The sun was not yet above the horizon when Elira woke up the next morning, her body sore from training the previous day. Each muscle throbbed, and her head ached from the residual magic still running through her veins.
She gradually sat up, wincing as she stretched. The brand on her chest was chilly, barely there, but she still felt the lingering tug of Kael's presence deep within her.
The bond. Always there.
It was two days now since the encounter with the Wyrm Hollow, but the form of the Voidsworn continued to torment her like a ghost in the back of her mind. She had not told anyone the creature's words, the strange warning uttered—the Aetherion must not awaken.
She shook at the memory and pushed herself out of bed.
The moment her feet hit the cold stone floor, she felt it again. The tug.
Kael.
He was already up.
She gazed at the door to their shared corridor. Should she go find him? Would he find her?
Before she could make a decision, a soft knock on the door.
"Elira," the voice through the wood, calm and peaceful as always. "Get ready. We leave in an hour."
Elira moaned and flung a hand up through her knotted hair. It was growing familiar now. She would train daily with Kael—boosting control practice, boosting ritual bonding, additional magic she was not certain that she could get under control.
And then, in the evenings, her dreams grew in power. In blackness.
She dressed hurriedly, trying to shake the persistent feeling that had taken hold in the recesses of her stomach. Training for what, exactly? Magic she didn't understand? A bond that came down to being a curse?
The door creaked open as she finished buckling the laces of her boots, showing Kael standing with his usual unyielding face. His dark hair framed his face loosely, but those cold, calculating eyes were still set on hers.
"We're going to the library today," he said. "You have to know more about the bond."
Elira furrowed her brow. "The library? What's in there?"
Kael stepped aside from her, and she exited the room. "There's something you have to see."
The library at the Arcanis Academy stood in the middle of the campus between two gigantic towers that seemed to graze the heavens. The building itself was vast, larger than Elira had ever seen it, with walls that seemed to shift as if they were alive. Softly glowing Arcane runes ran along the stone walls, guiding the students along the seemingly infinite lines of bookshelves.
Kael led her far into the labyrinthine corridors of the library. The further they traveled, the colder it grew. The air grew heavy, under the weight of magic.
"Here," Kael declared, standing in front of a large stone door with no handle. Instead, in its place, there was a whorling mark—a mark Elira saw upon her own chest—etched into the door.
She stepped forward again, studying the mark. It was a perfect replica. The same jagged edges, the same unnatural sheen.
"What is this place?" she whispered.
Kael moved towards her, his expression unreadable. "This is where the questions stop. Where the answers lie. The nature of the bond."
He raised his hand and placed it on the mark, and the door creaked before slowly opening to reveal a gigantic room full of ancient books and scrolls. A pedestal on the other side of the room sat alone with one book rested upon it.
Elira's breath was caught short. She recognized the book—it was bound in dark leather that shone with faint, changing patterns. A tome of forbidden magic.
Kael motioned her back as he strode towards the pedestal. "This is the Grimoire of Aetherion. This is the doorway to discovering about your power."
"Wait," Elira took a step forward cautiously. "What are you telling me, my power?"
Kael had his back to her. "The bond wasn't by chance, Elira. You were chosen for something. The Aetherion line has been extinct for centuries. But now it's in you."
She shook her head, confusion etched on her face. "But I'm just… me. I don't understand what any of this is about."
Kael spun around to her, his face easing finally. "You are the last of the Aetherion. Your blood is tied to the magic of light—a power for healing and destruction. And now that power is tied to mine. The Void and Light, bound in you."
She heaved her chest. The words echoed through her mind. The Aetherion must not awaken.
Elira's hand reached out towards the book, her fingers tracing the cold leather in gentle strokes. The moment she touched the book, a surge of power pulsed through her. Her mark flared with a fierce light, and for a moment, all around her became indistinct.
She gasped, stepping back, but already the picture was etched into her mind: visions of an epic war, armies storming across a sky sundered in two—one part shining with blinding light, the other shadowed with darkness.
The book was not just a pile of pages. It was a portal, a doorway to forgotten magic.
"Are you all right?" Kael asked, his voice laced with concern as he moved forward.
Elira nodded, the vision still reeling in her. "I saw something. A war."
He wasn't shocked. "It's the prophecy."
"The prophecy?" Elira said, confused. "What prophecy?"
Kael's face turned serious. "The prophecy of the Bound Soul. It speaks of two—the one born of light, and the other born of void—who will bind in a manner that will determine the fate of the world."
Elira's heart began to pound. "So that's us? The prophecy?"
Kael gave a nod. "You and I are bound in a way no one fully comprehends yet. But the fact is, we both bear an affinity and a curse inside us. Forces will attempt to use us, manipulate us."
She swallowed hard, his words suffocating into her breastbone like stone. "What do we do?"
Kael gazed at the Grimoire once more. "We learn. We must discover the secrets within this book. Only then can we understand the depth of the bond—and our fate."
Elira was unable to respond before the sound of noise echoed in the corridor—the clanging of boots on stone.
Elira whirled, pounding heart as a group of students emerged from the shadows. They were clad in black robes, their hoods drawn up over their faces.
Kael's expression hardened, growing more defensive.
"Voidsworn," he snarled, his voice laced with tension Elira had never heard before. "They're here."
One of the men stepped out, pulling his hood back from his face, revealing a twisted visage creased with both power and age. His gaze gleamed coldly cruel.
"You're meddling with forces that need to be left buried," growled the Voidsworn. "The bond you share is unnatural. And will kill you both."
Kael raised his hand, prepared to invoke his magic, but the figure raised a finger, and the air grew heavy and cold.
"You have been warned," the Voidsworn stated, his voice echoing through the room. "The gods will not abide the balance being upset."
And as quickly as they had appeared, the Voidsworn vanished into the shadows, leaving behind only the cold echo of their presence.
Elira stood frozen, heart racing. "Kael, what was that?"
He exhaled slowly, his gaze sweeping towards the door. "They're attempting to impede us, Elira. The Voidsworn are sworn to the ancient deities. And they recognize what the bond is."
"But what is it?" she breathed. "What do we do?"
Kael's gaze met hers, his expression stern. "We do what we must. We survive."