Chapter Three: What the Light Chose
1293 Words
“Lena.”
The voice came from far away.
“Lena, open your eyes.”
She tried. Her eyelids felt heavy, like stone. Her chest ached, not sharp now, but deep like something had settled inside her and refused to leave.
She groaned softly.
“She’s waking,” someone said.
A different voice replied, calm but tense. “Be careful.”
Lena opened her eyes.
The ceiling above her was not a ceiling. It was glass, showing a moving sky dark blue with slow, drifting stars. She lay on a narrow bed covered in dark silk sheets.
She turned her head.
Kael sat beside her.
His mask was gone.
Her breath caught.
His face was sharper without it high cheekbones, strong nose, lips set in a tight line. His silver eyes were tired. Worried.
“You’re alive,” she said.
His mouth twitched. “You sound disappointed.”
“I thought maybe I died,” she said. “This feels… worse.”
He let out a slow breath. “How do you feel?”
She searched her body.
Weak. Heavy. Warm in places that shouldn’t be warm.
“Like I swallowed lightning,” she said. “And it’s still inside me.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“Where am I?”
“My chambers,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “Your… bedroom?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
Silence stretched.
Then she said, “Did anything happen while I was unconscious?”
“Yes,” he said.
Her heart jumped. “What kind of yes?”
He stood and walked to the window, his back to her.
“My brother did not kill you,” he said. “Which means he plans to use you.”
“That’s comforting,” she muttered.
Kael turned. “Lena… what happened in that room was not normal.”
“I noticed,” she said. “People don’t usually glow and almost explode.”
“The light came from you,” he said. “But it answered me.”
She frowned. “What does that mean?”
He hesitated.
“Say it,” she said. “I’d rather know.”
Kael looked at her again.
“The magic recognized a bond,” he said.
Her stomach dropped. “Bond?”
“Yes.”
“Like… friendship?” she asked weakly.
“No.”
“Like enemies?”
“No.”
She swallowed. “Like lovers?”
He didn’t answer.
Her silence grew loud.
“You’re joking,” she said.
“I wish I were.”
She pushed herself up, ignoring the way her body protested.
“This is insane,” she said. “We just met.”
“In this realm,” he said quietly, “bonds do not care about time.”
She laughed, sharp and broken. “Great. I cross worlds and accidentally marry a cursed prince.”
“I did not say marry,” he snapped.
“Oh, so there are levels to this nightmare?”
He stepped closer.
“This bond,” he said, “is forbidden.”
“Of course it is.”
“It links your life to mine.”
Her blood went cold. “Meaning?”
“If I die,” he said, “you die.”
She stared at him.
“If you are hurt,” he continued, “I feel it.”
She remembered the pain in her chest.
“And if I’m hurt,” she whispered.
His voice was rough. “So am I.”
She sank back onto the bed.
“This is bad,” she said. “This is very bad.”
“Yes.”
“And your brother knows.”
“Yes.”
“And he hates you.”
“Yes.”
“And he wants power.”
“Yes.”
She let out a weak laugh. “So I’m leverage.”
Kael didn’t deny it.
“I didn’t ask for this,” she said.
“Neither did I.”
She looked at him. Really looked.
“You’re not a monster,” she said.
His eyes flickered.
“Everyone here thinks I am,” he said.
“Do you?”
He didn’t answer.
A knock came at the door.
Kael stiffened.
“Enter,” he said.
An older woman stepped inside. Her hair was white, her eyes dark and knowing. She wore long robes covered in symbols.
She looked at Lena.
“So,” the woman said. “The human wakes.”
“I have a name,” Lena said.
The woman smiled slightly. “Good. You’ll need it.”
“Lena,” Kael said. “This is High Seer Maelis.”
Maelis walked closer, studying Lena like a book.
“You should be dead,” Maelis said.
“People keep saying that,” Lena replied. “I’m starting to feel rude for surviving.”
Maelis’s lips twitched.
“The bond saved you,” Maelis said. “But it also sealed your fate.”
Lena closed her eyes. “There it is.”
“What fate?” she asked.
Maelis looked at Kael. “Tell her.”
Kael’s voice was low. “The bond will grow.”
“Grow how?” Lena asked.
“Stronger,” Maelis said. “More intimate. More dangerous.”
Lena’s cheeks warmed. “Define intimate.”
Maelis raised an eyebrow. “Emotions will bleed. Desires will echo.”
Kael turned away.
“And,” Maelis added, “if the bond is rejected—”
“Rejected?” Lena asked quickly. “Yes, please, let’s do that.”
“You both die,” Maelis finished.
Silence crashed down.
Lena laughed once. It sounded wrong.
“Wow,” she said. “That’s a terrible option.”
“You see now,” Kael said, “why you must stay hidden.”
“Hidden until dawn?” she asked.
“No,” Maelis said. “Hidden until the bond decides.”
“Decides what?”
Maelis leaned closer.
“Which of you will break first.”
A scream echoed in the distance.
Not fear.
Pain.
Kael went still.
“That was from the lower halls,” he said.
Maelis nodded. “Your brother is testing the magic.”
“On who?” Lena asked.
Maelis looked at her.
“Other humans who slipped through weaker doors,” she said. “None survived.”
Lena’s hands curled into fists.
“That’s wrong,” she said. “You can’t just let him”
Kael grabbed her wrist.
“You cannot confront him,” he said urgently. “You are weak.”
She yanked her hand back. “I know I’m weak.”
Then she stood.
Her legs shook, but she stood.
“But I’m not useless.”
The room trembled.
A soft glow flickered around her hands.
Kael stared.
Maelis inhaled sharply. “Impossible.”
Lena looked down at herself, terrified.
“I didn’t mean to do that,” she said.
“But you did,” Kael said.
The door burst open.
The crimson prince stood there, clapping slowly.
“Well done,” he said. “She shines even brighter awake.”
Kael stepped in front of Lena.
“Leave,” he growled.
His brother smiled. “You don’t get to command me anymore.”
Guards poured into the room.
Maelis whispered urgently, “The bond is reacting to danger.”
Lena’s chest burned.
“Kael,” she whispered, scared. “I can feel him.”
“I know,” Kael said. “Hold on to me.”
The crimson prince tilted his head.
“Let’s see,” he said softly, “how much pain a bond can take.”
He raised his hand.
Magic flared.
Lena screamed as the light inside her exploded outward.
Kael cried out with her.
And the world shattered.
- Writer
