's fragment in the past is sealed."
Morwen's expression darkened—not relieved.
Worried.
"That's what frightens me," she said.
Kaelen stiffened. "Explain."
Volkov stepped forward. "The Collective didn't stop when the Echo was lost. They adapted. They always do."
"They've been tearing through Havenwood," Morwen continued. "Breaking outer wards. Spreading fear. Preparing the town."
"For what?" Lyra demanded.
"For a throne," Oberon said grimly.
Silence slammed into the room.
"They intend to bind the King to Havenwood's central ley line," Morwen said. "Anchor him here permanently. Turn the town into his heart. His body."
"But they need a conduit," Elara said quickly. "The Echo was supposed to be that."
"Yes," Volkov replied. "And now… they are choosing another."
The words landed like a blade between Elara's ribs.
"A willing sacrifice," Morwen said quietly. "A powerful vessel. One tied to both light and shadow."
The shop seemed to tilt.
Elara felt it before anyone said her name.
The amulet burned hot against her skin.
"No," Kaelen said sharply.
Everyone turned to him.
His silver eyes were dark now, storm-heavy. Dangerous.
"She is not an option."
Morwen met his gaze without flinching. "The King believes otherwise."
The wards flared suddenly—then screamed.
A violent shockwave slammed through the shop. Shelves exploded. Windows shattered outward into the mist.
Elara cried out as Kaelen dragged her against him, his body shielding hers completely. His hand pressed hard against her lower back, possessive, protective.
The mist outside churned like a living thing.
A voice echoed through it.
Deep. Ancient. Hungry.
"Elara."
Her name wrapped around her spine like fingers.
He knows me.
Kaelen growled under his breath, something feral slipping through his control. His grip tightened.
"Do not answer," he murmured near her ear. His breath was hot. Steady. "Do not listen."
But the voice returned, closer now.
"You feel it, don't you?"
The amulet pulsed violently.
Elara's chest rose sharply. Her thoughts scattered.
Why does it sound like truth?
Kaelen turned her face toward his, forcing her to look at him. His thumb brushed her jaw, firm, grounding.
"Stay with me," he said quietly. Commanding. "Whatever he promises—it's a lie."
Her heart hammered.
"I know," she whispered.
Yet the pull was there. Dark. Seductive. Dangerous.
The King laughed softly, the sound curling through the broken shop.
"Bring her to the ley line," the voice commanded the mist. "She will come. She always does."
The wards shattered completely.
Darkness surged forward.
And the amulet flared—
Blinding.
Burning.
Alive.
Elara gasped as power flooded her veins, wild and untamed.
Kaelen swore, pulling her tighter as the ground beneath them cracked.
"Kaelen—" she whispered, fear and something else twisting together. "I can feel him."
His forehead pressed to hers.
"So can I," he said darkly. "And I will burn the world before I let him take you."
Outside, the mist roared.
Inside, the amulet chose.
And Havenwood held its breath.
The truth fell like a blade.
Cold. Precise. Unforgiving.
"A willing sacrifice?" Lyra snarled, her fingers curling into fists. "Who would be so foolish as to offer themselves to that monstrosity?"
Silence answered her.
Not the empty kind.
The heavy kind—thick with knowing.
Slowly, Morwen turned.
Her gaze did not go to Lyra.
It went to Elara.
Then—to Kaelen.
Her eyes held centuries of exhaustion. Of battles fought quietly. Of a duty that never loosened its grip. And beneath it all… acceptance.
"I am Havenwood's keeper," Morwen said softly. "My life—my essence—has been bound to its ley lines since before your ancestors learned to name the stars."
Elara's breath hitched.
"No," she whispered.
Morwen nodded once, almost apologetic. "I am a living conduit. The Collective knows it. They always have."
Her hand trembled as she gripped her staff.
"They took me," Morwen continued. "Hours ago. I escaped long enough to send the signal. To pull you back."
Elara stumbled forward. "Morwen, no. No—we won't let them. We stopped them. We can do it again."
Morwen smiled sadly. "You stopped them in another time, dearie. This one… is bleeding out."
Kaelen moved then—fast, sharp.
"Where," he demanded, voice edged with violence, "are they holding you?"
Morwen closed her eyes.
The shop faded.
Elara's vision burned—and suddenly she was somewhere else.
Standing stones.
The old lighthouse.
The Nexus.
Dark magic crawled across the ground like veins. Runes burned red. Figures in black chanted in low, twisted harmony. And at the center—
Morwen.
Bound to the stones.
Her head bowed.
Her blood feeding the circle.
Elara screamed.
The vision shattered.
"They're already binding me," Morwen said weakly. "The ritual has begun."
Elara turned to Kaelen, terror and fury crashing together. "We have to go. Now."
"Yes," Morwen said. "But listen to me first."
She stepped closer, each movement heavy.
"Elara… the amulet you carry cannot merely banish the King. It must anchor him. Seal him fully."
Elara nodded desperately. "Then we'll do it. We'll use it."
Morwen's eyes softened. "Not without a cost."
Kaelen stiffened. "No."
Morwen ignored him.
"The Echo Stone was meant to be the anchor," she continued. "Now it is gone. The only thing powerful enough left is—"
"No," Kaelen snapped. "You will not finish that sentence."
Elara's chest tightened. "What do you mean?"
Morwen looked at her with devastating clarity.
"The Sunstone responds to you," Morwen said. "Your blood. Your will. Your bond to him." Her gaze flicked briefly to Kaelen. "You are not just the wielder, child. You are the lock."
Elara's heart pounded.
The lock.
"And locks," Morwen whispered, "require something to close around."
Kaelen grabbed Elara's wrist, pulling her back against him.
"You are not touching her," he growled. "Not her soul. Not her body. Not for this."
Elara twisted to face him. "Kaelen—"
"No," he said again, eyes burning. "I won't allow it."
Morwen's voice was barely audible. "Then Havenwood dies."
The words landed like a death sentence.
Elara went still.
The amulet pulsed.
Hot.
Hungry.
"You're saying…" Elara swallowed. "You're saying I could bind him through myself."
"Yes."
"And survive?"
Morwen hesitated.
That was answer enough.
Kaelen's grip tightened painfully. "You will not choose this."
Elara looked up at him.
Really looked.
At the cracks in his control. The fear he never admitted. The possessiveness that bordered on madness.
"You don't get to decide," she said quietly.
His jaw clenched. "I do when it kills you."
Her voice softened. "And what if it saves everyone else?"
"That's not a choice," he said harshly. "That's sacrifice."
She leaned closer, their foreheads almost touching. "Isn't that what you've been doing your whole life?"
That hit.
Hard.
His breath stuttered.
"You think I'll let you be taken by him?" Kaelen whispered. "Marked. Touched. Changed?"
Her pulse raced. "You already feel how close he is. He's been inside my mind since the breach."
Kaelen's hand slid to her throat—not choking. Claiming. His thumb pressed under her jaw, forcing her gaze up.
"Then he dies," Kaelen said darkly. "Before he takes one more breath through you."
Her lips parted.
The intensity between them burned—dangerous, electric.
"And if killing him means losing me?" she asked.
Silence.
His eyes flickered.
Just once.
That hesitation shattered something inside her.
Morwen sagged suddenly, gasping. Dark veins crept up her neck.
"They're pulling me back," she rasped. "You must decide—now."
The ground shook.
The amulet flared.
Elara stepped out of Kaelen's arms.
"I'm going," she said.
"No," he said softly.
"I will not let you die for me," she continued. "Not when I can stand in your place."
"You are not replaceable," Kaelen said, voice breaking. "You are mine."
She turned back, eyes shining with unshed tears.
"And that," she whispered, "is exactly why this will hurt you."
She took the amulet in both hands.
"It will obey me," she said. "But only if I open myself to him."
Kaelen went still.
Horrified.
"You're talking about letting him in."
"Yes."
"Absolutely not."
She smiled sadly. "You don't own my fate."
That was the fracture.
Sharp.
Irreversible.
The shop groaned as darkness surged toward the standing stones.
Morwen screamed.
Elara stepped into the mist.
And Kaelen realized—
He was about to lose her.
Not to death.
But to something far worse.