Chapter 11 – Cael’s Mark

The sanctum was colder that night.

Even with the fire burning low, the warmth didn't seem to reach Seren's skin. She lay curled beneath the worn blanket, eyes wide open, watching the soft flicker of the flames against the stone ceiling. Every time she blinked, the prophecy from the scroll played in her mind like a whisper:

Not from love—But from fire.

She had broken two bonds.

Lucan had shattered him in anger. Cael had formed him in silence.

She hadn't marked him. He hadn't marked her.

But something between them was alive.

She felt it every time he looked at her. Every time, he stood a little too close. Every time the heat from his body made her feel safe, when she knew she shouldn't feel anything at all.

She turned over.

Cael was awake.

Sitting by the fire, shoulders bare, scars visible under the flicker of light.

He hadn't slept either.

Of course, he hadn't.

The tension between them had grown into a storm—quiet, slow, building with every look and unspoken word.

She sat up, pulling the blanket around her.

"We can't keep pretending this isn't happening," she said.

He didn't look at her. "I'm not pretending."

"You're avoiding it."

"I'm managing it."

"You're scared."

He looked at her then.

Not angry.

Just honest.

"Yes," he said.

That stopped her for a moment.

Seren stood slowly and crossed the room. The floor was cold beneath her bare feet. The stones felt old, sacred, filled with secrets she still didn't understand.

She sat across from him.

"You saved me," she said. "You've protected me every step of the way. You've given me a place to breathe, to heal. And I've asked you for nothing."

"I know."

"But now I have to ask."

He looked at her.

"Don't run from this," she said softly. "I'm not asking you to choose me. I'm asking you not to run from me."

He swallowed hard.

"You're not ready for what comes with me," he said.

"I'm already in it."

"If we mark each other—if we seal this bond—it'll call them."

"Who?"

He didn't speak.

But she saw the answer in his eyes.

Not the Council.

Not Lucan.

Something worse.

The fire crackled between them.

Seren reached across and placed her hand over his.

"I don't care what it calls."

"You should."

"I care about what I choose."

He looked down at their hands.

"Do you choose me?" he asked.

Her voice was barely a whisper. "I think I already did."

Their first kiss wasn't soft.

It wasn't perfect.

It wasn't clean or poetic.

But it was needed.

The moment their mouths met, the bond surged like a dam breaking.

Heat swept over them.

Seren's breath caught in her throat. Cael's hands moved to her waist, pulling her closer. Their hearts pounded in sync. Her body reacted before her mind did—leaning into him, wanting the safety and danger wrapped in his skin.

For a moment, there was nothing else.

No prophecy. No war. No, Lucan. No fear.

Just them.

Breathing.

Burning.

Becoming.

But when the kiss broke, reality rushed back in.

Seren sat back on her heels, chest rising and falling fast.

Cael didn't move.

He just looked at her like she was a question he couldn't stop asking.

"You didn't mark me," she said.

His voice was hoarse. "I couldn't."

"Why?"

"Because I want it too much."

That made her pause.

"What?"

He looked away. "The bond… It's not supposed to feel like this. Not this fast. Not this deep. I've felt pulled before. But this? This is like gravity."

"Then why not give in?"

"Because I'm not sure I'd survive it."

She frowned.

He looked at her again.

"If I give you all of me, I don't know how to hold anything back. And if I lose you—if I lose this—I don't think I walk away."

Seren reached for him.

But this time, he stepped back.

"I need time," he said.

The fire hissed.

And the space between them widened again.

The next day was quiet.

They didn't talk much.

But they moved together again. Not avoiding. Just… managing.

Cael led them through the forest toward another place he remembered—a hidden glade where seer energy still ran close to the surface. He said the water there could help steady the power in Seren's blood.

She didn't argue.

She needed something to make sense.

Because every night, her dreams got stranger.

The child inside her was changing.

And now, so was she.

The glade was hidden behind a thick curtain of weeping vines.

They pushed through together and stepped into a clearing bathed in gold light. A small spring bubbled at the center, surrounded by smooth stones and silver-tipped grass.

Seren let out a breath.

"It's beautiful."

Cael knelt beside the water and dipped his fingers in. "It's still clean."

She sat beside him and followed his lead.

The water was cold, but not biting. It felt… clarifying.

Like the pain in her limbs had somewhere to go.

She closed her eyes and let herself feel.

The water hummed beneath her hands.

And something inside her stirred.

A low sound—like a lullaby.

A voice.

"Mark him," it whispered.

She jerked her hands back.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

Cael looked up, startled. "What?"

"A voice. It said—" She cut herself off.

He waited.

"It said to mark you."

He stared at her.

But didn't speak.

Her heart raced.

"I didn't imagine it."

"I know," he said quietly.

"You heard it too?"

"No."

"Then how—"

"I felt it."

His hand went to the side of his neck.

The place a mark would go.

He looked at her, eyes bright. "It's getting stronger. The bond. It's trying to finish."

Seren stood and backed away slightly. "Why now?"

"Because we're close."

"To what?"

He didn't answer.

She turned away.

"You need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Acting like you know what's coming and refusing to tell me."

His voice was tight. "Because if I say it out loud, it might happen."

She turned back. "It's going to happen either way, Cael. Don't you get it? Whatever's chasing us—whatever this prophecy means—we're in it now. We're past the point of turning back."

He looked at her.

And she saw it again.

The need.

The fear.

The love he didn't want to name.

And the war still burning behind his eyes.

That night, they slept on opposite sides of the fire.

But the bond didn't rest.

It pulsed.

Stronger.

Closer.

Waiting.

And Seren dreamed of a silver flame.

Wrapping around her heart.

And leaving a mark that no one could erase.