They did not make it far before the bond warned them.
Ayra felt it first, a sharp tightening in her chest, like invisible fingers curling around her heart. Not pain. Not yet. Just pressure. A signal.
Alric halted instantly.
"Someone's watching," he said under his breath.
Ayra scanned the forest edge. Dawn had fully broken now, pale light filtering through twisted branches and ruined stone. The world looked deceptively calm, but the bond pulsed again, stronger this time, carrying something new with it.
Recognition.
"They're close," she whispered. "And they know it's you."
Alric's jaw tightened. "My kingdom doesn't send scouts this far south unless they're certain."
"Certain of what?"
"That I'm no longer where I should be."
The implication settled heavily between them.
Ayra's stomach twisted. "They think you've defected."
"They'll think worse once they see you," he replied.
Before she could respond, the bond flared violently, sharp enough to steal her breath. Alric staggered, one hand bracing against a tree, the other instinctively reaching for her.
She grabbed him without thinking.
The moment their skin touched, the pain dulled but did not vanish.
"What was that?" she demanded.
Alric sucked in a breath. "A ward."
Her eyes widened. "Against you?"
"Against the bond," he corrected grimly. "They're testing its limits."
A chill crawled down her spine. "So they know."
"Yes."
"And they're not trying to break it," she realized slowly. "They're trying to control it."
The forest erupted in movement.
Figures stepped from the trees, armored, disciplined, unmistakably royal guard. Their insignia gleamed faintly in the morning light. Five of them. Then seven. Then more.
Ayra's heart slammed against her ribs.
Alric moved in front of her immediately. "Stay behind me."
"No," she snapped. "I'm not hiding."
The bond pulsed, tense, conflicted.
A man stepped forward from the group, older than the rest, his gaze sharp and calculating. "Your Highness," he said coolly. "You've caused quite a stir."
Alric's voice was cold steel. "You've crossed into neutral lands."
The man smiled faintly. "So have you."
His eyes shifted to Ayra.
"And this must be the complication."
Ayra felt it then. The shift in the air. The subtle tightening of magic around her throat.
"She's not your concern," Alric said.
"On the contrary," the man replied. "She's become everyone's concern."
The bond reacted violently. Ayra gasped, dropping to one knee as pressure flooded her chest, her vision blurring. Alric roared, collapsing beside her, his pain mirroring hers instantly.
"Stop," he growled. "You'll kill us both."
The man raised a hand and the pressure eased.
Ayra sucked in air, shaking.
"Fascinating," the man murmured. "So the stories are true. The bond equalizes pain. Influence. Vulnerability."
Ayra looked up at him, fury burning through the fear. "You're using me to leash him."
The man met her gaze without shame. "I'm using you to save the kingdom."
Alric surged to his feet. "By enslaving us?"
"By preventing war from becoming annihilation," the man countered. "You've always been… sentimental, Alric. This bond makes you predictable."
Ayra stood slowly, ignoring the lingering ache in her chest. "And what happens to me?"
The man's gaze was frank. "You'll be kept alive. Comfortable. Watched."
Something in Ayra snapped.
The bond pulsed not in pain, but in alignment.
"No," she said calmly.
The word echoed.
Alric turned sharply. "Ayra"
She stepped forward, meeting the man's eyes. "You think I'm leverage because you don't understand what the bond does to someone like me."
The forest went very still.
"I grew up powerless," she continued. "Invisible. You can't threaten me with survival. That's all I've ever done."
The bond flared,hot, fierce, unfamiliar.
Alric felt it too. His breath caught. "Ayra… what are you doing?"
"Choosing," she replied.
The magic surged.
Not outward.
Inward.
Ayra screamed, not in pain, but release as something ancient and buried tore free. The bond reacted instantly, amplifying, channeling, stabilizing. Light rippled across her skin in faint sigils she had never seen before.
The guards staggered back.
The man's confident smile vanished. "Impossible…"
Alric stared at her, shock written across his face. "You're"
"A conduit," she finished, breathless. "Not an anchor. Not a weakness."
The bond had not bound her to him to cage her.
It had awakened her.
"Touch the bond again," she said quietly, power humming beneath every word, "and I won't just feel it."
She smiled, slow, dangerous.
"I'll answer it."
Silence crashed down over the forest.
The man raised his hand slowly. "Withdraw," he ordered.
The guards hesitated, then obeyed.
When they were gone, Ayra's knees finally buckled. Alric caught her instantly, holding her upright as the light faded.
"You terrified me," he said hoarsely.
She looked up at him, exhausted, eyes blazing. "Good."
The bond settled, changed, deeper, sharper, alive in a new way.
Alric exhaled slowly. "They won't stop now."
"I know," Ayra said. "Neither will we."
For the first time, the bond did not feel like a chain.
It felt like a weapon.