The Stolen Heir’s Bond

The path to the ruins was treacherous, winding through jagged cliffs and crumbling stone. The mist clung to the air, thick and unnatural, as if the land itself remembered something it wished to keep hidden.

Elaria shivered. "I hate this place."

Kael urged his horse forward, keeping his voice low. "No one comes here for a reason. That's why it's safe."

Elaria gave him a deadpan look. "Right. Because places abandoned for centuries are never dangerous."

Kael smirked but said nothing. He wasn't about to admit that the ruins unsettled him, too.

The towering remains of what had once been a great fortress loomed ahead, its stone walls broken and overgrown with ivy. Strange markings—weathered but still visible—covered the archways, whispering of an ancient power lost to time.

Elaria swung off her horse, keeping her hand on the dagger at her hip. "How do you know this place?"

Kael hesitated. "…I don't."

Her brow furrowed. "Then how did you—"

"I just know."

That was the truth. He had never been here before. And yet… something about the ruins called to him, a pull deep in his bones.

Elaria watched him carefully but didn't press further. Instead, she turned toward the darkened entrance ahead. "Let's just get through here and out the other side before nightfall."

Kael nodded, stepping forward—

And the moment his boot touched the threshold, the air shifted.

The torches that had long since crumbled into dust sputtered to life, golden flames flickering along the walls. The markings on the stone glowed faintly, pulsing with a rhythm that matched his heartbeat.

Elaria swore, stepping back. "Kael—"

"I know," he said quickly.

Magic. Old magic.

The ruins were waking up.

Kael swallowed hard and took another cautious step. The energy in the air welcomed him.

As if it had been waiting.

Elaria didn't move, her eyes darting between him and the glowing walls. "Kael… this place recognizes you."

He turned to her, his throat tight. "I think it does."

A deep rumble echoed through the ruins, and then—

A door at the end of the hall slowly began to open.

Kael and Elaria exchanged a look.

They had come here to hide.

Instead, they had found something else entirely.