Chapter 15 – The Chains of Fate

The howl echoed through the trees, a haunting reminder that time was running out. Elara felt the weight of Vesper’s hand on her wrist as he pulled her into motion. They ran through the mist-laden forest, their footsteps barely making a sound against the damp earth.

“Elara, stay close,” Vesper ordered, his voice sharp with urgency.

She didn’t argue. The Wraith King’s forces were relentless, and if they were closing in, it meant only one thing—he wanted her back.

Or worse, he wanted revenge.

The trees thickened around them, their twisted roots forming barriers as if the forest itself sought to trap them. Magic crackled in the air, dark and unnatural, a sign that the Wraith King’s influence was spreading.

Elara could feel it in her blood, in the remnants of the bond she had severed. The spell had been broken, but something still tethered her to him, something deeper than magic—an unfulfilled bargain.

Vesper’s grip tightened as they came to a sudden halt at the edge of a steep ravine. Below them, jagged rocks gleamed like sharpened teeth. There was no clear way across.

“We’re trapped,” Elara breathed.

Vesper cursed under his breath, scanning their surroundings. His golden eyes flickered with calculation, his mind racing for a solution. But the howls were getting closer, and they had no time to think.

Then, suddenly, he turned to her. “Do you trust me?”

Elara’s heart pounded. She had sworn she wouldn’t, had told herself over and over again that Vesper Moretti was as dangerous as the Wraith King himself. But in this moment, with death at their heels, trust was no longer a choice.

She nodded.

Without another word, Vesper wrapped an arm around her waist and leaped.

The world tilted. The wind howled in her ears as they plummeted toward the ravine. Magic surged around them, and for a terrifying moment, Elara thought they would crash into the rocks below.

Then—

Dark mist exploded from Vesper’s outstretched hand, swirling into a bridge of shadows beneath their feet. They landed with a jarring impact, the force nearly knocking the air from Elara’s lungs.

She gasped, clutching his arms for balance as the bridge began to crack behind them.

“Hurry!” Vesper urged, pulling her forward just as the shadows collapsed into nothingness.

They barely made it to solid ground before the bridge vanished entirely, leaving their pursuers stranded on the other side. The howls turned to enraged shrieks, but the Wraith King’s forces could not follow.

Not yet.

Elara stumbled forward, her breath ragged. “That—” she turned to Vesper, eyes wide—“was reckless.”

His lips curled into a half-smirk. “It worked.”

Before she could argue, a sharp pain shot through her chest. She gasped, her knees buckling as an invisible force gripped her like icy chains wrapping around her ribs.

“Elara!” Vesper was at her side in an instant, holding her upright.

The pain intensified, and a voice—cold and cruel—whispered through her mind.

Did you think you could escape me, little princess?

Her blood ran cold.

The Wraith King was speaking to her. Through the broken bond.

Vesper’s grip tightened. “Elara, what’s wrong?”

She couldn’t speak. Shadows curled around her vision, her body trembling as the Wraith King’s presence coiled through her mind like venom.

And then—just as suddenly as it began—the pain vanished.

Elara gasped, collapsing against Vesper’s chest, her fingers gripping the fabric of his coat as she fought to steady her breathing.

Vesper’s voice was low, deadly. “He’s still connected to you.”

She swallowed hard. “I don’t know how.”

His expression darkened. “Then we’ll have to sever it. Permanently.”

Elara met his gaze, her pulse hammering. “How?”

Vesper exhaled, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “We kill him.”