Chapter Seven: When Dawn Touches Skin
1056 Words
The first light of dawn slipped through the tall glass windows like a warning.
Lena felt it before she saw it.
Her chest burned.
She gasped and sat up, clutching the thin blanket around her body. “Something’s wrong.”
Kael was already awake. He stood near the window, shadows clinging to him like breath. When he turned, his eyes were sharp, alert and afraid.
“It’s dawn,” he said quietly. “It shouldn’t hurt you.”
“But it does.” Lena pressed her palm to her heart. Her skin felt hot. Too hot. “It feels like… like something is pulling me apart.”
Kael crossed the room in three long steps and dropped to his knees in front of her. He didn’t touch her. He never touched her unless she asked.
“Tell me exactly where it hurts.”
“Everywhere,” she whispered. “And here.” She pointed to her wrist.
Kael’s breath stopped.
A faint silver line glowed beneath her skin, curling like a living thread around her wrist.
“The bond mark,” he said.
Lena stared. “That wasn’t there before.”
“No,” he replied. “It shouldn’t appear this soon.”
She swallowed. “Soon for what?”
Kael didn’t answer.
The pain surged again. Lena cried out, falling forward. Kael caught her this time, pulling her against his chest.
The pain eased.
Both of them froze.
Kael’s arms tightened before he could stop himself.
“I—” he began.
“Don’t let go,” Lena said quickly. “Please.”
He didn’t.
The mark on her wrist brightened.
Kael sucked in a breath through his teeth. “The bond is changing you.”
Lena looked up at him. “Changing how?”
“You’re becoming… anchored,” he said slowly. “To this realm.”
Her heart pounded. “You mean I can’t go back?”
“Not yet,” he said. Then softer, “Maybe not ever.”
The door slammed open.
Guards flooded the room, armored in crimson and black. Steel flashed. Magic crackled.
Kael moved instantly, placing himself between Lena and the guards.
“Stand down,” he growled.
A familiar voice cut through the tension.
“Brother. Always so dramatic at dawn.”
Prince Eldric stepped inside, dressed in ceremonial red, a smile playing on his lips. His eyes went straight to Lena’s glowing wrist.
“There it is,” Eldric said softly. “The proof.”
Kael’s voice dropped. “You planned this.”
Eldric shrugged. “I anticipated it.”
Lena tried to stand, but her legs shook. Kael steadied her.
Eldric’s gaze sharpened. “Ah. She’s already weakening. The realm is claiming her.”
“What do you want?” Kael snapped.
Eldric clasped his hands behind his back. “The court has voted.”
Kael laughed, sharp and bitter. “The court doesn’t vote at dawn.”
“It does when the human becomes a threat,” Eldric replied. “Guards.”
The soldiers stepped closer.
Lena’s chest tightened. “Kael…”
He glanced at her. “Stay behind me.”
“I can’t,” she whispered. “I feel… pulled.”
Eldric smiled wider. “That’s the Conduit awakening. She belongs to the realm now.”
“I belong to myself,” Lena said, surprising even herself.
Eldric turned to her. “Do you know what happens to Conduits, little human?”
She shook her head.
“They are bound,” Eldric said calmly. “Used. Drained. Until there is nothing left.”
Kael’s magic flared. The room darkened.
“Touch her,” Kael said, “and I will burn this palace to ash.”
Eldric raised a brow. “You can’t. Not without killing her.”
Silence fell.
Lena looked between them. “He’s right,” she said slowly. “Isn’t he?”
Kael closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Her throat tightened. “Then I’m already a weapon.”
“No,” Kael said fiercely. “You are not.”
Eldric stepped closer. “Come willingly, Lena. The court will protect you.”
“Like you protect everyone?” she shot back.
His smile didn’t falter. “Like I protect what is valuable.”
The mark on her wrist burned brighter. Pain lanced through her again. Lena cried out and dropped to her knees.
Kael knelt with her. “Lena. Listen to me.”
She clutched his coat. “I don’t want to be taken.”
“They won’t take you,” he said. “Not like that.”
Eldric sighed. “Brother, you’re out of time.”
Kael looked at Lena, his voice low and urgent. “There is a choice. But once you make it, it cannot be undone.”
Her breath hitched. “What choice?”
“You can submit to the court,” he said. “They will bind you. Control the bond. Keep you alive.”
“And the other option?”
Kael swallowed. “You bind yourself to me.”
The room went deadly quiet.
Eldric’s eyes widened, then lit with interest. “Oh. That would be… disastrous.”
Lena stared at Kael. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” Kael said, “that your life will be tied to mine. My curse. My enemies. My fate.”
“And I can’t go back?”
“No.”
“And I could die?”
“Yes.”
She looked down at her glowing wrist. At her shaking hands.
The guards waited.
The court waited.
Dawn climbed higher.
Lena lifted her head. “If I choose you… will you protect me?”
Kael didn’t hesitate. “With everything I am.”
“And you won’t use me?”
“Never.”
She took a trembling breath. “Then I choose”
The palace bell rang.
A deep, ancient sound that shook the walls.
Eldric’s smile vanished. “The binding hour.”
Kael cursed under his breath. “Too late.”
The mark on Lena’s wrist flared white-hot.
She screamed as magic surged through her body, lifting her from the floor.
“Lena!” Kael shouted, reaching for her.
The guards moved.
The shadows exploded.
And Lena’s choice was torn from her lips as the bond awakened fully
just as the court claimed her.
- Writer
