Kaelith didn't move.
The sword at his throat was cold—ceremonial steel, lined with runes from the old language. Not meant to kill quickly.
Behind him, the voice was familiar.
Too familiar.
"Verren," Kaelith said quietly.
"You were always too curious," Verren answered. "Too soft-hearted. Just like her."
Kaelith turned his head slightly. "You served her."
"I served the empire," Verren replied. "Still do."
The blade pressed harder. "And I won't let you ruin it."
---
Scene Break – Temple Grounds
Seraphina's horse skidded to a stop on the cracked stone path leading to the ruins.
Thunder rolled across the sky.
Marianne jumped off first, weapon drawn. "Tracks," she said, kneeling. "Three riders. Heavy."
Seraphina's eyes narrowed. "Verren."
They had no time to waste.
She sprinted toward the shattered gate, every footstep echoing through the broken bones of history.
The ruins trembled around her.
Some truths were never meant to survive.
---
Scene Break – Below the Temple
Kaelith raised his hands slowly, not in surrender, but in calculation.
"You know what's down here, Verren. You know what this means."
"I know it's a trap," Verren said. "This bloodline—hers—it was a curse then. It's a curse now."
"She's not like her mother."
"No," Verren said, "She's worse."
Before Kaelith could speak again, a blade clanged against Verren's.
Sparks flew.
Seraphina.
She stood between them, cloak torn, hair matted from the rain, fury in her eyes.
"I've had enough of men deciding my fate."
---
Scene Break – Flashback
In the deepest memory of her childhood, Seraphina stood before the great mirror in her mother's room.
"Do you know what this is?" her mother had whispered, touching the glass.
"A curse?" young Seraphina asked.
"No," Thalia said. "It's a reflection of the truth. And truth, my darling, is the most dangerous weapon a woman can wield."
The mirror cracked.
So did her future.
---
Scene Break – Back in the Temple
Verren spun toward Seraphina, blade raised.
Kaelith blocked it just in time.
"Get out of here!" he shouted.
She didn't move.
Not until she saw it.
The names carved in blood.
Hers. And Kaelith's.
The same blood.
The same legacy.
She stumbled back, hand to her chest.
"No," she whispered. "No, no…"
She couldn't love him.
Not if it was written into her blood.
Not if it meant becoming everything her mother warned her about.
Kaelith reached for her.
But then—
The ceiling exploded.
A blast of flame, dust, and shattered stone rained down, cutting them off from each other.
Kaelith shouted her name.
"Seraphina!"
Silence.
Only smoke.
And one echoing voice rising from the shadows—
> "You've awakened the pact.
The blood war begins tonight."