Page 40 of Bound In Stone, Claimed In Fire

My stomach clenches painfully.He’s giving me an ultimatum.Return and kill Kaelith, or face condemnation as a Nyxari. The brand pulses in protest, as though the very notion of turning on Kaelith repels me. “I can’t—” My voice cracks. “You can’t expect me to murder him because you’ve decided he’s unfit for me.”

A sneer curls Drayveth’s mouth. “He’s a gargoyle. A monstrous relic that once warred with our kind. Don’t be naive, Sariah. This alliance you’ve forged? It’s unnatural. Proof enough you’re walking a dangerous path.”

From the corner of my eye, I see Kaelith’s claws tighten, runes glowing more fiercely. Anger flares through our tether.He’s insulted, furious. We both are.“My path is my own,” I snap. “I left your coven because you tried to control me. Now you want me to kill someone who’s fought at my side, saved my life? No. I won’t.”

Drayveth exhales, as if dealing with a stubborn child. “You foolish girl. Do you realize how precarious our situation is? Nerezza is rising. The world stands on the brink, and you’re aligning with an ancient threat from the gargoyle tribes? You might as well sign a pact with chaos itself.” His staff crackles with a swirl of necromantic energy, a demonstration of power that sends goosebumps skittering down my arms. “We’re here to ensure you don’t become the next abomination that devours Protheka.”

I want to protest that Kaelith isnotan ancient threat, but my voice fails me for a moment. Fear squeezes my lungs. Drayveth’s purna allies shift, forming a loose semicircle around us. We’re pinned: the rocky slope behind us, Drayveth’s band in front. My mind races:Can we slip free? If we fight, can we survive?

Kaelith inches closer to me, wings flaring just enough to show he’ll fight if forced. “She’s not the next Nyxari,” he growls. “Nerezza is out there, Drayveth—that’syour threat. Not Sariah.” The rumble in his chest resonates, making the air vibrate. “Focus your efforts on the real enemy, or you’ll doom yourselves.”

Drayveth’s eyes glint with dark amusement. “Ah, yes. Nerezza. We know she’s awakened, the seal undone. One monstrosity unbound leads to another, it seems.” He gestures dismissively. “But for all we know, you’re in league with her. After all, you were once allied to a powerful purna who sought to reshape gargoyles. History might be repeating. Perhaps Sariah is your new puppet, or you’re her puppet—does it matter? In either case, you threaten the stability we fight to preserve.”

Fury sears my chest. “That’s a lie!” I protest, voice echoing. “We want to stop Nerezza, not join her. She nearly destroyed Kaelith’s people. She’s already slaughtering innocent covens. How can you stand here accusingusof being the threat?”

Drayveth’s expression hardens. “In times of crisis, those who break from the coven must be dealt with. You refused to submit, Sariah. Your chaotic power is unregulated, your brand tarnished. The coven demands your loyalty—or your end. There’s no middle path.” His staff glows brighter, and I hear a low chant ripple among his allies.They’re preparing to cast something.My heart leaps in my throat.

Kaelith shifts his stance, runes flaring in response. “Don’t,” he warns, voice a deep rumble that sets my heart pounding. “We don’t want this fight—but we won’t surrender to you.”

One of Drayveth’s subordinates, a tall woman with a shaved head, snarls. “Sariah, youknowwhat you risk by refusing. If you won’t kill the gargoyle, at least bind him. Bring him back in chains. The coven can decide his fate. Then maybe we can spare you from condemnation.”

The old pang of belonging tugs at me—my memories of training sessions, shared meals, late-night study with these same purna. Once, they were my family. Now they talk of chaining Kaelith like a beast. I glance at him, the tension etched on his face. He meets my eyes, wordless. The tether throbs with our shared anguish.They see him as a monster.But I’ve grown to see him as…I swallow.As something so much more than a reluctant partner. As someone I trust, someone who, in the darkest moments, gave me reason to hope.

“I can’t,” I whisper, voice cracking. “I’m not delivering him to you like a sacrifice.”

Drayveth’s shoulders slump, a flicker of true sadness crossing his features—for an instant, I almost believe he regrets this confrontation. But then his expression steels. “Very well. The coven has issued its mandate. If you won’t obey, if you won’t renounce this gargoyle, then you leave us no choice.” He lifts his staff, and the necromantic aura crackles around him, swirling greenish-black tendrils into the air. “By the authority granted to me, I label you a traitor—and a potential Nyxari.”

I tremble, tears burning.A potential Nyxari.The brand on my wrist aches as though mocking me. My old nightmares swirl: that I’d somehow walk the same path as Nerezza, that my power would lead me to destruction. Drayveth is threatening to make that prophecy real in the eyes of the coven. “You can’t do this,” I plead. “I’m not the enemy. Don’t force me to?—”

He cuts me off, thrusting his staff forward. The energy crackles. “Your actions have chosen your path, Sariah.” He glances at Kaelith with disdain. “If you defend that beast, you side with darkness.”

Kaelith snarls, and I place a hand on his arm, trying to keep him from launching into an unwinnable fight. We’re outnumbered, battered, still reeling from Nerezza’s reappearance.We have to be smart.My mind scrambles for a solution.Can we talk them down?

But Drayveth’s subordinates step into an attack formation, chanting half-remembered incantations that make my skin crawl. I sense necromantic threads weaving around them, building toward a deadly strike.They’re done talking.My pulse thunders.

I grip Kaelith’s forearm, speaking in a low, urgent tone. “We have to run. We can’t fight them head-on.”

His runes blaze with anger. “They’ll chase us,” he growls, though I feel him shift slightly. He’s not suicidal; he knows the odds.

A bolt of necromantic energy arcs from one purna’s staff, sizzling through the air. Kaelith lurches sideways, pulling me with him, and the bolt slams into a nearby boulder, shattering rock and sending shards flying. The explosive impact shakes the ground. Terror grips my chest.They mean to kill us if I don’t comply.

“Sariah, kill him,” Drayveth roars over the din. “Or we kill you both.”

“No!” The scream tears from my throat, raw with despair. Painful memories flood me: my earliest lessons under Drayveth, how he once shielded me from harsh coven discipline, how I thought he cared. Now, he’s become a vessel of cruelty.Or maybe he was always this ruthless.

Another purna unleashes a swirl of green flames. Kaelith counters with a pulse of kinetic force, wings flaring. The collision throws up a shower of sparks, rattling my teeth. He moves with fluid power, but we’re pinned on a narrow ledge with no easy escape. My brand sears under the tension, as if urging me to do something drastic.But what? Submit? Betray Kaelith?The idea nauseates me.Never.

Adrenaline surges. My staff hums with latent energy. “Stop!” I shout again, though my voice cracks in the chaos. I fling a small shield spell, intercepting a dagger of green flame headed for Kaelith’s chest. The collision blinds me momentarily, arcs of white-hot magic dancing at the edge of my vision.

When I blink away the spots, Drayveth stands only a few paces away, staff raised. “You once called me Mentor,” he spits, voice resonating with betrayal. “How far you’ve fallen.”

Tears burn my eyes. “No, you’re the one who turned on me. You condemned me the moment I questioned you.”

His expression is grim, not even a flicker of remorse. “You brought this on yourself, Sariah. Embrace the coven’s will. Prove your loyalty by destroying that gargoyle. If you do, I’ll vouch for you. If not…” He waves a hand, the circle of purna tightening, ready to strike. “We brand you Nyxari. No one will protect you. The entire coven will hunt you down.”

The words land like daggers in my heart.They’ll label me a monster, the same way they labeled Nerezza.My gaze darts to Kaelith. His eyes lock on mine, molten gold flickering with steady resolve. The tether thrums with an undercurrent of sympathy, anger, and unwavering support.He knows I’m torn.

My old life, or the gargoyle who’s become more than a partner, more even than a friend. The man I… a swirl of complicated emotion blinds me.I can’t kill him. I won’t.Something inside me hardens. I raise my staff, brand flaring. My voice shakes with raw heartbreak, but I speak each syllable clearly: “I refuse. He’s under my protection. If you label me as a Nyxari, so be it.”

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