His To Unleash

The Echoes In Stone

The air around the old building pulsed with an energy that prickled Aria’s skin. As the golden-pink hues of sunset bathed the crooked structure, it seemed to lean toward her, as if whispering secrets meant only for her ears.

She stepped lightly, her boots crunching on gravel and broken glass. The place was abandoned, once a town hall perhaps, now draped in vines and mystery. And yet, Leira had insisted this was where they’d find what Veyruhn wanted hidden most.

Leira was already there when Aria arrived, crouched near a stone altar half-buried in dust and old papers. Her dark curls were pulled back in a loose tie, eyes sharp and alert. She looked up with a nod.

“You made it,” Leira said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“You said you found something.” Aria’s gaze swept the room. “Something Kael wouldn’t want me to see.”

Leira hesitated, then handed her a brittle parchment pulled from the broken cabinet. Aria carefully unfolded it, revealing a crude drawing of an emblem she’d seen once before—on Kael’s ring.

“What is this?”

“It’s a seal,” Leira replied. “From the first blood pact made in Veyruhn. This building is where it started.”

Aria’s breath caught. She remembered Kael’s eyes, burning gold in the darkness, the strange pull she felt whenever he was near.

“There’s more,” Leira added, motioning toward the back wall where faint markings were barely visible beneath layers of dust and moss. “They called it the Unleashing. It happened here, a hundred years ago. The last time someone like you came to this city.”

“Someone like me?”

“A Seeker.” Leira’s voice dropped lower. “You’re not just here for school, Aria. You’re here because Veyruhn called you. And Kael... Kael’s part of why.”

Aria’s pulse quickened. The walls around her seemed to close in, the floorboards creaking under secrets too heavy to carry. She felt something shift inside her—a strange recognition.

Before she could respond, Leira touched her arm. “You need to leave before he finds us here.”

Aria narrowed her eyes. “You’re going to tell him, aren’t you?”

Leira looked away. “I have to. He’ll know anyway. But I can soften the truth.”

Aria stepped back. “You’re working both sides.”

Leira’s expression was unreadable. “I’m trying to keep you alive.”

That night, Leira slipped through the moonlit halls of the manor and into the west wing Kael often kept to himself. She didn’t knock.

He was already waiting.

“She saw the altar,” she said simply.

Kael’s jaw tightened. “Did she touch it?”

“No. But she knows more than she should.”

He turned toward the fireplace, shadows dancing across his face. “Then she’s more dangerous than I thought.”

Leira took a step forward. “She’s not dangerous. She’s awakening. The city responds to her.”

Kael’s golden eyes flashed. “That’s exactly what makes her dangerous.”

Silence stretched between them.

“She’s not your enemy, Kael.”

He turned slowly. “Then who is she, Leira?”

She swallowed. “The one we were warned about.”

The flames roared in the hearth behind him. Outside, the winds of Veyruhn began to howl.