Page 60 of Bound In Stone, Claimed In Fire

The wind whistles through hollow arcades, stirring dust and shards of chipped fresco. Twilight bleeds across the sky in streaks of navy and violet, painting the ruins with somber shadows. My cloak flutters around my legs, torn from countless battles, its edges stiff with dried blood. I ignore the chill, blood pounding in my ears.Drayveth was right about one thing: this place is cursed with significance.Possibly it’s the perfect stage for another confrontation.

For days, I’ve roamed these mountains in a haze of heartbreak, refusing to believe Kaelith truly abandoned me. Each morning I forced myself onward, hoping to pick up a clue—footprints, a torn scrap of his leathers—anything to prove he might have come back. And each night, I bedded down under frigid skies, tears in my eyes, cursing the illusions that tore us apart. But now, as I stand in these old ruins, an inexplicable tension hums in my chest. My brand on my wrist aches with more intensity than it has since we parted, as if a tethered presence draws near.

I swallow, pressing trembling fingers against the throbbing brand. “Kaelith,” I whisper into the restless wind, voice catching. Even the thought of him hits me like a knife. I see his molten eyes, that stoic half-smile, the protective curve of his wings. Then the memory of him walking away, illusions swirling, tears streaming from my eyes, rips into me.Where are you now?

A scuff on the broken flagstones snaps me out of my spiral. I tense, staff in hand, magic sparking along my brand. Footsteps echo from behind a crumbled arch, faint but approaching. My pulse kicks, hope battling fear.Could it be him? Or more gargoyles, or Drayveth’s purna?My entire body coils, ready for anything.

The figure steps into view, wings half-furled, runes glowing faintly in the dim light. My heart slams into my ribs. It’shim, battered and weary, but unmistakably Kaelith. His obsidian-hued skin and carved runes catch the dying sun’s rays, each luminescent marking telling a story of scars, illusions, and battles. He halts a dozen strides away, tail flicking in agitation. My brand sears, an echo that resonates through me.He’s truly here, not an illusion.

For a breathless second, we simply stare. My eyes burn with tears, relief warring with anger.He left me—But also, he’sreturned.The tether hums in my core, brightening like an ember stoked to life, though distrust gnaws at me. I can’t help wanting to fling myself into his arms or lash out in fury. The intensity of the moment almost destroys me.

“Sariah,” Kaelith murmurs, voice low enough to break my heart. He looks haunted, golden gaze shimmering with regret. “You’re alive.”

I bark a harsh laugh, blinking away tears. “You thought I wouldn’t be?” My staff trembles in my grip. My entire body shakes. “After you left… I—” My voice cracks. Pain surges. “I was alone. I didn’t know if you betrayed me or if illusions forced you. I—”I can’t speak around the lump in my throat.

He lifts a clawed hand, half-reaching toward me. “I’m sorry,” he breathes, wings trembling. “Nerezza twisted my mind. I thought I was protecting you by yielding. I see now how wrong I was.” His runes flicker painfully, as if each word costs him. “Please… let me explain.”

My tears spill down my cheeks, heart pounding. Relief floods me—he didn’t betray me by choice.Yet the sting of heartbreak lingers, fueling a bitterness I can’t fully repress. “Explain,” I demand, knuckles whitening around the staff. “And it better be good.”

He exhales, stepping closer, each movement cautious. “She showed me visions—nightmares where you became the next Nyxari, with Drayveth condemning you. My old guilt made me believe I could spare you by surrendering.” He clenches his fists, tail lashing. “But illusions are illusions. I broke free eventually. All I want now is to stand by you, if you’ll have me.”

The raw anguish in his tone batters my defenses. My brand thrums with longing.He returned for me.My chest constricts with a swirl of fury, relief, and unstoppable love. “You left me in the worst moment,” I whisper, voice ragged. “I cried your name, but you walked away. Do you have any idea how much it hurt?”

His jaw tightens, runes flickering in agony. “I know,” he murmurs, taking another step. “I failed you. I let illusions overshadow our bond. I can’t undo that, but I’m here now, ready to fight for you, for us. If you’ll let me.”

My tears turn into a shaky laugh, bitterness echoing. “Let you? I spent days wandering these cursed mountains, believing I’d lost everything. Meanwhile, you wrestled illusions and decided to come back only after you realized your mistake?”

He flinches, wings drooping in shame. “I deserve your anger. But I would do anything to prove that I choose you, Sariah. Not illusions, not Nerezza’s false promises.”

Silence stretches, both of us breathing hard, hearts pounding in tandem. My chest aches, brand flaring. My fury simmers, but beneath it lies an overwhelming relief that he’s alive, that he wants to stand with me.I love him.I can’t deny that. But the betrayal still stings. “Let’s settle this after we deal with whatever fresh horror is about to happen,” I mutter, noticing how the dusk thickens with a strange hush.

He nods, tension thrumming in his posture. “Yes,” he murmurs. “I sense… something’s coming.”

As if on cue, an echoing roar shatters the quiet. The ancient temple ruins reverberate with an unholy clangor. I spin, staff raised, brand igniting in silver arcs. Kaelith steps up beside me, runes glowing fiercely, tail lashing. Across the courtyard, two monstrous shapes emerge from behind toppled pillars—twisted gargoyles, eyes glowing with malevolent light. My stomach twists.Nerezza’s brood.

They shriek, bounding toward us with claws extended. My instincts flare.We must fight.But even as we ready spells, the thunder of approaching footsteps resonates behind the brood. In a swirl of cloaks, Drayveth and half a dozen purna appear, staves crackling with necromantic power. My heart clenches.Of course Drayveth is here too.

“Excellent,” Drayveth snarls, stepping forward. “You’re both in one place. Makes it easier to end this fiasco.” His allies spread out in a loose semicircle, staff tips glowing with swirling greenish energy. Their eyes flick with malice between Kaelith and me, as if deciding who to strike first.

My jaw sets.We’re caught in a vise—Nerezza’s brood on one side, Drayveth’s purna on the other.Tension spikes, the brand pulsing in alarm. Kaelith’s wings bristle, runes flaring. “This is madness,” he rumbles, voice echoing. “We have a common enemy. Why do you insist on labeling Sariah a Nyxari instead of helping us stop Nerezza?”

Drayveth lifts his chin, gaze cold. “Because the coven demands it. Your illusions threaten to unleash more chaos than we can tolerate. Sariah refused to renounce you, so she’s condemned. And you, gargoyle, are a threat from the moment you drew breath. The brood is merely a symptom of the disease that you represent.”

Anger blazes in my chest. I open my mouth to retort, but the brood screeches, leaping forward. Their scaly bodies slam into Drayveth’s front line, sending two purna sprawling. Chaos explodes. Bolts of necromantic power light the gloom, scorching columns and rubble. The twisted gargoyles swipe at the purna, rending staves in half. One purna screams, pinned under a clawed foot.

Sariah curses, raising her staff. She hurls a wave of shimmering silver magic that knocks one gargoyle off the pinned purna. The tension in her face breaks my heart; she tries to save Drayveth’s people despite their condemnation. My runes hum in admiration.She’s so damned good.

I lunge at the second gargoyle, wings snapping. My tail cracks across its flank, throwing it away from the cluster of purna. The creature snarls, eyes blazing. Pain rips through me as it rakes my shoulder with serrated claws, but I roar, stone creeping over the wound. I sense Sariah channeling her brand again, a faint swirl of synergy bridging us. My limbs surge with renewed force, enough to fling the gargoyle across the courtyard. It smashes into broken columns with a sickening crunch.One down.

A fresh wave of shrieking echoes. The brood’s reinforcements appear from behind the temple’s half-collapsed wall—five more monstrous gargoyles, each howling for blood. My stomach drops.We’re badly outnumbered.Drayveth’s purna recoil, forming a defensive ring. Sariah and I pivot, meeting each other’s gaze in the flicker of chaotic light.We must unite or we all die.

She sucks in a breath, tears glimmering in her eyes, brand blazing. “I can’t let them kill you,” she whispers fiercely, “even if I hate that you left.” Her vulnerability slashes my heart, but I nod, stepping shoulder to shoulder with her.

Drayveth snarls across the courtyard, staff raised. “Stand aside, Sariah! If you keep protecting that gargoyle, you’re no better than Nerezza’s brood.”

“Stop!” Sariah snaps, silver arcs dancing around her staff. “We have bigger threats than your vendetta. Put aside your hatred, Drayveth, or we’ll all be slaughtered.”

Her words ring with authority, but Drayveth’s expression twists. “Then so be it. If the brood kills you, at least the coven is rid of your potential Nyxari taint.” He slams his staff down, unleashing a wave of necromantic fire that arcs around the courtyard, aiming for both me and the brood.

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