The ground beneath them cracked, a jagged split running through the earth as if the very land itself had been wounded. Kael could feel the vibrations in his bones, a deep, resounding tremor that sent a warning crawling up his spine. Aurenya's eyes, wide with confusion and fear, scanned the horizon, but it was the girl who had their full attention now.
Her trembling form was bathed in the flickering light of the flames from their campfire. She stood at the edge of the stone circle, her small body barely able to keep her balance, her eyes glazed over in a strange, distant way. The air had shifted, charged with an eerie tension that Kael couldn't explain.
"Stay back," Kael said urgently, stepping forward, his hand reaching toward her.
But before he could move any closer, the ground beneath the girl seemed to fold in on itself, the very stone warping and twisting. Her body buckled, her eyes fluttering shut as if some unseen force was taking hold of her.
"No!" Aurenya shouted, breaking into a run toward the girl. She wasn't fast enough.
With a final, desperate gasp, the girl fell to her knees, her hands clutching at the stone beneath her. And then, as if the world itself had exhaled, the tremors stopped.
Kael reached the girl in seconds, kneeling beside her. Her body was cold, her skin pale, and the glow that had once shone faintly from within her now flickered dimly, like a candle struggling against the wind. Her chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, but it was clear that something was wrong.
Aurenya crouched beside him, her hands hovering uncertainly. "What's happening to her?"
"I don't know," Kael replied, his voice tight with worry. He could feel the girl's heartbeat beneath his fingertips, but it was weak. "It's like she's... destabilizing."
The girl's lips parted, her voice a strained whisper. "It's... too much."
Aurenya's gaze flickered to Kael, her brow furrowed. "Too much of what?"
But the girl's eyes remained closed, and her breathing became even more erratic.
"We need to get her to the City of Mirrors," Kael said, his voice laced with urgency. The City of Mirrors was a place steeped in myth and legend—a city where gods had once walked and where miracles could happen. If there was any place that might hold the answers to what was happening to the girl, it was there.
Aurenya's hand went to her forehead, a gesture that Kael had come to recognize as her form of deep thought. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came. She closed her eyes, pressing her fingers into her temple.
"Do you remember anything about her?" Kael asked, his voice strained. "Anything about where she came from?"
Aurenya looked at the girl, her expression torn. "I... I don't know. I've tried to remember, but it's like there's nothing. It's like I'm not supposed to know." She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "But I think... I think she wasn't supposed to exist. She was never meant to be."
Kael's heart clenched at the weight of her words. Aurenya had always carried an air of mystery about her, and this revelation only deepened the enigma. But it also raised more questions than answers.
The girl gasped, her eyes fluttering open. "I wasn't supposed to hold it... I wasn't supposed to hold... the god."
Aurenya stiffened. "What?"
The girl reached out with trembling hands, her fingers brushing Aurenya's arm. "I was made to hold a god of judgment... but it... it's too much. It... it's in me." Her voice cracked, a choked sob escaping her lips.
Kael clenched his fists. The skin over his hands, stained an unnatural crimson, pulsed with a deep heat. He could feel the curse seething under the surface, reacting to his fury, as if it too was repulsed by the injustice done to the girl. The red hands throbbed—visibly brighter in the firelight, aching with the weight of power that demanded release. He hadn't asked for this. He hadn't asked for a child who carried a god inside her, a god that was clearly wreaking havoc on her fragile body.
"Can you stop it?" Aurenya asked, her voice quiet but full of resolve.
The girl's eyes were distant, her body limp as she lay back against the stone, but she nodded faintly. "Maybe... but not for long."
Kael's stomach twisted. The raw heat crawling up his arms made his breath catch. He could feel the curse hungering to act—urging him to strike out, to destroy whatever was hurting the girl. "Then we need to move. Now."
They didn't waste any more time. As they gathered their things, Aurenya's movements were jerky, disjointed, like someone on the edge of breaking. Kael kept his eyes on the girl, watching her every breath, every twitch. There was something inside her—something ancient and powerful—that was slowly unravelling her, threatening to pull her apart. And they didn't have the luxury of waiting.
They set off, leaving the Stone Pact's land behind, their journey now guided by a desperation that burned as hot as the red hands Kael carried with him, hands that seemed to bleed with every step they took, every moment he failed to protect the ones in his care.
---
They moved through the night, the pale moonlight casting long shadows over the dense forest ahead. Kael, Aurenya, and Silas walked in silence, the weight of their shared purpose heavy on their shoulders. The girl, still unsteady and fragile, clung to Aurenya, her small frame trembling with every step.
As they trekked deeper into the forest, Aurenya's mind was far from the path ahead. Her thoughts were a mess of fragments, memories she couldn't fully grasp. She glanced at Kael, his silhouette a dark shadow against the rising moon.
"Kael..." Aurenya whispered, her voice barely audible above the rustling leaves. "Do you ever wonder... what we were meant to be? If any of this was ever supposed to happen?"
Kael didn't look at her immediately. He kept his eyes ahead, his jaw tight as though he were holding something back. The heat in his cursed hands hadn't subsided; if anything, it seemed to be growing, a dull throb beneath his skin that wouldn't fade. "I don't know anymore," he replied, his voice a rasp. "All I know is that I'll do whatever it takes to fix this."
His words were simple, but they carried the weight of everything they had been through—of everything they still had to face.
As they moved forward, the forest grew darker, the air thicker. And with each step, Kael could feel the truth settling in the pit of his stomach: the journey to the City of Mirrors was only just beginning.