Page 35 of Starlit Bargains

There was no response. Whatever had happened, whatever bindings had broken, the effort had completely overwhelmed Eliar. And Kai, having given so much of his own magic to trigger the release, was little better off.

As the last of the shadow creatures melted away into the forest, Kai collapsed beside Eliar on the temple floor, darkness claiming him before he could even check if the fallen guardian still breathed.

Eliar's eyes opened—normal again, though still faintly glowing—fluttered open. “Get... away,” he managed, voice barely a whisper. “Not... safe.”

“The shadows are gone,” Kai assured him, glancing around the temple clearing. Where the shadow creatures had been, only wisps of rapidly dissolving darkness remained, like smoke being blown away by an unfelt wind.

“Not them,” Eliar gasped. His hand clutched weakly at Kai's shirt. “Me. I'm not... safe.”

In that moment, understanding crystallized with perfect, terrible clarity: Eliar's reluctance to use his power, his constant pulling away, his warnings to stay apart—none of it had been about protecting himself.

He hadn't been afraid of the shadows. He had been afraid of himself. Of what might happen if he let go, even for a moment. Of what might emerge from the depths of his being after centuries of suppression and isolation.

And Kai had pushed him to do exactly that.

“I'm sorry,” Kai whispered, guilt washing through him. “I didn't understand.”

A bitter smile touched Eliar's lips. “Neither did I,” he replied, his voice gaining a fraction of strength. “Not fully. Not until I felt it again—what I used to be. What I could be again.” His eyes closed briefly, pain etching lines around them. “The power wants to be free, but it's... changed. Corrupted. The veil between worlds is thin where I am. Always has been. And the void...” He trailed off, a shudder running through his frame.

“The void what?” Kai prompted gently.

“The void has been whispering to my essence for centuries,” Eliar said, each word clearly an effort. “Offering freedom. Power. Vengeance.” His eyes opened again, meeting Kai's directly. “When I use my power now, I can feel it responding to those whispers. Reaching back toward the void instead of holding it at bay.”

Briar, who had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the entire confrontation, finally emerged from Kai's pocketwhere she'd been hiding. Her tiny face was solemn as she fluttered toward them, hovering nervously over Eliar.

“The corruption's spreading,” she observed, her voice unusually gentle. “I can see it in your aura. Like ink in water.”

“Yes,” Eliar agreed, not questioning how the sprite could perceive such things. “It has been since I fell. But slowly, so slowly I could contain it. Until...”

“Until I came along,” Kai finished, the prophecy's warning now making terrible sense. “And accelerated everything.”

Eliar's hand found his, the grip weak but insistent. “Not your fault,” he said. “The prophecy would have found its catalyst eventually. If not you, then someone else. Something else.”

But Kai wasn't comforted. He looked around at the temple clearing, at the evidence of Eliar's momentarily unleashed power—scorch marks on ancient stone, crystallized trees at the forest edge, shadows that had been not just defeated but unmade. And all from a fraction of what Eliar was capable of, all while fighting against the corruption within his own essence.

“We need to get you somewhere safe,” Kai said, forcing practicality through his swirling emotions. “Can you stand?”

Eliar made a valiant attempt but couldn't even sit up without Kai's support. “Give me... a moment,” he gasped, clearly frustrated by his own weakness.

“What happened? Why did the power affect you like this?” Kai asked, helping Eliar lean back against a fallen column.

“Using it... strengthens the connection to what I was,” Eliar explained between labored breaths. “But also to what changed me. To the void that has been pressing against my barriers for centuries. The power flows both ways—I channel it, but it also... channels through me.”

Chapter 8

Guardian's Chains

Kai's arms ached from supporting Eliar's weight as they stumbled through the darkening forest. The fallen guardian was still trembling, each step an obvious struggle, his breathing shallow and uneven. Occasionally, Kai felt a ripple of power pulse through Eliar's body—aftershocks from the massive surge of energy he'd unleashed against the shadow creatures.

“Just a little further,” Kai encouraged, though he had no idea if that was true. They'd been moving away from the temple ruins for nearly twenty minutes, following Eliar's mumbled directions deeper into the ancient forest.

“Wait,” Eliar gasped suddenly, his body tensing.

Kai stopped, scanning their surroundings. The forest had grown unnaturally quiet—no bird calls, no rustling of small animals in the underbrush. Just silence, heavy and watchful.

“Briar?” Kai called softly.

The sprite zipped back from her scouting position ahead, her tiny face drawn with worry. “Movement behind us,” she reported. “And to the sides. Not like animals. More like...”

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