Page 59 of Shadows Rising

Mouse presses against my leg as we follow Kieran through corridors that suddenly feel too narrow, his violet eyes sharp with concern. The missing bond pulses like an infected wound, responding to whatever tension is building in the air around us.

The War Room buzzes with grim energy when we arrive. Revna stands rigid beside the ancient table, silver armor catching torchlight, maps spread before her like battle scars. Symbols mark locations I don’t recognize, but they feel important. Dangerous.

“Tell them,” Kieran commands, and something in Revna’s expression goes knife-sharp.

“Our scouts in the northern mountains sent word.” Her voice stays level, but there’s steel underneath. “Alekir’s forces are mobilizing. And they’re not alone.”

The name hits like ice water in my veins. Bob immediately shifts into defensive positioning while Patricia’s notes become increasingly frantic, pages flipping with supernatural speed.

“Not alone how?” Malrik’s question carries weight I don’t understand, like he already knows the answer will be terrible.

Revna’s gaze finds his, something dark passing between them. Shared knowledge. Shared fear. “The corruption isn’t just spreading anymore. It’schangingpeople.”

“Into what?” The question slips out before I can stop it, though I’m not sure I want the answer.

“Something else,” Kieran says quietly. “Something that shouldn’t exist.”

The foreign chaos magicripsthrough me again, buckling my knees. Finn catches me before I can fall, but I feel his alarm through our bond like a live wire.

“We move now,” Kieran continues, eyes fixed on me with uncomfortable intensity. “While we still have the advantage.”

“What advantage?” I ask, fighting to stay upright. “What exactly do we have that he doesn’t?”

His expression goes granite-hard. “You. Bonded. Here. Stronger than you’ve ever been.”

But am I? The incomplete bondscreamsin my chest, a constant reminder of everything that’s broken, everything that’s missing. And this chaos magic tearing through me, I’m not controlling it. It’s controlling me.

Aspen shifts beside us, his usual stillness cracking. There’s something in his face—knowledge, maybe, or fear—that makes my anxiety spike higher.

“Aspen?” I start, but he’s already moving toward the door, movements too controlled, too careful.

“Need air,” he says without looking back, but it sounds more likeescapethan breath.

Mouse makes a distressed sound, ears tracking Aspen’s retreat. Bob starts to follow, then hesitates, torn between duties.

The others remain focused on maps and battle plans, but somethingpullsme toward Aspen. Not the bond exactly, something deeper. Instinct maybe, or the certainty that whatever he knows, whatever he’s running from, it’s about to change everything.

“Be right back,” I murmur to Finn, who squeezes my hand once before letting go.

As I slip out after Aspen, shadows trailing like worried children, one thought hammers through my skull:

Whatever he’s hiding, I need to know it. Because this isn’t just about missing bonds or uncontrolled magic anymore.

This is about keeping us all alive long enough to figure out what the hell we’re fighting for.

Chapter 30

Aspen

The war room presses in on me from all sides.

Too many voices. Too much tension. Too mucheverythingcrackling through the air like lightning waiting to strike.

I slip out, my steps deliberately measured despite the urge to run. The moment the door closes behind me, I exhale like I’ve been holding my breath for hours. My skin still hums from Kaia’s wild magic, from the chaos tearing through her that I can’t fix, from bonds that ache with incompleteness and the weight of everything spiraling beyond my control.

Fromher.

My feet carry me toward the library without conscious thought. It’s quiet there. A place where knowledge sits patient on shelves, where answers exist even if I can’t always find them. Maybe if I sit still long enough, I’ll figure out what the hell is happening to me.

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