She left without another word, stepping over the corpse like it was debris. I stood alone in the training ground, blood cooling on my hands, the cultist's words echoing in my mind.
You'll help us, whether you know it or not.
My hand throbbed where I'd touched the wound on my ribs. When I looked down, the gash was already closing, golden light knitting flesh back together with impossible speed. But the blood that had spilled remained on the ground, glowing faintly, creating patterns that looked almost like words in a language that was almost familiar.
An hour later, I stood before the Gate, hands pressed to its cracked surface. The moment my palms made contact, I felt them, all four princes, their attention focused on me with laser intensity.
But something was different. I could feel their individual presences more clearly now, each one distinct. Kaelen's dragon fire, burning hot with barely contained rage. Flynn's wolf hunger, pacing and restless. Thane's bear sorrow, deep as oceans. Elias's phoenix song, weaving through possibilities.
And underneath it all, something new. Their concern.
They'd felt me get injured. Felt the corrupted magic trying to burrow into my flesh. Felt me take a life.
Little killer,Flynn's voice whispered through the connection, but there was approval in it, pride even.
You defended yourself,Thane rumbled, his presence wrapping around me like armor.There's no shame in survival.
The Order grows desperate,Elias sang, his words carrying prophecy.They feel the ending approaching and want to control its shape. But they don't understand that chaos cannot be directed, only unleashed.
Kaelen's presence pressed closest, dragon fire warming the cold that had settled in my chest since the attack.
You're afraid,he said, not mockingly but with something that might have been understanding.Afraid of how easy it was. Afraid of what you're becoming.
Yes.No point in lying. They could feel everything through our connection.
Good. Fear keeps you human. But don't let it make you weak. The Order will come again, in greater numbers. And next time?—
The connection flared suddenly, all four of their presences surging forward with an intensity that made me gasp. Through the Gate, I felt something else. Not just their consciousness but their hunger. Raw, desperate, centuries of starvation focused on a single point.
My blood.
The drops still glowing on the training ground stones. They could sense it through the Gate, taste it in ways that had nothing to do with physical senses. And they wanted it with a need that bordered on madness.
So much waste,Flynn growled.Your blood spilled on stone when it should be?—
Enough.Kaelen's command cut through his brother's words, but I'd felt what Flynn hadn't said. When it should be willing given. When it should be shared freely, not stolen by the Gate or spilled in violence.
The Order will attack again,Kaelen continued, his control reasserted but fragile.They're drawn to the Gate's instability like moths to flame. You need to be ready.
Teach me.The words left before I could stop them.If they're coming, if I have to fight, teach me to use what I'm becoming.
Silence stretched through the connection, heavy with possibility.
That would require trust,Thane said finally.Real trust. Not the cautious dance we've been doing.
It would require choice,Elias added.Conscious, deliberate choice to accept what we offer.
It would change you,Flynn warned, though his eagerness bled through.More than you're already changing. Once you start down that path, there's no going back.
Kaelen's presence wrapped around me, dragon fire that didn't burn but beckoned.
Choose, Aria. Not them. Not us. Not yet. Just choose to survive what's coming. Choose to be strong enough to face whatever the Order throws at you. Choose to live.
My hands pressed harder against the Gate, golden veins flaring with light. In the distance, I heard footstep, other Keepers coming to monitor my communion. Soon, I'd have to pull back, return to pretense and careful lies.
But in this moment, connected to four beings who knew me better than anyone living, I made a choice.
Teach me to fight like you would. Teach me to be what I need to be. Not for the Citadel. Not for duty. For survival.
