Aurora lay on the cold glass floor, her chest heaving, her dagger just out of reach. Above her, Vazquez loomed like a mountain of shadow. His face was calm, too calm, but his silver eyes burned with fire that never dimmed. His voice was low and cruel. “You see it now,” he whispered. “You see how hopeless it is. Mason is gone. The boy you cling to is nothing but a hollow shell. I own him.”Aurora’s throat tightened. Her hands shook, but she pushed herself up onto her knees. Her body ached, her skin burned from the chains, but her heart was not broken. Not yet. “You don’t own him,” she spat. Her voice cracked, but her eyes burned. “You’ll never own him.”Vazquez smiled faintly, as if amused. He leaned closer, his shadow falling over her like a cloak. “Such fire in such a small vessel. But fire without fuel always dies. And you, Aurora, are almost empty.”Aurora forced herself to stand. Her knees trembled, but she raised her chin. “I won’t let you win. Not here. Not ever.”The chamber s

The chains dragged Mason away. Aurora’s hands clawed at the air, her throat raw from screaming his name. Her nails split, her skin burned, but she refused to stop reaching. Her tears fell, sizzling as they touched the glowing cracks in the stone. “Mason!” she cried. “Don’t let go! Please, don’t let go!”The chains swallowed him, pulling him deeper into the heart of the abyss. His face, pale and broken, vanished into the fire.The silence that followed was worse than the roar. It pressed against her chest, crushing her.She fell to her knees, her body trembling. Her dagger lay on the floor beside her, its blade glowing faintly with her heat. She reached for it, but her hand shook too hard to hold it.Then Vazquez’s laughter broke the silence. It came from everywhere, bouncing from the chains, the walls, the burning cracks in the stone. It was sharp, cruel, endless.“How sweet,” his voice dripped. “The girl who swore she’d never let go, forced to watch him fall anyway.”Aurora’s chest

The chains clinked as they tightened around Mason’s body again. Aurora stood only a few steps away, her hands trembling, her chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. The orange glow of her fire flickered against the silver of Vazquez’s shadows, painting the abyss in clashing colors.Mason’s head hung low. His dark hair fell into his eyes, and when he lifted them, Aurora’s heart twisted.One eye was brown. The other was silver. His lips trembled as he whispered, “Aurora, you have to go. Please.”Her tears blurred her sight, but she shook her head fiercely. “No. Don’t ask me that. Don’t you dare ask me to leave you again.”His face tightened with pain. The chains rattled as if they sensed his hesitation. “You don’t understand, if I move, it won’t be me. It’ll be him. And if that happens,”Aurora stepped forward, cutting him off, her voice shaking but steady. “Then I’ll stop you. No matter what it takes, I’ll stop you. But I’m not leaving.”The abyss darkened as Vazquez’s form emer

Aurora gasped as her eyes snapped open. The ground beneath her pulsed like a living thing, beating in rhythm with her own heart. Her body ached, every breath heavy, her skin burning where the silver chains had touched her, then she felt it. Not just her pain. Another heartbeat. Another breath.She turned her head. Mason lay beside her, his body bound by the same glowing chains, his skin cracked with both orange fire and silver shadow. His eyes were closed, his lips trembling.Aurora reached for him, but the moment her hand moved, the chain at her wrist yanked against his. Mason’s body jerked as if the chain had tugged his very soul.Aurora froze. Her breath caught in her throat. They were linked. “Mason,” she whispered, her voice breaking.His eyes opened slowly. One brown. One silver. He groaned, his voice hoarse. “Aurora, what did you do?”Aurora’s eyes filled with tears, but her voice was firm. “I did what I had to. I stayed.”Mason’s face twisted with pain. He tugged against the

The chains burned as the mirror pulled. Aurora’s feet slid across the trembling stone, the force dragging her toward the rippling glass. She dug her heels in, but it was useless. The mirror swallowed everything around it, its glow brighter than fire, colder than shadow. “Mason!” she screamed, clutching his chained hand tighter.He stumbled beside her, his face pale, his body shaking. His eyes, one brown and one silver, locked on hers. “Don’t let go!”“I won’t!” she cried.But the mirror didn’t care for promises. With a final, violent tug, it dragged them inside.Aurora gasped as she landed hard on stone. Her breath caught, her eyes darting around.At first, she thought they were back in the academy. The walls were familiar, the tall windows, the stone floor. But everything was wrong.The walls cracked and twisted. The windows reflected no light. The torches burned with silver flames, casting shadows that moved on their own. Aurora’s heart raced. “This… this isn’t real.”Mason groaned