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Her gaze lingered on him for a moment before she nodded, her attention returning to the controller. “I guess we’ll see.”

The quiet hum of the ship was broken by a sudden, sharp pulse. Zar’Ryn felt it first—ajolt from the bracelet on his wrist, like a static shock but deeper, resonating through his bones. He froze, his hands tightening on the controls as the pulse spread through his arm and into his chest. Asecond later, Elara let out a startledgasp.

“What—” she began, but her words cut off as another pulse rippled through the cabin.

The bracelets on both their wrists glowed, the intricate designs etched into the metal lighting up with a faint, otherworldly energy. The hum of the ship seemed to deepen, syncing with the rhythmic pulse of the bracelets.

Zar’Ryn’s instincts screamed danger and every part of him went on alert. He turned toward Elara, his voice sharp. “What did you do?”

“I—Idon’t know!” she stammered, her hands hovering over the controller. Her eyes were wide, darting between the device and the glowing bracelet on her wrist. “I was adjusting the settings, and then—this happened!”

Before Zar’Ryn could respond, the ship’s navigation system flickered. The trajectory display blurred, the coordinates shifting erratically. Anew course appeared on the screen, one that neither of them had entered.

“What is this?” Zar’Ryn demanded, his voice a growl as he tried to override the system. His fingers flew over the controls, but the ship refused to respond. “The system is locked. Icannot change our course.”

Elara leaned closer, her breathing quick and uneven. “It’s the bracelets,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “They’re doing this. Idon’t know how, but… they’re pulling us somewhere.”

The pull grew stronger, an unrelenting force that settled deep in their chests. Zar’Ryn gritted his teeth, his body rigid as he fought against the instinct to surrender to it. It wasn’t just a physical sensation—it was a compulsion, aneed so fierce it made his muscles tremble.

“We have to fight it,” he said, though his voice lacked conviction. His grip on the controls tightened, his knuckles turning white as he tried to wrest control of the ship. But it was futile. The pull was too strong.

Elara clutched the armrests of her seat, her face pale. “I don’t think we can,” she said, her voice trembling. “It’s not just the ship. It’s us. The bond… it’s driving this.”

The glowing patterns on the bracelets pulsed in unison, the light growing brighter with each beat. The pull became unbearable, aforce that demanded obedience. Zar’Ryn’s resistance wavered, his body betraying him as his hands moved to adjust the ship’s settings. The ship’s engines roared, accelerating as it veered off its original course and toward an unknown destination.

“Zar’Ryn…” Elara’s voice was laced with fear and awe as she stared out the viewport. “Where are we going?”

“I do not know,” he admitted, his tonegrim.

An endless time passed. Time stretched and blurred, the silence pressing in like the weight of an unseen force. Every breath felt heavier, each second elongated by the quiet dread curling in Zar’Ryn’s belly. The ship drifted through the void, its course dictated by something beyond their control, beyond his reach. The hum of the engines had become a distant murmur, barely distinguishable from the pounding of his own pulse. Then, without warning, gravity tookhold.

The ship shuddered as it descended, its hull groaning in protest against the gravitational pull of the planet. Outside the viewport, the barren landscape stretched endlessly, jagged and dark, illuminated by faint, flickering lights scattered across the surface. The lights pulsed in a rhythm that mirrored the glow of the bracelets, asilent, eerie synchronization that set Elara’s nerves onedge.

“What kind of place is this?” she whispered, her breath fogging the glass as she leaned closer.

Zar’Ryn didn’t answer immediately. His focus remained on the controls as he guided the ship through the atmosphere, his jaw tight with concentration. “Uncharted,” he said finally. “It is not on any map I have seen.”

The ship’s sensors blared a warning, and Zar’Ryn’s gaze flicked to the console. “We are being scanned,” he muttered. His fingers danced over the controls, attempting to block the intrusion, but the system resisted. “I cannot override it. Something has locked onto us.”

A beam of light shot up from the planet’s surface, encasing the ship in a glowing cocoon. The vessel lurched, its engines powering down as the beam pulled it steadily downward. Zar’Ryn’s grip tightened on the controls, but the ship was unresponsive.

“We’re being dragged in!” Elara’s voice rose in alarm, her hands gripping the edges of her seat. “What do we do?”

“Hold on,” Zar’Ryn growled, his gaze locked on the viewport as the planet’s surface rushed closer. The ship descended through a dense layer of mist before breaking through into a vast underground cavern. The beam released them gently onto a smooth, illuminated platform.

For a moment, the ship’s interior was silent, save for the faint pulsing of the bracelets. Zar’Ryn glanced at Elara, her wide eyes reflecting his own unease. “Are you all right?”

She nodded slowly, her voice trembling. “I think so. What just happened?”

Before Zar’Ryn could answer, the cavern around them began to shift. Bioluminescent veins of light spread across the walls and ceiling, casting the space in a soft, ethereal glow. Faint tones filled the air, almost musical, and a shimmeringdome materialized around the platform, creating a breathable atmosphere.

“The air is changing,” Zar’Ryn noted, checking the ship’s sensors. “It is safe to exit.”

He hesitated for only a moment before he unstrapped himself and stood. He glanced at Elara, who was still gripping the armrests of her seat, her face pale but determined. “Stay close,” he said, his voice firm but calm. “We do not know what is out there.”

Elara nodded, swallowing hard as she rose shakily to her feet. The bracelets on their wrists pulsed steadily, the glow almost imperceptible in the ambient light of the cavern, but enough to remind them of their constant connection. She followed Zar’Ryn to the ship’s hatch, her steps hesitant yet steady.

The moment the hatch opened, arush of cool, breathable air washed over them, carrying a faint, metallic tang that lingered in the back of their throats. Zar’Ryn descended first, his movements controlled and deliberate, his sharp gaze scanning the platform for any signs of danger. Elara followed, her eyes darting nervously around the cavern.

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