The fortress whispered at night.
Stone creaked without cause, wind slipped through hidden cracks, and sometimes—if you listened too long—it almost sounded like voices. Not malevolent. Just... mourning.
Kael didn't sleep much.
He walked the halls instead, his steps soft, sword strapped across his back though no threat had come. It wasn't enemies he feared. It was what lingered inside him—the weight of new truths, of memories waking where the curse used to lie dormant.
He paused outside the war room door, the one Elira had warded with flame runes. She was still inside, pouring over Norien's records long after he'd given up for the night.
He hesitated, then knocked once.
"Come in," came her voice, faint but alert.
He entered. The room smelled of ink, dust, and faint magic. She sat cross-legged on the floor, parchments strewn in a half-circle around her. Her hair was loose, dark waves falling around her shoulders, her eyes sunken but sharp.
"You haven't eaten," he said quietly.
"I forgot."
Kael crouched beside her, reaching into his satchel for the dried fruit and hard bread he'd set aside. He handed it to her without a word. She accepted it with a nod, chewing slowly, distracted even as she ate.
He watched her. "What did you find?"
She swallowed. "It's worse than we thought."
Kael's body tensed. "How?"
Elira gestured to the parchment at her side. "The Woken weren't born from nothing. They were made—from ritual, yes, but from sacrifice too. Willing ones at first. Then forced."
Kael's brow furrowed. "We knew that."
"No." Her voice tightened. "They weren't trying to create monsters. They were trying to build vessels. Containers for power. The first ones were unstable. But over time... they refined it. They weren't just making soldiers. They were making gods."
The silence that followed was sharp.
Kael finally asked, "And the Brand?"
She looked up. "The Brand marks the one who survived the ritual. The one who didn't break. You weren't just cursed, Kael. You were chosen."
He sat back, reeling. "By who?"
She didn't answer.
He laughed once, bitter. "So what—you think I'm some weapon wrapped in prophecy?"
Elira met his gaze. "I think you're the only one who walked into the fire and came back sane."
"Sane?" he echoed. "You think this"—he touched his chest, the mark burning faint under his skin—"feels like sanity?"
She stood. "It feels like strength."
Kael looked away, jaw tight. "You're wrong."
"No," she said, stepping closer. "I've seen what the Woken do to people. You still fight it. You still feel. That's not a curse. That's will."
He stood too, suddenly close. "And what if I lose that?"
"Then I'll remind you who you are."
They stared at each other, heat humming in the space between them.
But before either could say more, a sound broke the stillness.
A whisper—not from memory, not from magic. Real.
A voice.
"Help... me..."
Kael turned, blade drawn.
Elira held her breath.
It came again, soft and ragged, from beyond the archway at the back of the chamber—where the stones had crumbled into a forgotten stairwell leading deeper underground.
Kael didn't hesitate.
"Elira—stay here."
But she was already following him.
They descended together, torchlight slicing the dark. The air grew colder, heavier, until even their breath turned visible.
At the bottom was a locked iron gate, old and rusted, but intact. Behind it—
A figure.
Curled in the far corner of a narrow cell.
"Elira," Kael breathed. "She's alive."
Elira stepped forward, her voice steady. "Who are you?"
The girl—no older than twenty—lifted her head slowly. Her eyes glowed faintly with a silver sheen. Not Woken. Not entirely.
"My name is Serin," she whispered. "I was the last vessel. But I escaped."
Kael glanced at Elira, heart pounding.
Serin looked between them. "They're coming," she said. "The Woken kings. They know the Brand has awakened. And they'll burn everything to get it back."
The firelight trembled.
And outside, far in the distance, a horn sounded.
One long, low note.
Kael's grip on his sword tightened.
Elira's hand found his without hesitation.
The war wasn't coming.
It was already here.