Something was walking toward them. Slowly. One step. Then another. The sound traveled through the buried city and reached the chamber before its owner appeared. Clack. A pause. Clack. Another pause. The survivors stared through the open doors. Silver fire burned in thousands of windows. The city that had been dead for centuries was illuminated from within. Aurora remained in Gideon's arms for several seconds before forcing herself upright. "I'm fine." Gideon gave her a skeptical look. "You nearly tore yourself apart." "I said I'm fine." "You Ashbournes really need to learn how to lie better." Despite everything, Elara almost laughed. It was a tiny sound. But it mattered. After everything they had witnessed, they needed something human. Their mother immediately moved toward Aurora. "Let me see you." "I'm all right." Her mother placed both hands against Aurora's face. The Veil had left thin silver marks along her neck. Her mother frowned. "You're burning." Aurora touched her own skin. She couldn't feel the heat. Only exhaustion.
Behind them, Caelum slowly stood. He looked different. Not physically. Something in his presence had changed. The overwhelming pressure that had surrounded him since the beginning was gone. He looked... human. For the first time, Aurora could look directly into his golden eyes without feeling as though something ancient was staring through them. Lucien noticed it too. He approached his brother cautiously. "Caelum." Caelum looked at him. Neither spoke. Then Lucien pulled him into an embrace. Caelum froze. His arms remained at his sides. For a moment Aurora wondered if he would push him away. Instead... he closed his eyes. His hand slowly came up and rested against Lucien's back. The brothers remained that way for several seconds. No words. No explanations. Just two people who had survived centuries of hatred. The First Ashbourne watched them. Tears filled her eyes.
Then the sound came again. Clack. Everyone turned. The figure was closer. A silhouette appeared at the far end of the avenue. Tall. Thin. Walking beneath the silver flames. Aurora's hand instinctively went toward the Veil. It no longer burned. Instead, it pulsed gently. Once. The silhouette stopped. Then another figure appeared behind it. Then another. Then dozens. Aurora's stomach tightened. "The returned." Gideon raised his sword. The survivors immediately clustered behind him. But something was wrong. The returned weren't attacking. They were walking. Quietly. In perfect formation. And unlike before... their faces were no longer empty. They looked awake. Aware. Human. One woman stepped ahead of the others. She looked directly toward Aurora. Her lips moved. Aurora couldn't hear her. The woman pointed toward the city. Then toward the mountain above. Then she fell to her knees. The others followed. Every returned knelt. Thousands of them. The sight was horrifying. Not because they attacked. Because they seemed to be waiting. Waiting for something. Aurora looked toward the First Ashbourne. "What do they want?" The woman stared at them. "They're free." Aurora frowned. "Free?" "The Binding controlled the dead." The First Ashbourne's gaze moved across the kneeling figures. "Now it doesn't." A man among the returned slowly raised his head. His face was covered in scars. He stared at Aurora. Then he whispered something. This time she heard it. "Thank you." Aurora's breath caught. The word traveled through the crowd. One voice became ten. Ten became hundreds. Then thousands. "Thank you." Aurora stepped backward. "No..." She hadn't done this for praise. She hadn't even known what she was doing. She had simply refused to continue the cycle. The returned began disappearing. Not violently. Their bodies became translucent beneath the silver light. One by one... they dissolved into pale particles that drifted upward. Some smiled. Some cried. Some simply closed their eyes. The children among the survivors watched in silence. A little girl whispered, "Are they going to heaven?" Their mother knelt beside her. "I hope so." The final returned vanished. The city became completely still. Then... every silver flame went out. Darkness returned.
Aurora looked toward the First Ashbourne. "What now?" The woman looked toward the empty streets. "Now we find out why the city woke." A sound answered her. Not footsteps. A bell. Deep. Ancient. It rang from somewhere beyond the temple. Once. The entire city trembled. Twice. The buildings seemed to shift. Three times. The ground beneath them moved. Darian looked around. "That isn't normal." "No." Lucien's face had become tense. "It isn't." Caelum walked toward the edge of the chamber. Aurora followed. "Where is it coming from?" He pointed toward the horizon. Far beyond the temple stood a massive tower. It had been invisible before. Now silver light climbed its walls. At its summit burned a single white flame. The First Ashbourne stared at it. Her expression changed. Aurora noticed. "You know that tower." The woman nodded. "I hoped it had been destroyed." "What's inside?" She didn't answer. Caelum did. "The Heart of the Binding." Aurora stared at him. "I thought you said the Binding was gone." "It is." "Then what's the heart?" Caelum looked toward the tower. "The thing that made the Binding possible." Lucien stepped forward. "No." Caelum glanced at him. "You know I'm right." Lucien shook his head. "We buried it." "You buried the chamber." "The Heart was destroyed." Caelum's expression became grim. "It wasn't." Aurora looked between them. "What are you talking about?" The First Ashbourne finally spoke. "The Binding required power." "What kind?" She looked toward the distant tower. "Life." Aurora's stomach dropped. "The sacrifices." The woman nodded. "Not just the Ashbournes." She looked toward the city. "The entire city." Silence. Aurora looked at the ancient streets. The buildings. The statues. The dead. All those people. All those lives. "They were the source." "No." The First Ashbourne's voice was quiet. "They were the price." Aurora stared at her. "Then what happens now that the Binding is broken?" The woman looked toward the tower. "The Heart has no purpose." Caelum's expression darkened. "And a thing without purpose eventually seeks one." The distant tower flashed. A shockwave moved across the city. Every window illuminated simultaneously. The survivors cried out. Gideon grabbed Elara. "Get everyone inside!" "Inside where?" "Anywhere!" The streets began filling with movement. Not returned. Not ghosts. The stone statues. One by one, they began turning their heads. Aurora watched in horror. A statue of a mother holding her child slowly rotated its face toward them. Then another. A soldier. A merchant. A priest. An entire dead civilization. Every statue was looking toward the tower. Then every statue simultaneously turned toward Aurora. Her blood ran cold. The Veil pulsed. The First Ashbourne whispered, "It knows." "What?" "It knows the Binding is gone." The tower flashed again. This time, the white flame at its summit exploded outward. A beam of light shot into the cavern ceiling. The mountain above them groaned. Cracks spread through the rock. Dust rained down. Aurora looked upward. "We have to get out." The First Ashbourne shook her head. "Not yet." "Why?" "Because if the Heart wakes completely..." She looked at the survivors. "...the mountain will not be the only thing that falls." Aurora's eyes narrowed. "What will happen?" The woman looked toward the tower. "The buried city will rise." Aurora stared. "And Hollow Vale?" The First Ashbourne didn't answer. Caelum did. "Hollow Vale is sitting directly above it." The meaning struck Aurora like a blow. The city beneath the mountain wasn't merely buried. It was holding something down. If the ancient city rose... Hollow Vale would be destroyed. Gideon stepped forward. "Then we destroy the Heart." Lucien shook his head. "We don't know how." Aurora looked toward the tower. "We don't need to know." Everyone turned toward her. She touched the Veil. "We find out." Caelum smiled faintly. "There she is." Aurora glanced at him. "What?" "The Ashbourne who refuses to accept impossible." She ignored him. "Gideon, keep the survivors together." He nodded. "Elara, stay with Mother and Darian." Elara opened her mouth to object. "No." Aurora looked at her. "You've spent enough time fighting beside me." Elara shook her head. "I'm not letting you walk into that alone." Aurora smiled. "I wasn't asking you to." She looked toward Lucien. "You're coming." "Of course." Then she looked at Caelum. He raised an eyebrow. Aurora sighed. "You too." His smile returned. "Wasn't planning on missing it." The First Ashbourne stepped forward. "And I will lead you." Aurora looked at her. "To the Heart?" The woman nodded. "To the place where the Binding was born." The distant tower rang. A fourth bell. The sound rolled through the buried city. And every ancient statue began walking toward them.