The silence after Harrower's fall was suffocating.
For a breathless moment, no one moved. The air buzzed with the remnants of Eira's magic, flickering like heatwaves above fractured stone. Her hands still glowed faintly, her body trembling with exhaustion, adrenaline, and something deeper, something cold and sinking. She had unleashed something inside her, something terrifying and bright, and now the quiet felt heavier than before.
She had struck down an agent of the Veil. A commander. A monster.
But he wasn't dead.
Harrower groaned as he shifted in the rubble, his mask now split clean down one side, revealing part of his face. What showed beneath was pale, sickly, and scarred like cracked earth. One eye, bloodshot and burning with fury, locked on her with a hatred that felt personal.
"You don't understand what you are," he rasped. "But when you do… you'll beg for death."
Kaela was on him in a heartbeat, her blade flashing downward with raw fury. But before the steel could strike flesh, Harrower vanished in a burst of black smoke. His laughter echoed long after his body had disappeared.
Kaela cursed under her breath and drove her sword into the ground. The sound rang through the chamber like a thunderclap.
"Coward."
Lena stepped beside her, eyes narrowed. "He'll come back. And next time, he won't come alone."
Thorne leaned heavily against a cracked pillar, his coat soaked with blood. His face was pale but sharp with resolve.
"We need to seal this place. It's no longer safe."
Eira turned to him, still shaken. "What was that? That power he used… it wasn't just magic."
Thorne met her gaze, and for once, there was no armor in his eyes.
"No. That was corruption. Veil magic twisted by pain and death. The kind of power that takes more than it gives. That's what they've become. That's what they fear in you, Eira. Because your power hasn't been touched by that darkness. It's still pure."
But she didn't feel untouched. She felt frayed at the edges, like if she reached too deep again, she might unravel.
Lena moved to her side, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder.
"Whatever it was, you faced it. That counts. You didn't run."
"I didn't mean to do it," Eira whispered. "I just… felt it. And it took over."
Thorne pushed himself upright with a soft grunt. "Intent comes later. Survival comes first. We take what we can and destroy what's left. This place can't fall into their hands."
Kaela had already begun gathering the surviving relics, stuffing scrolls and fragments into a satchel with swift, efficient movements. Lena joined her, sweeping what little remained into her arms.
Eira stood frozen before the shattered crystal that once held her mother's memory. Her fingers trembled as she reached down. A single shard remained, no bigger than her palm, still glowing with a gentle light.
She picked it up.
The shard pulsed once, then dissolved into a soft golden glow that sank into her skin. Her breath hitched. Not from pain. From something deeper. A warmth that filled her chest and spread through her limbs, like an embrace. A whisper echoed in her mind, tender and fleeting.
Eliane.
Her mother's name.
A woman. A mother who had loved her.
Eira stood slowly, the tears drying on her cheeks. Her voice was quiet but certain.
"Let's go."
They made their way back through the passage, the ruins now eerily silent behind them. At the entrance, Thorne and Lena worked together to seal it. His blade cut a symbol into the stone, while Lena murmured an incantation that rippled through the air. The entrance sealed with a hiss of fire and rock, the ancient hall buried once more beneath the earth.
Outside, the forest greeted them like a stranger—still and expectant. Moonlight broke through the trees, casting the path in pale silver. The night was no longer quiet in a comforting way. It felt like the hush before a storm.
A low, distant horn cut through the silence.
Eira froze.
"What is that?"
Thorne didn't look back. His voice was taut. "The Black Hunt."
Kaela's hand found her sword again. "Wraith Hounds. They've let them loose."
"They're tracking her," Lena said. "We've got hours. Maybe less."
Eira's jaw tightened. Her limbs still ached, her heart still raced, but something inside her had settled.
"Then we don't wait to be hunted. We move."
Thorne nodded. "There's a place north of here. Hollowmere. A village that once sheltered the Mageborn. If it still stands, it might offer more than safety."
Eira looked up at him, eyes searching. "You mean others like me."
"Not everyone fell to the Veil," Lena said. "Some went quiet. Some disappeared. But they're out there. And if word spreads that the flame still burns… they'll come."
Kaela glanced at Eira, her voice firm. "They'll rally. For the first time in years, the Veil will feel fear."
Eira didn't speak. She didn't have to.
The weight of the past still pressed against her, but something new had taken root beneath it, stronger than fear, stronger than pain.