Page 111 of Unveiled

“Deadline?” Fraser scoffed. “It’s an ultimatum. A threat. And we don’t negotiate with threats.”

“That’s noble,” Laurence said coldly, “until the ground swallows your home.”

Fraser opened his mouth, then shut it. Connor grunted. Laurence was right.

Xiathen turned to Adrian. “Do you feel any change in the mark?”

Adrian pressed a hand to his chest. “It hungers. It pulses when the anchors do. It reacts to the fault lines. And it listens to Connor.”

Connor’s jaw tightened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The mark dampened when you held me last night. The Heartline collapsed because your vow wove into it. It responds to you, Connor. Almost as if it knows you.”

Xiathen nodded. “The Council intended to mark Adrian alone. But when Connor followed him into the Veil, the bond rewrote the sigils.”

“You mean,” Max said, “our Valours are now even more magically tied to both worlds?”

“And to each other,” Xiathen corrected softly.

Everyone murmured. The tension grew thicker. Connor sat beside Adrian, turning the chair so he faced the table directly. His hand remained close to Adrian’s, not touching, but ready.

“So we fight,” Connor said. “What’s the plan?”

Xiathen replied. “There are three paths.”

Every person in the room leaned in. Xiathen’s voice grew heavy. “Path One. Sacrifice. The Council takes Adrian. The valley remains intact.”

Connor’s growl shook the table.

Adrian closed his eyes. “Next.”

“Path Two. Severance. We sever the mark,” Xiathen continued. “Cut Adrian free.”

“How?” Adrian whispered.

Xiathen hesitated. “Violently. At great risk. And potentially fatal.”

Adrian’s breath caught. Connor’s chair screeched as he stood abruptly. “Absolutely not.”

Xiathen closed his eyes. “I didn’t say it was an option I liked.” He took a deep breath. “Path Three. Defiance. The valley rallies behind the Valours. The land knows who its people are. Connor has gained powers, and we have Irial and I. We strike the anchors. Destroy them. Break the Council’s system for breaching our world.”

Adrian stared. “Can we?”

Xiathen hesitated. And that hesitation made the entire room go cold. “It is possible,” Xiathen said finally. “But it requires a tether strong enough to shield the valley while the anchors are broken.”

“And?” Connor demanded.

“And that tether,” Xiathen whispered, “is the bond.”

Connor’s voice was low. “Meaning?”

“Meaning,” Xiathen said gently, “the two of you must stabilise the valley’s cracks by sharing the mark’s burden.”

Connor rolled his eyes. “Please tell me in layman’s terms what that means. My brain is being fried by all the mystery and doublespeak.”

“The fault lines react to Adrian,” Xiathen said. “But they also react to you. If both of you channel your bond at once, the mark may split its leash and spread its strain. Two minds. Two souls. Two bodies. We call it the March.”

“And if we do that,” Adrian asked, “the valley stabilises?”