Page 58 of Bound In Stone, Claimed In Fire

My heart stutters.She’s dangling Sariah’s life as a bargaining chip.The illusions swirl again, reminding me of Sariah’s tearful face, the brand on her wrist glowing with heartbreak.I left her.Guilt collides with longing, forging a raw ache in my chest. My runes flare, a wave of warmth suffusing me—like a distant echo of the synergy Sariah and I once shared.Is it possible I can still tap into that?

Nerezza closes the distance, her eyes boring into mine. “Look at me, Kaelith. I can be everything we once were. Our synergy could surpass even what you shared with that child.” Her voice dips, sensual and insidious. She raises a hand, trailing it across my jaw. The contact feels like a live wire, half revulsion, half memory of gentler times. My wings twitch in confusion.

A momentary longing surges—I remember how I adored her laughter, the promises we made. But a deeper truth slams into me:That woman is gone.The illusions in her presence flicker, revealing glints of monstrous cunning beneath her once-radiant features. My stomach churns. I see flashes of the brood, of scorched villages, of gargoyles twisted in her thrall.This is not the woman I once loved.She’s a phantom wearing the face of a memory, a shadow that perverted our dream.

She senses my hesitation, illusions intensifying. The polished floor ripples with half-formed scenes from centuries past: us dancing on a stone balcony under a triple moonlit sky, me brandishing a sword while she conjured flames in a triumphant display after our first victory. My chest throbs with heartbreak, but I steel myself.These illusions can’t replace reality.

Somewhere deep inside, a memory of Sariah rises—her fierce gray eyes, her trembling brand as she fought to keep me alive.She risked everything for me. She shared her magic, her body, her soul.The memory resonates, a surging wave that crashes through the illusions swirling around me. My runes pulse brighter, recalling the synergy Sariah and I forged.That is real. That is my future, not this decayed echo of a false past.

A strangled cry escapes my throat as I jerk away from Nerezza’s touch. “Enough,” I snarl, runes blazing with sudden intensity. My tail lashes the obsidian floor, sending sparks across the polished surface.

She recoils, a glimmer of shock flickering in her crimson eyes. “What?—?”

I clench my claws, forcing the illusions to recoil. My mind sears with renewed clarity, each heartbeat stoking the memory of Sariah’s unwavering devotion.I promised to protect her. Instead, I fled, letting illusions dictate my choices. No more.

“You arenotthe woman I loved,” I growl, wings flaring wide. “That woman sought harmony, not conquest. She cherished gargoyle lives instead of enslaving them.” The illusions fade around me, cracks forming in the illusory floor. The images of our past flicker like broken glass shards. My runes blaze a scorching gold, fueling my defiance. “And I realized something: Sariah is everything you once pretended to be—fierce, compassionate, loyal without tyranny.Sheis my future.”

Nerezza’s face twists, illusions warping around her. A hiss escapes her lips. “You’re mistaken. She’s a trifling novice, easily corrupted. I am your rightful queen.”

My chest heaves with a powerful exhalation, refusing to yield. “No. You’re a twisted shell, devoured by the chaos you once claimed to wield for good. I gave up centuries to keep you sealed, and now that you’re free, I see I must stand against you again.” A surge of adrenaline pours into my limbs, banishing the leaden weight from before. The tether hums distantly, as if it senses my renewed strength.

Her illusions intensify, black smoke coiling around my ankles, trying to drag me back into that dreamscape. My runes spark in response. Pain lances through me, but I summon the synergy I once shared with Sariah—or the memory of it.Even a fragment of that bond is enough to ignite a wave of raw power in my gargoyle core. Stone creeps up my legs, not as a petrification out of fear but as an anchor to keep me grounded.

“Is that your final decision?” Nerezza snarls, eyes blazing with fury. “You’ll reject me again—for that naive purna? You realize I can crush her and you in a single breath.”

Fear warps my chest, but I refuse to break. “Sariah overcame Drayveth, overcame your lesser brood. She’s stronger than you assume. And I won’t let you harm her.” My voice resonates in the chamber, an undercurrent of gargoyle might.I remember my original vow: to protect the world from this abomination.

Her grin turns feral, illusions coiling in renewed force. The twisted gargoyles by her throne hiss, stirring to lunge at me. My wings bristle.I might be outnumbered, but I have no illusions that I can stay here.My priority is to escape, regroup with Sariah if she’ll still have me, and fight Nerezza together.

Nerezza gestures, and the illusions slam into me with punishing force. Scenes of destruction swirl—Sariah chained, gargoyles butchered. My runes flare, resisting. My entire body trembles.I nearly fell for this once.But I see beyond the illusions now, fueled by the epiphany that my future doesn’t lie in this hall of black stone.It lies with Sariah.

I let out a thunderous roar, wings snapping open to their fullest span. The marble beneath me cracks from the force of my gravitational surge. My tail whips around, lashing illusions to ribbons. The runes along my arms and chest glow hot, channeling the leftover synergy I once shared with Sariah. Even if she’s not here, the memory of her magic spurs me onward.

“No more illusions,” I bellow. “You don’t own me, Nerezza. I’m done cowering in guilt.”

The illusions waver, fracturing. For a heartbeat, her face flickers with genuine hurt, replaced by rage. “You dare?” she hisses, stepping back. “You sealed me once, and you think you can do it again? Alone?”

I grind my teeth, sweat beading on my brow from the exertion of throwing off her mental chains. “I won’t be alone,” I growl. “Sariah stands with me, whether physically or in spirit. And if we must, we’ll gather allies. You’ve made too many enemies this time.”

She snarls, a swirl of black chaos dancing around her outstretched hands. Her twisted gargoyles crouch, ready to spring. My heart thuds, adrenaline roaring in my veins.I can’t fight them all here.But I can break free.Freedom’s choice.

“I gave you a chance, Kaelith,” she says, voice trembling with fury. “You spurn it again. Don’t think I’ll be merciful when next we meet.”

“Mercy died in you long ago,” I snap, wings tensing. “But I won’t let you break me. Nor will I let you break Sariah.”

Her illusions crash against me once more, final attempts to chain me, but I muster every scrap of power left. My runes blaze, forging a barrier of stone-laced energy that repels the onslaught. The psychic pull slackens, and I seize that opening, pivoting toward the dais’s side where a shadowy corridor beckons—either a real exit or another illusion. I don’t care.Any path away from her is better than kneeling.

She screeches, commanding her gargoyle thralls to stop me. They leap from the throne’s sides, claws extended, eyes glowing with sickly radiance. I let out a bestial roar, slamming my tail in a wide arc. The first twisted gargoyle collides with me, nearly knocking me off balance, but I brace with petrified limbs, using my wings for leverage. We wrestle, claws scraping stone armor, sparks flying. My mind reels with the knowledge that these were once my kin, but I can’t hold back.They serve Nerezza’s corruption.

With a heave, I fling the twisted gargoyle aside. It crashes into a pillar, shards of black obsidian raining down. The second leaps onto my back, screeching. Pain lances as its claws dig into my shoulders, but I fling my body backward, crushing it against a stone column. A choked roar escapes it, then it slumps.I have no time for pity.

Nerezza shrieks in fury, sending a lance of void energy toward me. My runes pulse in response, forming a partial shield of stone that cracks under the force. Agony slices across my arms, but I stagger forward, refusing to yield.I must escape.

Reaching the corridor, I hurl myself into the swirling darkness. It might be an illusion-laced labyrinth or an actual passage. Either way, it’s away from her throne room. My breath comes in ragged gasps, chest tight from the confrontation. I sense the illusions trying to reclaim me, but my renewed purpose—my vow to fight for Sariah—bolsters my resistance.I won’t let Nerezza enthrall me again.

Behind me, her enraged cries echo. She calls out my name, hurling threats of what she’ll do to me and Sariah. My wings shudder at each vow of vengeance, but I press on, forging blindly through the labyrinth. The floor lurches, reality distorting.She’s still trying to contort my senses.But each time illusions surge, I recall Sariah’s tearful courage, the unwavering love in her eyes. That memory is like a torch in the gloom, scattering illusions.

I crash through corridor after corridor, stumbling over illusions of swirling images. One moment, I see a meadow from my past with Nerezza laughing in the sunshine. Another moment, I’m traversing a pitch-black hall with flickering torches. My wings keep me balanced despite the chaos.I’ll find a real exit if I keep going.

---