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 temple trembled beneath them, dust falling from the cracked stone ceiling as an unnatural hum vibrated through the air. The archway still pulsed with eerie light, and Lena’s body ached from the force that had thrown her back into reality.Cassian didn’t let go of her shoulders. His grip was firm, grounding. “Lena, what did you see?”She struggled to find the words, her heart racing. “It wasn’t just a vision—it was the moment it all began. The Rift isn’t just some tear between worlds. It’s a prison—and they let something out.”Dorian cursed, shaking dust from his jacket. “And I’m guessing it wasn’t a fluffy puppy?”Lena shot him a glare. “No. It was alive. And it’s still here.”Idris, who had been watching the archway warily, stepped forward. “So, what are we dealing with? A god? A demon?” His magic flickered along his hands, restless. “Because whatever it is, it’s waking up.”The moment he said it, the air shifted.A deep, guttural sound resonated from the archway. It wasn’t human
The night air was thick with tension as they prepared to leave.Lena adjusted the cloak around her shoulders, the fabric heavy with the scent of old magic. Idris had insisted she wear it—an enchanted weave designed to mask her presence.Cassian stood beside her, double-checking the straps on his weapons. His golden eyes flickered in the dim torchlight, scanning the darkness like he expected an attack at any moment.Dorian leaned lazily against a tree, but the sharp edge in his gaze betrayed his usual nonchalance. “So, let me get this straight. We’re sneaking into the capital, breaking into the most secure library in the kingdom, stealing forbidden knowledge, and trying not to get murdered by the High Council?” He smirked. “Sounds fun.”“No one’s getting murdered,” Cassian said flatly.Dorian snorted. “That’s optimistic.”Idris tightened the straps on his satchel. “If we move quickly and keep our magic concealed, we’ll be in and out before anyone notices.”Lena exhaled slowly, ignoring
The silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken fears.Lena still felt the Rift’s presence coiled inside her, like a shadow waiting to unfurl. She could sense Cassian’s steady grip on her shoulders, grounding her in reality, but something deep inside her had shifted. She wasn’t sure if she was stronger now or if she had simply invited something far more dangerous into herself.“We need to know what this means,” Idris finally said, his voice measured but tense. “If you’ve claimed part of the Rift… then what has it claimed from you?”Lena exhaled sharply. That was the question gnawing at the edge of her mind.“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I felt something. Beyond the throne, beyond her.” She hesitated, then whispered, “Something was watching me.”Cassian stiffened, his fingers tightening against her.Dorian muttered a curse. “Well, that’s not horrifying at all.”Idris’s eyes flickered with unease. “Describe it.”Lena searched for words, but all she could recall was the sens
The air crackled with magic.Idris knelt before Lena, his fingers moving in careful, precise motions as he drew symbols in the space between them. The lines of energy glowed faintly, pulsing in rhythm with the mark on her skin.Cassian sat at her side, his presence solid, grounding. His fingers brushed hers, a silent promise that he was here.Lena focused on that touch, anchoring herself as Idris began to chant.The words weren’t in any language she recognized. They were ancient, raw—power woven into sound. The symbols he’d drawn pulsed brighter, casting eerie shadows against the walls.And then—The mark on her chest burned.Lena sucked in a sharp breath, clutching at her skin as a searing heat spread through her veins. The world around her twisted, the study fading—No. Not fading.Peeling away.A dark wind howled, pulling at her, dragging her into something deeper.Cassian’s grip tightened. “Lena!”She tried to answer, but the Rift took her.—She landed hard, her knees slamming ag
The mark burned.Not in a way that seared flesh or caused pain—but in a way that felt wrong. Like something foreign had slipped beneath Lena’s skin and taken root.She clenched her fingers against the sensation, willing it to stop, but it pulsed again—slow, rhythmic, like a second heartbeat.Like a claim.Cassian’s gaze hadn’t left her chest, his expression carved from stone. “We need answers.”Dorian scoffed. “Oh, you mean beyond ‘Lena’s cursed, the Rift is a manipulative bastard, and we’re all about to die in a horrifyingly poetic way’? Because I think we’ve covered that.”Idris ignored him, stepping closer. “That mark…” He didn’t touch it, but his fingers hovered near her skin, his magic stirring in the air. His eyes narrowed. “It’s layered.”Lena swallowed. “What does that mean?”“It’s not just Rift energy. There’s something else—something alive.”Cassian went rigid. “Alive?”Idris nodded. “Like a binding spell… but more intimate. As if the Rift isn’t just connected to her—it’s wa
Cassian’s body went cold the instant he let go. The world around him vanished, and the weight of reality slipped away.He wasn’t falling.He wasn’t moving.He just was.A breath—if he could call it that—echoed around him, soft and slow, like the Rift itself was breathing him in.Then—Lena’s scream.The sound shattered the silence, raw and desperate. It didn’t come from in front of him, or behind. It came from everywhere.Cassian forced himself forward, even though there was no direction, no path. He followed the pull of his instincts, the tether that bound him to Lena, and the shadows twisted around him, shifting and writhing like something alive.Then he saw her.She was on her knees before the dark throne, her body trembling, her hands clutching at her head. She looked smaller than he had ever seen her. Vulnerable. Trapped.And standing over her—Her shadow.The other Lena.Cassian didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward, fire surging through his veins. “Get away from her.”The shadow
The journey stretched long, the silence between them filled only by the rhythmic clatter of hooves against dirt. The further they traveled from the capital, the more the air seemed to shift—thicker, charged with something Lena couldn’t quite name.She had grown up in these lands, but as they neared the village, an uneasy weight settled in her chest. Everything looked the same—the rolling fields, the dense tree lines, the familiar stone path winding toward her family estate—but it felt wrong.Like a place she no longer belonged to.Cassian rode closer, his golden eyes scanning the horizon. He was on edge, too. Whether it was from the Rift’s presence or something else entirely, she wasn’t sure.Idris broke the silence first. “Are we expecting trouble, or do I just always feel like we’re about to die when I’m with you?”Dorian chuckled from behind them. “Oh, I think that’s just her.”Lena ignored them, her focus narrowing as her childhood home came into view. The sprawling manor stood un
Lena spent the rest of the night in the war room, poring over Idris’s ancient texts while Cassian remained close, his presence steady and unwavering. Dorian, ever the reluctant ally, stayed long enough to grumble about the lack of good whiskey before disappearing.Idris worked tirelessly, flipping through brittle pages, his fingers glowing faintly as he traced old magic woven into the parchment. Every so often, he’d mutter something under his breath, but nothing useful emerged.Lena clenched her jaw, pushing aside her exhaustion. She wasn’t sure what she was searching for—an answer, a warning, a way out. But the more she read, the clearer it became.This wasn’t the first time the Rift had chosen someone.And each time, it ended the same way.They were taken.“Damn it,” she muttered, slamming one of the books shut. The noise echoed through the dimly lit room, breaking the silence. Cassian barely flinched, his arms crossed as he leaned against the far wall, watching her.Idris sighed. “
Lena sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor of the war room, the flickering torchlight casting jagged shadows along the walls. The air was thick with tension, every breath measured, every movement deliberate.Cassian stood beside her, arms crossed, his golden eyes locked onto her with a fierce intensity. He hated this. She could see it in the way his fingers flexed against the hilt of his sword, in the rigid line of his shoulders.Idris knelt before her, hands hovering over the mark on her wrist. “I’m going to guide you in,” he said, voice steady but edged with warning. “I won’t be able to follow, but I’ll keep a tether on you. If things go south, I’ll pull you out.”Dorian, leaning casually against the wall, rolled his shoulders. “No offense, but let’s not count on that. Lena, if you feel like you’re getting lost in there, you force your way back. No hesitating.”Lena nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. She was ready. She had to be.Idris exhaled, then pressed his fingertips
The journey back to the city was tense, the weight of what had just happened pressing down on them like an unseen force. The jungle remained eerily silent, the usual rustle of wind through leaves absent. Every step Lena took felt heavier, as if the Rift’s pull still lingered beneath her skin, a whisper just beneath her thoughts.Cassian stayed close to her, his body positioned slightly in front of hers, protective in a way that made her chest ache. Dorian walked beside them, his usual sarcasm subdued, while Idris led the way, his hands occasionally glowing as he checked for traces of Rift energy.Lena’s fingers brushed over the mark on her wrist, the skin still warm to the touch. She could feel it—an awareness of something vast and ancient pressing against her mind, waiting.Watching.They reached the outer edges of the city just before dawn. The once-bustling streets were quiet, the looming threat of the Rift’s influence keeping people behind locked doors. Even the lanterns that usua