Vengeance

Chapter 6

We ride hard and fast, the night air whipping against my face as we flee the castle grounds. Hooves thunder against the cobblestone streets, a frantic rhythm of desperation and determination. My body sways, exhaustion clawing at me, but Elric’s firm grip keeps me upright.

Relin races ahead with effortless speed, his powerful strides cutting through the darkened town. Behind us, the pounding of hooves signals our companions—Lettie, Arianna, and the other horse, Lorde—keeping close.

“If we can get out of the city and into the forest, we can lose the guards!” Elric calls over the wind. “Calista and I know the terrain well enough to hide our presence.”

His words are sharp, urgent, but a pit of dread forms in my stomach as I glance ahead.

Torches flare to life atop the stone walls. Shadows shift. The city gate groans as it begins to close.

“We’re not going to make it,” I whisper, barely able to keep my head up.

But you can make it.

A voice, soft as silk yet heavy as iron, slithers through my mind.

I wince, squeezing my eyes shut as the pressure of it fills my skull.

Just imagine the gate open. Your magic will bend your thoughts to fruition. Feel the magic flow through you.

A shiver crawls down my spine. The words wrap around me like a whisper of fate, a command from something both foreign and familiar.

I have no time to question it.

I close my eyes.

The image comes easily—too easily. The heavy gate ceases its descent, reversing its path. I can feel the ancient wood groaning, resisting, but something within me pushes against its will, bending it to my own.

A startled cry rings out.

My eyes snap open.

The gate stands wide once more, as if unseen hands had forced it open. Guards scramble in confusion, shouting as they struggle against an invisible force. No matter how they push, pull, or fight—it will not close.

My breath catches in my throat.

What did I just do?

Well done, Master. Now rest. I will protect you until we meet.

The voice echoes in my mind one last time, fading like the last notes of a lullaby.

A deep weariness overtakes me, heavier than before, pulling me under like a tide. My body sags against Elric’s chest, my limbs numb, my thoughts slipping beyond reach.

I hear him curse under his breath, feel the vibrations of his voice rumbling through me. But I can’t hold on anymore.

Darkness takes me before I can make sense of any of it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wake to the sound of hushed, urgent voices and the weight of tension pressing against the air like an oncoming storm. The scent of damp earth and pine needles fills my lungs as I stir, blinking the sleep from my eyes. The canopy above sways gently, the moonlight filtering through the shifting leaves in ghostly beams.

We made it.

The forest surrounds us, dark and vast, a sanctuary carved from shadows. Yet, something feels off.

I push myself upright, my limbs sluggish, my body heavy with exhaustion. My head throbs, remnants of whatever strange magic I had wielded still lingering like a fading ember. My gaze sharpens on the scene unfolding before me.

Elric stands rigid, his sword raised, the steel glinting ominously in the pale moonlight.

A stranger stands before him, unarmed but utterly unafraid. He is tall and poised, his hands raised in a gesture of peace, yet there is something undeniably powerful about him—something otherworldly.

"Who are you? How did you find us?" Elric demands, his voice a low growl, his stance protective.

The stranger exhales softly, a sound that is more resignation than fear. "I mean you no harm," he says, his voice smooth as silk, carrying a quiet authority that makes the hairs on my arms stand on end. "I have come for my master. I can go nowhere without her now that she is awakened."

His eyes shift toward me, and something deep inside my chest clenches.

A pull. A need.

I don’t mean to stand, don’t mean to move forward, yet my body does so of its own accord. My feet carry me to him, as if compelled by an invisible force, drawn to him like the tide to the moon.

The moment I step closer, a warmth blooms in my chest, foreign yet familiar, ancient yet new.

"Do not be afraid, Master," a voice—his voice—whispers through my mind, though his lips do not move. "A newly formed bond between master and star is a strong thing. You will long to be near me, just as I am bound to you."

I barely register Elric and Lettie’s hands gripping my arms, trying to pull me back. But it is futile. I am rooted in place, my soul bound to a force I do not yet understand.

I stare at him, drinking in his features. He is breathtaking—his white hair falling just past his ears, shifting with the wind like strands of woven starlight. His eyes, impossibly blue, seem to hold galaxies within them, and within his left pupil, a red star gleams, pulsing like a heartbeat.

"What is your name?" I ask, my voice quiet, reverent.

The stranger smiles, a hint of amusement curving his lips. "I have no name until you give me one, Master."

His voice—like bells tolling across a distant sky—sends a shiver down my spine. My breath catches as an invisible force guides my hand forward, pressing it against his chest. His skin is warm beneath my palm, thrumming with an energy that is neither human nor earthly.

I do not think about the words before I speak them. They flow from me as if whispered by the stars themselves, as if etched into my soul long before this moment.

"Oh star fallen from the cosmos, made for me, I will etch your name into our souls. You shall now be known as Ewen."

A pulse of light erupts from where my hand touches his chest, illuminating the darkened forest with a brilliance that makes the trees cast elongated shadows. The glow swirls around us in ribbons of silver and gold, weaving between us like celestial threads.

A sharp warmth coils around my wrist.

I look down and gasp as luminous chains—formed of pure light—wrap around Ewen’s neck and my arm, binding us together in a way that is neither painful nor restrictive, but absolute.

Ewen exhales, his shoulders relaxing, as if settling into a place he has long awaited. "It is finished," he murmurs, his voice laced with quiet reverence.

As suddenly as it began, the glow fades, leaving only the cool darkness of the forest behind.

I stumble back, my mind snapping back to awareness, and whip around to Lettie, my heart pounding.

“What just happened?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper, bewilderment crashing over me in waves.

Lettie, Elric, and the others stare at me in stunned silence, the weight of the unknown pressing down on all of us.

Ewen merely smiles.