Elara’s footsteps echoed through the deserted hallways of Eldoria Academy as she ran, cloak flapping behind her like a banner of fear. Her lungs burned. Her heart thundered. The image of Maris’s twisted face — her eyes rolled back, muttering in that inhuman voice — was burned into her mind.

She rounded the corner of the west wing, nearly colliding with a faculty member. But Kael was already there, waiting in the shadows as if he had known she’d come.

“Elara?” His eyes widened at the sight of her bloodied arm and soot-smeared cheek. “What happened?”

“It was Maris—someone sent her,” she panted. “Or something inside her did. She wasn’t… herself.”

Kael grabbed her wrist, checking the pulse, then the dagger. “You’re shaking.”

“I’ve been marked,” Elara said, lifting her sleeve.

There, glowing faintly beneath her skin, was a symbol — a rune neither of them had seen before. It pulsed with violet light, veins around it darkened like ink spreading through paper.

Kael’s face went pale. “That’s not just a rune. That’s a blood sigil.”

Elara stared at him. “You know what it is?”

He didn’t answer immediately. His jaw clenched.

“I’ve seen it once before… on the body of a mage who lost control of forbidden glyphs. It’s not drawn. It’s burned in—by something older than the arcane laws. It means someone’s claimed you. Not just watched you.”

Elara staggered back. “Claimed… me?”

“Come with me,” he said. “Now.”

They took refuge in a forgotten chamber beneath the archives — a secret haven Kael had used since his earliest years at the Academy. The walls were covered in worn maps and scraps of spellwork. A flickering lantern bathed the room in soft amber.

Kael poured water into a stone basin and began mixing salt, ash, and powdered onyx.

“What are you doing?” Elara asked.

“Warding you. Temporarily. Whatever marked you — it’s a summoning brand. If you fall asleep unprotected, it could pull you into their realm.”

He dipped his fingers into the mixture and pressed them to her temples, murmuring incantations in a language Elara didn’t recognize.

The air grew thick. Elara’s skin buzzed. The sigil on her arm flared, and she cried out, collapsing against him.

Kael caught her, held her. “It’s done. For now.”

Elara buried her face in his shoulder. “Kael, I’m scared.”

He held her tighter. “So am I.”