Chapter 5 The Ritual's Price

The ritual chamber beneath Thornvale Manor was a wound in the earth, its stone walls pulsing with a heartbeat Auren couldn't hear but felt, deep in her bones. Torchlight bled across the floor, casting jagged shadows that danced like mourners at a funeral.

A circle of runes, etched in chalk and blood, glowed faintly at the room's center, their light cold as a winter moon. Auren lay on a stone slab, her body heavy, the cursed wound on her arm a black web spreading beneath her skin. Her magic flickered, weak as a dying ember, but her amber eyes burned, fixed on Kael as he knelt beside her, his hands trembling with a fear she'd never seen in him.

"Stay with me, Auren," he said, his voice raw, a blade wrapped in velvet. His gray eyes were storms, churning with guilt and something deeper, something that made her heart ache even as the poison pulled her under. His scar gleamed in the torchlight, a map of battles fought and lost, and his fingers hovered over her wound, not touching, as if he feared his curse would finish what the shadows started.

Auren forced a smile, her Southern lilt faint but defiant. "Takes more than a scratch to kill me, darlin'," she whispered, but her breath hitched, pain lancing through her. The locket-real now, heavy in her pocket-seemed to pulse, its silver warm against her thigh. She hadn't told Kael about it, hadn't told him about Rowan's voice, but the truth was a noose, tightening with every heartbeat.

"You can't save her, Thorne," her brother had warned, and the words were a splinter in her mind, sharp and unyielding.Gavric stood at the circle's edge, his sword sheathed but his scar twitching, his eyes darting to the shadows that clung to the walls. "The ritual's ready," he said, his voice gruff, but there was a crack in it, a fear he couldn't hide. "But it's old magic, my lord. Blood for blood. If it goes wrong-""It won't," Kael snapped, his gaze never leaving Auren. He rose, his coat stained with her blood, and moved to a table littered with vials and herbs, their scents sharp as grief.

A dagger lay among them, its blade etched with thorns, and Auren's stomach twisted, her magic stirring despite the poison's grip."What's the plan?" she asked, her voice stronger than she felt. She pushed herself up, ignoring the pain, her curls spilling like a rebellion over her shoulders. "You gonna chant some fancy words and hope the shadows play nice?"Kael's lips twitched, a ghost of a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Something like that," he said, but his voice was heavy, weighted with secrets.

He picked up the dagger, his fingers tightening around the hilt, and Auren's magic flared, a vision striking like lightning: Kael, his hands red with blood, a woman's body at his feet, her face hers but older, framed by a crimson gown. The locket lay open beside her, its portrait staring up, accusing.

Auren gasped, her hand flying to her pocket, the locket's weight a truth she couldn't deny. "Kael," she said, her voice shaking, "what aren't you telling me?" Her magic pulsed, stronger now, and she felt him-his grief, his love, a past that bound them like thorns around a rose.He froze, the dagger glinting in his hand, and for a moment, the chamber was silent, the runes' glow dimming as if listening.

"Now's not the time," he said, but his eyes betrayed him, wide with a pain that cut deeper than any blade."Now's the only time," Auren snapped, her sass a spark in the darkness. She swung her legs off the slab, standing despite the dizziness, her wound throbbing like a second heart.

"My brother's voice is in my head, Kael. Rowan, who's supposed to be dead. He's tied to your curse, and so am I. Don't lie to me."Kael's face paled, his scar stark against his skin, and the dagger trembled in his hand. "Rowan," he said, the name a wound, and Auren saw it-a flicker of memory in his eyes, a battlefield, blood, a betrayal.

"He's... part of this. But I can't-"The shadows screamed, a sound like glass shattering, and the runes flared, their light searing. Auren stumbled, her vision swimming, and Kael dropped the dagger, catching her before she fell. His touch was fire, grounding her, and her magic surged, merging with his curse in a clash of gold and shadow. The shadows lunged, not from the walls but from the runes, forming a figure-tall, cloaked, with eyes like her brother's, burning with rage."Rowan," Auren whispered, her voice breaking, and the figure smiled, a cruel twist of lips she'd once loved.

"You were mine first," he said, his voice a blade, and the locket burned in her pocket, its pulse matching her own.Kael shoved Auren behind him, his body a shield, but the figure vanished, the shadows retreating as the runes stabilized. Auren's knees buckled, and Kael caught her, his arms wrapping around her, his breath ragged.

"I won't lose you," he said, his voice a vow, and she felt it-his love, raw and unyielding, a truth he couldn't speak.Gavric cursed, grabbing the dagger. "We're out of time," he said, his eyes darting to Auren's wound, now black to her elbow.

"The ritual, now."Kael nodded, his jaw tight, and he helped Auren back to the slab, his hands gentle but trembling. "This will hurt," he said, his eyes locked on hers, "but I need you to trust me."Auren's laugh was weak, bitter. "Trust's a tall order, darlin'," she said, but her hand found his, their fingers lacing, her magic humming at his touch.

"Just don't let me die. I've got plans."His smile was fleeting, a crack in his armor, and he began the ritual, chanting words in a tongue older than the manor, their cadence a dirge that shook the walls. Gavric poured a vial of blood-whose, Auren didn't ask-into the runes, and they blazed, their light blinding. Auren's wound burned, the poison fighting back, and her magic roared, pulling her into a dreamscape.She stood in a garden, the moon blood-red, roses blooming around her.

Kael was there, younger, his scar absent, his eyes bright with love. "Auren," he said, his voice hers, and she wore a crimson gown, the locket around her neck. They kissed, and her magic sang, but then blood, his hands on her throat, her scream silent as she fell. Rowan stood over them, his hands glowing, his voice a curse: "You'll never have her."Auren screamed, the dream shattering, and she was back in the chamber, Kael's dagger slicing her palm, her blood mixing with his in the runes.

Pain was a tide, drowning her, but her magic surged, golden and fierce, burning the poison away. The shadows screamed, Rowan's voice fading, and the runes sealed, their glow fading to ash.Auren's eyes fluttered open, her body weak but alive. Kael knelt beside her, his face pale, his hand still clutching hers, their blood mingling on the stone.

"You're safe," he said, his voice breaking, and she saw tears in his eyes, a vulnerability that stole her breath."For now," Auren whispered, her voice faint but sharp. She pulled the locket from her pocket, its silver gleaming, and Kael's eyes widened, recognition flashing like lightning. "This was hers," she said, her voice trembling. "The woman in my visions.

Who was she, Kael? And why does she look like me?"Kael's hand tightened around hers, his scar twitching, and for a moment, she thought he'd speak, spill the truth that bound them. But the chamber shook, a low growl rising from the earth, and Gavric's voice cut through, urgent. "The manor's not done," he said, his sword drawn. "Something's coming."Auren's magic flared, and Rowan's voice whispered, closer now: "You'll never escape me, sister."

The locket burned in her hand, its clasp springing open, revealing a portrait-her face, but not hers, framed by a crimson gown, Kael's initials carved beside it.As the manor's shadows stirred, Auren met Kael's eyes, and the truth hung between them, a blade ready to fall. Whatever they were-lovers, enemies, fated-they were running out of time.