The castle library was vast enough to feel endless.
Elira moved between towering shelves filled with texts older than the kingdoms that had sent her here. Some books were sealed. Others were burned at the edges, as though someone had tried to erase knowledge itself.
Maelor appeared beside her without warning.
"You are searching for truth," he said.
"I am searching for what I have been dragged into," Elira corrected.
Maelor smiled faintly. "A noble distinction."
She turned a page of a brittle manuscript. "The bond between us. What is it truly?"
For the first time, Maelor hesitated.
"That is not a simple answer."
"Then give me the complicated one."
A pause lingered.
"It is not merely a curse," he said at last. "It is a containment."
Elira frowned. "Containment of what?"
Maelor's eyes darkened slightly. "Of him. And of you."
The words settled heavily.
Before she could respond, a sharp pulse of pain cut through her chest.
Somewhere in the castle, Kael had faltered.
And the bond ensured she felt every fragment of it.