Chapter 19: Bloodlines and Betrayals

The wind howled through the ruins like a haunting whisper, as if the world itself recoiled from what had just been unleashed. Ivy clutched her abdomen, eyes fixed on the glowing rift in the sky. Her breath hitched as the air turned colder—too cold, even for a world at war.

Aiden moved beside her. “Eidolon,” he muttered. “Spirits of the Rift. I thought they were only legends.”

“They were,” Lilith said grimly, drawing a protective rune in the dirt. “Until your child called them.”

“They didn’t call them,” Ivy said through clenched teeth. “They’re being hunted—by them.”

The flames from the broken altar flickered as Isla stirred, her eyes fluttering open. But the golden light was gone. The child had released her. Ivy’s heart ached, not with pain—but with clarity.

The connection was shifting.

The Eidolon descended in silence, their figures shrouded in shadows that moved like smoke. Eyes glowed—silver, red, violet—all unnatural, all unblinking. They hovered just above the ground, watching, waiting.

Killian stood ahead of them all, blade drawn, his expression unreadable.

“They’re not attacking,” Mira whispered.

“They’re assessing,” Lilith said. “Judging whether what lies inside Ivy is worth conquering—or serving.”

One of the creatures stepped forward. Its body was vaguely humanoid, but where a face should be was only a swirling vortex of mist and flickering flame. When it spoke, it sounded like a thousand voices wrapped into one.

“Bearer of the Echo, reveal your pact.”

Ivy’s mouth went dry. “Pact? What pact?”

“You don’t know?” the creature said. “Then perhaps it is not you we seek.”

It turned to Killian.

Ivy’s heart dropped.

“No,” she whispered. “Tell me you didn’t—”

Killian looked away, shame flooding his features.

“I made the deal,” he said. “Before we knew you were pregnant. I— I was desperate. I didn’t know what the Echo would choose. I just knew that if it landed in our bloodline—”

He didn’t finish.

Ivy’s stomach churned. “You bargained our child before they even existed?”

Killian’s voice was barely a whisper. “I thought I could protect them. If I had control—if I made the first move—I could keep them safe.”

“You mean enslaved,” Aiden growled, stepping forward.

The Eidolon turned back to Ivy. “The father offered us dominion. But the Echo has chosen another path.”

The creature raised a clawed hand toward her stomach. “Do you consent to release?”

“What does that mean?” Ivy demanded.

Lilith’s eyes widened. “They want to extract the Echo. Not kill it—but remove it from you. Probably to raise it themselves.”

“No,” Ivy said immediately, stepping back. “They stay with me. I’m their mother.”

“You do not understand what you carry.”

“I don’t care. They’re mine.”

The Eidolon paused. Then slowly, they turned to Killian again.

“You offered a contract. We accepted. That price must be paid.”

“No!” Ivy screamed, throwing up her hands.

But the creature was faster.

It lunged.

And in a flash of blinding white, Killian was thrown backward—his chest scorched, his body limp.

“Killian!” Ivy ran toward him, dropping to her knees. His breathing was shallow, his skin cold.

“No,” she whispered. “Not like this.”

The Eidolon stood motionless.

“The Echo has spoken. Your offer is void.”

Then they vanished.

Just like that.

Gone, as if they had never been there.

But the damage was done.

Killian lay unconscious, his fate uncertain.

Ivy shook him. “Please, wake up. Please—”

And then she felt it again.

The bond.

But this time—it was different.

The child wasn’t just present.

They were awake.

Her vision blurred as heat swelled in her chest.

A voice—not her own—echoed through her mind.

“He was never worthy.”

“No,” Ivy whispered aloud. “Don’t say that. He tried. He just—he didn’t know how to love the right way.”

The voice replied, softer this time.

“You do.”

Her heart broke all over again.

Lilith moved forward. “We need to leave. That rift—it’s a warning. There’s more coming.”

But Ivy didn’t budge.

“I need answers.”

Aiden stepped beside her. “Then we go to the Archives. If the child’s power is ancient, the records of the Dominion may hold clues.”

Ivy nodded, wiping her tears.

“Then let’s go.”

---

Hours Later – The Archives of Cordalis

The ancient library had been carved into the mountain centuries ago—before the kingdoms, before the wars. Its halls glowed with crystal lanterns, and ancient scrolls floated midair, guarded by sentient runes and cloaked watchers.

Ivy walked slowly, hand still pressed to her stomach.

She felt the child sleeping now—but not peacefully.

They dreamed.

And their dreams bled into hers.

Flashes of forgotten wars, winged kings, a woman of glass who wept rivers of fire.

Lilith led them to a sealed door marked by golden sigils.

“This is it,” she said. “The Vault of Names.”

Aiden placed his palm on the sigil. “Only those with blood ties to the Dominion may enter.”

Ivy stepped forward. “What if the child counts?”

They hesitated.

Then the door unlocked.

It opened not with a creak, but with a hum—like music from another world.

Inside, the chamber was lined with mirrors—not books. Each reflected not the present, but pieces of the past.

“Whoa,” Mira muttered. “What is this place?”

Lilith stepped forward. “The Vault records truths that no one dares speak. Events too powerful, too dangerous, or too painful to write down.”

One mirror shimmered.

Ivy felt drawn to it.

Her fingers brushed its surface—

—and she was pulled inside.

---

Memory Realm – Centuries Ago

Ivy stood atop a hill of silver ash.

Below her, two armies clashed—winged and horned, fire and frost.

And at the center of it all—a woman.

Pregnant.

Glowing.

Powerful.

A voice echoed beside Ivy.

“She was the last Echo bearer.”

Ivy turned. A hooded figure stood beside her.

“She died protecting the child inside her,” the figure continued. “But she didn’t know… the child would be reborn. Over and over. Until the world could finally choose.”

“Choose what?” Ivy asked.

“Whether to kill it… or to follow it.”

---

Back in the Archives

Ivy gasped, staggering backward.

Aiden caught her.

“I saw her,” she whispered. “Another mother. Another Echo.”

Lilith’s voice was tight. “Then it’s true. Your child isn’t just powerful. They’re part of a cycle—one that hasn’t ended in millennia.”

“But why me?” Ivy asked. “Why now?”

Before anyone could answer, a blast rocked the vault.

A Watcher ran in. “They’ve found us!”

“Who?” Aiden demanded.

The Watcher’s face was pale. “Isla’s army.”

Lilith swore. “She’s still connected to the Echo. She tracked us.”

Ivy stepped forward, fists clenched.

“I won’t run.”

Mira handed her a dagger. “Then fight.”

---

Outside the Archives

The sky was red.

Isla stood on a floating rock, hair wild, eyes glowing again.

“You took them from me,” she said.

“You were only a vessel,” Ivy said coldly.

“But I felt them!” Isla screamed. “And they liked me more!”

The ground shook.

And something emerged from the shadows behind Isla.

Another Eidolon.

But this one… was wearing armor.

Lilith’s eyes widened. “A general. They’ve taken sides.”

Isla smiled darkly. “Guess who they chose?”

The Eidolon general lifted a burning sword.

Aiden unsheathed his.

Mira summoned her ice.

And Ivy stepped forward, the child’s warmth blazing in her core.

The general spoke.

“The bearer must surrender. Or burn.”

Ivy didn’t hesitate.

“Then let the world burn.”