The palace doors yawned open, a gaping maw of darkness swallowing the moonlight. A sickly chill crawled over Lena’s skin as she took a step forward, Cassian at her side, his grip tightening around his sword. Dorian and Idris flanked them, their expressions grim.The masked figure didn’t move, their presence as still as a statue. Only their voice carried through the ruined halls, thick with something ancient and knowing.“You can feel it, can’t you?” They tilted their head toward Lena. “The Rift sings for you.”A pulse of energy throbbed beneath her ribs, responding to the call. She clenched her fists, shoving the feeling down. “The only thing I feel is the need to end this.”The figure laughed, a sound that echoed eerily. “End this? Oh, child, you still don’t understand.” They spread their arms, gesturing to the ruined palace. “This was never about war. This was about balance. You’ve tipped the scales, Lena. You think you’ve won just because you made it back?”The shadows along the wa
The air in the ruined palace was thick with the scent of scorched stone and lingering magic. Lena’s heartbeat was a steady drum in her ears as she took in the aftermath.The Rift was gone.The masked figure had fallen.But the city was still in ruins.Lena pulled away from Cassian’s support, straightening despite the exhaustion in her bones. She could feel the lingering traces of the Rift’s energy—faint whispers in the air, like a dying echo. It no longer had a hold on this world, but the scars it had left behind were undeniable.“We need to check the city,” she said, voice hoarse. “See who survived.”Dorian let out a low breath, rolling his shoulders. “Right. Just survived an ancient, world-ending catastrophe, and now we’re doing a headcount.” He shook his head but didn’t argue. “Fine. Let’s move before we get buried in this place.”Idris, still leaning on his staff, nodded. “The corruption may be gone, but not everyone will have been freed instantly. Some might be lost… permanently.
The realization sat heavy in Lena’s chest. The Rift wasn’t gone. It was lurking, waiting, biding its time beneath the surface. She stared down at the unconscious man, his body still twitching, his breath shallow. The black veins that marred his skin pulsed faintly, as though something inside him was still alive. Cassian’s hand found her arm, grounding her. “Lena… what did you see?” She swallowed, forcing herself to steady her voice. “It’s not over.” Dorian let out a sharp breath. “Of course it’s not. Why would we ever catch a break?” Idris crouched beside the fallen man, his fingers hovering over the corrupted veins. A flicker of magic passed between them, and his brow furrowed. “It’s weak… but it’s still there. The Rift’s influence hasn’t disappeared entirely. It’s just—” He hesitated, his jaw tightening. “Sleeping.” A chill crawled up Lena’s spine. Cassian cursed under his breath. “Then we have a problem.” The city had barely begun to recover. The people were holding on by
Darkness surged around Lena like a living force, swallowing sound and light in its wake. She tried to move, but the shadows clung to her, thick as tar. A sharp chill seeped into her bones, numbing her limbs.Then she heard it.A whisper.You don’t belong here.Her pulse pounded. The voice wasn’t just in her ears—it was inside her head, crawling through her thoughts like venom.Cassian’s grip on her hand tightened. “Lena, stay with me.” His voice was steady, but she could hear the tension beneath it. He was afraid too.The Rift’s magic pulsed again, and suddenly they were no longer standing on the floating rock.They were falling.The world twisted, folding in on itself. The sky shattered like glass, and for a moment, Lena glimpsed something beyond the Rift—a void so deep it made her stomach churn.Then—impact.She hit the ground hard, the breath knocked from her lungs. A dull ringing filled her ears as she tried to push herself up. The ground beneath her wasn’t stone or earth—it felt
The cavern walls no longer pulsed with dark energy. The air, once thick with malice, now hung heavy with silence. Lena could still feel the remnants of her magic flickering through her veins, the aftershocks of the battle leaving her drained.Cassian hadn't let go of her hand. His grip was firm, steady—a grounding force in the wake of chaos.Dorian ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. "Well, that was fun. Who wants to do it again?"Idris shot him a glare before kneeling beside the fallen man’s body. He pressed two fingers to the man’s throat, waiting, searching.Lena already knew.“He’s gone,” she whispered.Idris nodded grimly. “The Rift used him until there was nothing left.”A sick feeling curled in Lena’s stomach. This man—whoever he had been—had been alive before the Rift took him. A vessel, a shell, but still human.And now, because of them, he was dead.Cassian shifted beside her. “It wasn’t your fault.”She swallowed hard, not sure if she believed that.Dorian crouch
Lena woke to the scent of burning wood and damp earth. The fire had dimmed, its embers glowing softly in the pre-dawn light. Cassian was still beside her, his arm draped loosely around her shoulders.For the first time in days, she had slept.But the moment of peace was fleeting.A rustling sound came from the edge of camp, followed by hurried footsteps. She sat up just as Idris appeared, his expression grave.“Something’s wrong.”Cassian stirred at her movement, instantly alert. “What is it?”Idris glanced toward the treeline. “Scouts spotted something near the Rift site. Or what’s left of it.”Lena’s stomach tightened. “What do you mean?”Idris hesitated before answering. “They say it’s still there.”Dorian, who had just emerged from his tent, scoffed. “That’s impossible. We shut it down.”Idris nodded grimly. “That’s what I thought, too. But they swear they saw something moving. And there’s… a sound.”Lena was already on her feet. “Take me there.”Cassian rose beside her. “Lena—”“
The woman’s presence lingered long after she disappeared into the trees. Her words replayed in Lena’s mind, twisting like a warning she wasn’t sure she understood yet.You only closed a door.Cassian’s hand brushed against hers, his touch grounding. “Are you okay?”Lena forced a nod, though her heart was still racing. “She knew something. She felt something. And she wasn’t afraid.”“That’s what worries me,” Idris muttered. His eyes flickered toward the trees. “If she was a cultist and she’s not afraid, that means she knows what comes next.”Dorian kicked at a loose branch. “Well, great. Love when the people who worship eldritch horrors act all smug. That definitely means we’re in the clear.”Lena ignored him, scanning the forest. “We need to find her.”Cassian sighed. “You saw how fast she disappeared. She doesn’t want to be found.”“That doesn’t mean we stop looking.” Lena turned to Idris. “Can you track her magic?”He hesitated. “Maybe. She wasn’t using normal magic—it felt... old.”
The chamber erupted into movement. The hooded figures lunged forward, their robes billowing as unnatural shadows twisted around them. Cassian was the first to engage, his sword flashing as he met one of the attackers head-on. The clang of steel rang through the temple, but something was wrong—the moment Cassian’s blade struck, the figure dissolved into mist, reforming just inches away. “They’re not real!” he growled, pivoting to block another strike. Dorian muttered a curse. “Fantastic. We’re fighting ghosts now.” Lena barely heard them. Her gaze was locked on the stone archway behind the woman. The symbols continued to pulse, their glow intensifying with every second. Something was coming. Idris threw out a hand, golden magic crackling to life. He sent a blast toward the woman, but before it could reach her, the energy warped—bent—and vanished into the archway as if swallowed whole. The woman laughed. “You cannot fight what you do not understand.” Lena gritted her teeth. “Th
The cavern felt wrong.Even though the Riftgate had disappeared, something lingered in the air—an unnatural stillness, thick with expectation. The Riftfire still simmered inside Lena, coiled like a beast waiting for permission to strike. But it wasn’t just hers anymore.It belonged to her.And she belonged to it.A cold shiver crawled up her spine, but she forced her body to move. One step. Then another.Behind her, Cassian exhaled sharply, shaking his head as he slid his daggers back into their holsters. “Alright. I have questions. Many, many questions.” His voice was light, but his eyes were sharp as they flicked toward her. “Starting with what the hell just happened?”Lena flexed her fingers, watching the faint traces of violet fire dance along her skin before flickering out. The Riftfire wasn’t resisting her anymore. It wasn’t raging. It was waiting.The realization made her stomach twist.“I don’t know,” she admitted, her voice quieter than she meant it to be. “I—I felt it. The R
Lena’s pulse roared in her ears. You were meant to open it. The King’s words curled around her mind like smoke, insidious and inescapable. She wanted to deny them, to cast them away like a lie. But the Riftfire inside her didn’t reject them. It recognized them. She staggered back, breath ragged. “You’re wrong.” The King only watched her, his golden eyes steady, unreadable. “Am I?” Lena clenched her fists, nails biting into her palms. “I came to close this gate, not—” A sharp pulse of power cut through her words. The Rift trembled. And suddenly, she wasn’t alone. Not just with the King. But with the echoes of something long buried. The vision struck like a lightning bolt to the skull. A battlefield. The air thick with Riftfire, burning violet against the endless night. Creatures—monstrosities—crawling from the gate, their shrieks tearing through the void. And at the center of it all— Her. Or rather— The woman who wasn’t her. The woman who was. A w
The pull tightened around Lena like invisible chains, wrapping around her ribs, her spine, her mind. It wasn’t violent. It wasn’t forceful. It was patient. A silent whisper, a presence at the edges of her thoughts, waiting. "Lena?" Ronan’s voice cut through the haze, grounding her. She blinked. The tunnel stretched before her, Cassian and Ronan already a few steps ahead, both watching her now—Cassian with wary confusion, Ronan with something closer to understanding. She forced herself to move. One step, then another, until the pull loosened its grip. It didn’t leave. But it let her go. For now. She exhaled slowly and followed them into the narrowing passageway. The tunnel walls pressed in, rough stone scraping against her arms. The air smelled of damp earth and something older—something untouched by time. Their footsteps echoed, the sound swallowed too quickly, as if the Rift itself was listening. No one spoke. Cassian led the way, navigating the uneven terrain wi
The cavern still hummed with the remnants of Lena’s power, the air thick with the scent of scorched flesh and magic. The Riftfire coiled around her fingers like a living thing—no longer wild, no longer resisting. It had chosen her. Lena’s breath came in ragged pulls, her heart hammering against her ribs. She wasn’t just standing in the aftermath of battle; she was standing at the edge of something irreversible. She could feel it. The Rift’s presence, no longer just a force that haunted her, but a part of her. Her. Cassian took a hesitant step forward, his daggers still in hand, though his grip had loosened. “Lena… what the hell was that?” Lena swallowed hard, but the words tangled in her throat. She didn’t know how to answer. Because she didn’t fully understand it herself. Ronan was watching her closely, his jaw clenched. His sword was sheathed, but his stance hadn’t relaxed. “Your fire—” He cut himself off, then exhaled sharply. “It’s different.” Lena flexed her fingers, st
The ground trembled beneath Lena’s feet. Not with violence, but with recognition. The Rift knew her now. And it wanted her back. Lena’s breath came in sharp, uneven pulls as the air around her thickened, reality bending at the edges. She could feel the Rift pulling, not with brute force, but with something far worse—familiarity. She was sinking into it. Becoming part of it. No. Lena clenched her fists, summoning every ounce of willpower to push back against the weight pressing on her chest. Riftfire surged at her fingertips, flickering wildly, caught between obedience and rebellion. The King watched her struggle, his burning gaze unreadable. “You still resist.” Lena swallowed against the rising panic. “I don’t belong to this place.” The King tilted his head slightly. “No,” he agreed. “But it belongs to you.” The words struck something deep inside her, something she wasn’t ready to face. Because part of her felt it. The Riftfire inside her wasn’t just reacting
The cavern trembled as the Rift’s energy expanded outward, swallowing the air, pressing against Lena’s skin with a force so dense it was almost suffocating.The King stepped forward.He wasn’t like the mindless creatures that had come before. He wasn’t grotesque or malformed.He was whole.His form was cloaked in shadows that moved like living smoke, shifting around him in slow, deliberate waves. Beneath the darkness, glimpses of something ancient and inhuman flickered—jagged obsidian armor, silvered veins pulsing with Rift energy, a face that was too sharp, too perfect, too unnatural to belong to anything mortal.His eyes—twin voids of fire and stars—settled on Lena, and the cavern dimmed, as if the very world was bracing for what came next.A voice, low and endless, rumbled through the chamber."You are the one."Lena’s pulse pounded in her ears. Her Riftfire reacted violently to his presence, rising in defense or recognition—she wasn’t sure which.But she forced herself to stand he
The world tilted.Lena’s breath caught in her throat as the weight of realization slammed into her. The Rift’s power thrummed beneath her skin, but it was nothing compared to the force radiating from the woman standing before her.Her mother.No. That couldn’t be right. Her mother had died when she was a child. She had no memories beyond fleeting warmth and a lullaby whispered in the dark.And yet—The woman’s presence felt familiar.Ronan shifted closer, tension coiled in his frame. “Lena…?”Cassian didn’t speak, but his fingers tightened around the hilt of his blade.Lena swallowed hard. “Who—who are you?”The woman smiled, stepping forward. The edges of her form flickered, like she existed between realms. “You already know, child. You’ve always known.”Lena’s pulse roared in her ears. “That’s not possible.”“And yet, here I stand.”The Riftfire in Lena’s veins surged, responding to the woman’s presence like a long-lost tether being pulled taut.“No.” Lena shook her head. “You can’t
Lena exhaled, steadying herself as the cavern pulsed with anticipation. The Herald stood motionless, hand still outstretched, its offer tangible in the air. The Rift’s power thrummed beneath her skin, no longer just a whisper but a steady, insistent call.This was the moment.She reached forward—then clenched her fist, drawing her hand back. “No,” she said, her voice stronger than she expected.The Herald’s expression didn’t falter, but the cavern trembled in response. “You refuse?” it asked, tilting its head.Ronan let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, but his stance remained guarded. Cassian edged closer, his eyes never leaving the Herald.Lena swallowed hard. “I’m not a pawn in whatever game the Rift is playing.”The Herald regarded her with something that almost resembled amusement. “A pawn? No, Riftborn. You were never a mere piece. You were meant to be the one who shapes the board.”The cavern walls pulsed again, and the Rift’s energy surged forward like a wave.Le
Darkness swallowed them whole.Lena’s breath caught in her throat as the air rushed past her, cold and unrelenting. The abyss stretched endlessly below, an empty void that felt like falling through time itself.Ronan’s grip on her wrist was iron-tight. He refused to let go.Cassian was just ahead, his body twisting midair, trying to prepare for whatever awaited them below.But there was no ground.No end.Just falling.The Rift’s presence coiled around Lena’s mind, whispering in a voice that sounded so much like her own.You are home.You were never meant to run.The air shimmered.Lena gasped as reality split apart.For a single, horrifying second, she saw it—the Rift in its true form. A world between worlds. A chasm of shifting energy, pulsing with life and death, beginning and end.And at the center—a throne.A throne waiting for her.Her blood burned. The mark on her skin pulsed in time with the Rift’s heartbeat.It was trying to pull her in.No. No, I won’t—“Lena!”Ronan’s voice