Chapter 7 – Echoes Between Them

Some bonds are formed. Others are remembered.

She didn't go back to the room.

Not immediately.

After Rowan left—reluctantly, with a warning and a promise to say nothing—Lira spent another hour hiding in the farthest corner of the library, book clutched to her chest like it might vanish if she let go. The Binding Mark throbbed steadily now, a dull echo under her skin, like it was awake. Like it was remembering something.

She didn't open the book again.

She was afraid she wouldn't stop reading if she did.

By the time she crept back into the suite, the enchanted lamps had dimmed to near darkness, and the enchanted lock recognized her just long enough to whisper open. Inside, Kael was asleep—if he slept at all. He was on his side, facing the window, the moonlight catching in the curve of his cheekbone. He looked more like a statue than a person. Cold. Perfect. Distant.

She slipped silently past him and into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

When she pulled off her tunic, the mark was glowing.

She stared at it in the mirror. The new loop—the one that hadn't been there before—was brighter now, no longer faint or tentative. The shape had begun to curl into another symbol. Not the completed Binding Mark… something else. Something older.

A house crest?

A warning?

She touched her fingers to it, and—

The room vanished.

She was standing in a courtyard.

But not her courtyard.

Not the academy.

This was somewhere else—older, crumbling stone half-covered in vines, sigils etched into the marble and worn by time. The sky overhead was fractured, like a mirror had cracked and poured stars through the holes.

And standing across from her—

Kael.

But not Kael.

His hair was longer. His eyes different—still pale, but wide with panic. Blood streaked his face, and his tunic was torn open over the heart.

"You have to run," he said.

Lira opened her mouth. "What is this?"

He didn't seem to hear her.

"They'll kill you," he said. "They think we've merged. They think we're unstable."

She moved toward him. Her feet didn't touch the ground.

His hand reached for hers—and passed through.

This wasn't now.

This was a memory.

Not hers.

His.

And yet—

Something about it felt more like home than anything she'd ever known.

The moment shattered.

She woke with a jolt on the bathroom floor, her arms around herself, skin damp with sweat.

Through the door, she could hear Kael moving.

She stood. Wrapped a towel over her shoulder. Stepped out.

He was standing at the window again, as if he hadn't moved all night.

She watched him for a moment. Then said, quietly, "I saw something."

Kael didn't turn.

"I've had dreams," he said. "Lately. And I don't dream."

Lira took a step forward. "The courtyard. The broken sky."

He finally turned.

Their eyes met.

Neither of them spoke.

They didn't have to.

She could feel it now—more clearly than ever. The bond wasn't just magic. It wasn't just energy.

It was memory. Shared. Twisted. Half-lived.

Kael's voice was hoarse when he spoke. "You saw her, didn't you?"

Lira frowned. "Her?"

He didn't answer.

The next day's training was cancelled.

Instead, they were summoned to Master Veylan's private hall—a tall, circular room built like an observatory, with thin, knotted staircases that led to nowhere, and bookcases that shifted like clockwork when you looked directly at them.

Kael said nothing on the walk there.

Lira didn't press.

They entered side by side.

Veylan stood at the center, holding an unlit crystal. He turned as they entered.

"You've begun dreaming," he said without preamble.

Lira didn't respond.

Kael's jaw clenched. "You knew this would happen."

"I suspected," Veylan said mildly. "I was waiting for confirmation."

He tossed the crystal in his hand. "The Seventh House used Binding not as a tool of power, but of identity. They didn't link souls. They fused them. Temporarily. Voluntarily. And in rare cases—accidentally."

Kael's eyes darkened. "You think we're fusing?"

"I think," Veylan said, "that something old is trying to wake up through you. And I think one of you will resist it."

Lira's pulse spiked. "And the other?"

Veylan smiled thinly.

"The other won't survive it."

Later that night, Lira sat at the desk, the stolen book open beside her, while Kael stood behind her reading over her shoulder. He didn't comment on the text. Didn't touch the pages.

But every once in a while, his breath would hitch when a line sounded familiar.

Like something he'd forgotten.

Or something he'd been made to forget.

She turned to look at him once.

He didn't move.

But his voice was low when he said, "Her name was Eryndra."

Lira blinked. "The girl from the book?"

"She had the mark. Like you."

Lira hesitated. "Was she…?"

"She was my bonded."

He looked away. "In another life."