Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Kiss That Wasn't

Seralyn's throat was dry.

Kaela's voice had dropped to a whisper, but the weight of it rang louder than a battle horn. "I saw you."

For a breathless moment, neither of them moved. The only sound was the whispering wind, stirring the ashes of Velcrath like it carried centuries of regret.

Seralyn sat up slowly, careful not to break whatever strange, suspended tension wrapped around them.

Kaela didn't blink. Her face was still, but her eyes those fire-bright eyes searched Seralyn's with an intensity that felt more dangerous than any spell they'd encountered.

"You saw me in the dream?" Seralyn asked finally, voice cautious.

Kaela's lips curled into a half-smile, sharp and tired. "Not the version of you I usually see when I close my eyes. You weren't trying to kill me, for one."

Seralyn tried to laugh. It came out dry. "So, a nightmare, then."

Kaela's gaze didn't waver. "Depends who you ask."

Seralyn shifted, her muscles aching. "It was just an echo. Magic. Nothing real."

Kaela stood, brushing dust off her coat. "Sure. Just echoes. Cities don't lie, though. They just reveal what we won't say aloud."

Seralyn opened her mouth to respond but Kaela was already walking away.

They left the plaza without another word.

The streets of Velcrath narrowed as they descended into the lower tiers, where the marble faded into obsidian-streaked alleys and spiraling arcane drain channels. Ghost-light flickered from shattered lanterns, and strange glyphs pulsed faintly in the stone.

They barely spoke.

Tension snapped between them like a drawn bow.

Kaela walked ahead, her staff lighting the path, her shoulders rigid. Every now and then she'd mutter to herself runes, incantations, counter-wards but Seralyn noticed her hands trembled when she thought Seralyn wasn't looking.

Seralyn's own chest felt tight, her thoughts tangled. The dream had felt too real. The kiss soft, warm, wanted lingered on her lips like a secret she hadn't meant to share.

Kaela hadn't kissed her in reality.

But Kaela had dreamed it too.

That meant something.

Didn't it?

"So," Kaela called back suddenly. "You often dream about your enemies?"

Seralyn blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Just wondering," Kaela said, voice light and laced with venom. "If you're the kind of woman who kisses the ones she hates or if I should be worried."

Seralyn caught up, her jaw tightening. "It was a dream, Kaela. Don't flatter yourself."

Kaela raised an eyebrow. "Oh, believe me, I'm trying not to."

They glared at each other a beat too long.

Then a tremor shook the ground beneath their feet.

They froze.

"What was that?" Seralyn asked.

Kaela turned slowly, her face paling. "Something's awake."

---

They entered what must've once been Velcrath's central archive. Scrolls and tomes floated in stasis fields, untouched by time, while crystalline columns lined the chamber walls, glowing faintly blue. But something was wrong

The air was colder here. Heavy.

"Be on guard," Kaela whispered.

"Wasn't planning on a nap."

A whisper slid through the air, too soft to be wind.

Then another.

A third closer.

"Don't listen," Kaela said urgently. "Mind-wraiths."

Too late.

Seralyn turned her head.

And saw her father.

His eyes hollow. His armor soaked in blood.

"You killed your own kin," he said, voice like a grave cracking open. "You abandoned us."

Seralyn backed away, her breath catching.

"No. You're not real."

"You chose the enemy," he hissed, eyes flicking toward where Kaela stood. "You let her into your heart."

Seralyn tried to draw her blade.

It was gone.

Her hands wouldn't move.

The air thickened.

The wraith wrapped around her mind like smoke and guilt.

Then

Light.

Flame.

A scream.

The illusion shattered.

Kaela stood over her, staff glowing red-hot, casting runes in rapid succession. Her face was tight with fury. "Move!"

Seralyn rolled aside just as a claw made of shadow ripped through the space where she'd been. It shrieked, its form half-formed wraith and beast and curse all tangled into one.

Kaela didn't hesitate.

She charged the creature, drawing it away.

"Kaela!" Seralyn shouted.

"I've got it just GO!"

But Seralyn didn't move.

She watched in horror as Kaela poured her magic into a binding circle, her body trembling with effort. The wraith screamed, its tendrils lashing wildly. One wrapped around Kaela's waist and flung her hard into a pillar.

She hit the stone with a sickening crack.

And didn't get up.

"Kaela!"

Seralyn ran forward, her saber drawn now, slicing through the wraith's form. Her strikes barely landed, but the creature hissed and retreated into the shadows.

She dropped beside Kaela.

The witch was breathing but only barely.

Blood trickled from her temple. Her robes were scorched.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit," Seralyn whispered. She tore fabric to press against Kaela's wounds, her hands shaking.

"You stupid, reckless, infuriating woman," she hissed. "Why would you do that?!"

Kaela didn't answer.

Seralyn leaned closer, brushing hair from Kaela's forehead. Her heart pounded. Her fingers brushed the glowing sigil.

It pulsed under her touch.

Softly.

Like a heartbeat.

Seralyn whispered, "Why do I care if you live?"

And the sigil flared.

For hours, Seralyn sat at Kaela's side, watching the slow, steady rise and fall of her chest. Each breath was shallow, but rhythmic. The deeper night crept into the ruins, the more the silence wrapped around them, cocooning them in a pocket of memory and shadow.

She thought of the dream again.

Of the kiss.

Of the laughter, the touch, the warmth Kaela had given her in that world that wasn't real but might have been.

She thought of the way Kaela had thrown herself into danger without hesitation.

The way Kaela looked at her not like an elf, not like a commander, not even like a rival but like someone worth saving.

She thought of the truth in Kaela's whispered "I saw you."

Seralyn touched Kaela's fingers.

The sigil responded.

"I don't know what this is," she murmured. "But if you die before I figure it out, I swear I'll burn this cursed city to ash."

The ruins said nothing.

But the wind seemed to hush.

The sigil pulsed once more.

And Kaela stirred.

Her lashes fluttered.

Her lips parted.

Seralyn froze.

Then Kaela's eyes opened.

Not fully. Just enough to see.

To feel.

To know who was there.

Seralyn didn't move.

Kaela smiled faintly. "Didn't think… you cared."

Seralyn whispered, "Neither did I."

And then the shadow in the room shifted again.

Something else had awakened.