Page 36 of Bound In Stone, Claimed In Fire

“Nerezza,” I say, voice echoing off the cliffs. The name tastes of ashes. I try to keep my tone steady, though my mind roils with the memory of her laugh, the shape of her mouth, the warmth we once shared. She stands before me now, changed beyond recognition, yet heartbreakingly familiar.

She smiles, a slow, predatory curl of her lips. My stomach churns at the glimpses of sharp canines. “Kaelith,” she purrs, voice resonating with that old seductive timbre. “It’s been too long.”

My claws dig into my palms. “Not long enough,” I growl.

She chuckles, sound echoing unnaturally. “I see you’re awake—and tethered toanotherpurna, no less.” Her gaze slides to Sariah, eerie red eyes raking over her. “How easily you replace me.” Her tone is mock-hurt, layered with cold amusement.

Sariah stiffens behind me, magic coiling at her fingertips. “He doesn’tbelongto you,” she snaps, anger flaring. I feel her fear trembling through the bond, but she stands her ground. My chest warms with grudging admiration.

Nerezza’s laugh hushes the air. “Little purna, you have no idea how deep my hold on him runs.” Her attention shifts back to me, voice dripping with nostalgia. “Remember what we shared, Kaelith? The nights we soared through the sky, the promises of peace. I can restore it. I can fix what was broken.”

My heart twists.She’s dangling the memory of our bond as if it still matters.“I remember how you turned that dream into a nightmare,” I snarl. “You twisted gargoyles, killed thousands.” Pain claws at my gut, memories of my kin reduced to mindless abominations. “I sealed us away to stop you.”

She tilts her head, dark hair drifting around her shoulders like living tendrils. “Yes, you sealed me—and yourself. I’ve forgiven you for that, you know.” A hint of wry amusement flickers in her tone. “We were both misguided. But now, the seal is undone, and our time has come again.”

Sariah’s brand flares with tension, a pulse of magic that resonates in my runes. “Stay back,” I hiss over my shoulder, wanting Sariah to remain behind me. I can’t bear the thought of Nerezza’s illusions sinking their claws into her.

Nerezza’s mouth curves in a sly smile. “Oh, Kaelith. Always the protector. But you forget—Iwas the one who sought power to protectyou.The curses that devoured your kind were accidents at first, a side effect of the raw chaos I wielded. I only wanted to preserve gargoyles, to shield them from extinction.”

She sweeps a hand, the motion trailing dark ribbons of energy that swirl around the edges of her apparition. “And I succeeded… in a fashion. Look at the brood I now command—your kin, reborn and improved. We can restore them all, if you rejoin me.”

My wings flex reflexively, an ache settling in my chest.She claims the monstrous brood is my kin, improved?A swirl of revulsion and lingering guilt tangles inside me. “You turned them into twisted shells,” I bite out. “Slaves to your chaos. That’s not salvation.”

Nerezza shrugs, eyes gleaming with unnatural light. “Semantics. They thrive, unstoppable. We can guide them, together. Let me fix that inconvenient bond you share with the little purna. Let me free you of it, so you can return to me unbound.”

A wave of cold rakes my body. My wings twitch in alarm. She’s offering to sever the tether that Sariah and I have struggled with.A temptation.The memory of how deeply I disliked being bound to any purna resurges. But I recall the night in that cave—how fiercely I clung to Sariah, how our synergy might yet be our only hope. My eyes dart to Sariah, seeing the fear tightening her features. Nerezza’s words sow doubt.Am I dooming Sariah to a fate like Nerezza’s?

“You know nothing about our bond,” Sariah retorts, voice trembling with anger. “We don’t need your so-called help.”

Nerezza’s gaze drifts to her, a predatory interest lurking behind that regal façade. “Are you certain? This tether might consume you both. Perhaps you’ll share Kaelith’s bed for a while, but eventually, it will twist your soul, purna. You risk walking the path I once did.” She smiles, chilling and knowing. “Raw power can corrupt so easily.”

Sariah flinches. I feel a spike of anguish flash through the tether.Nerezza’s sowing seeds of doubt.My own heart clenches.What if Sariah is truly heading down that road? Could she become the next Nyxari?The question robs me of breath.

Nerezza must sense my hesitation, because her lips curve in triumph. “Ah, you sense it too, don’t you, Kaelith? The darkness in her brand, the lethal potential. She could follow my footsteps, willingly or not. But if you rejoin me, I can guide you both. I can spare her the agony of repeating my mistakes.”

My mind spirals with old guilt.I failed to stop Nerezza once.Could I be failing again, letting Sariah inch toward a dark fate?No.I banish the thought, though it claws at my gut.

“Stop,” I growl, voice raw. “Stop twisting the truth. You want me enslaved to your cause.” I gather my courage, wings flaring. “I’ll never go back to you.” Despite my resolve, my chest aches with an echo of the love I once felt for the woman she used to be.

Nerezza’s expression softens fractionally, a fleeting glimpse of something almost human. “I’m not the one who sealed us, Kaelith. You did. Yet I forgave you. We can rebuild a new dawn for gargoyles, purna—any who bow to us. Or we can do it the hard way, with me crushing all opposition.”

She floats closer, her apparition gliding without touching the ground, dark cloth trailing behind her. Sariah tenses, power crackling around her fingers. My runes flare in response. The tension in the clearing builds, suffocating.

“You speak of forging a new dawn,” Sariah snaps. “But you cause only devastation. Drayveth’s men, entire covens. You think Kaelith wants any part of that carnage?”

Nerezza’s gaze flicks to Sariah, a sneer curling her lip. “The little purna presumes to know Kaelith’s heart. How quaint.” She laughs, a hollow, melodic sound. “He was always mine. We soared together for years, shared a bond far older than your fleeting romance.”

My tail cracks against the ground. The mention of our history sends a pang through me, but I push it down. “That time is gone,” I state firmly. “Whatever you once were, you’re a monster now.”

Her eyes flash with red fury. “A monster?” She sighs theatrically. “I gave everything to protect your race—your precious gargoyles. All I asked was your support, your faith in me. But you turned on me, sealed me away.” Her glare intensifies, voice dripping with old rage. “It was you who betrayed us, Kaelith.”

A fresh wave of guilt surges.She still sees me as the traitor.I grit my teeth. “I did what I had to do. You left me no choice.” My voice wavers at the end, memories of that final cataclysmic battle swirling behind my eyes.

She hovers closer, ephemeral face inches from mine, and I catch the faintest scent—like burnt flowers, a twisted echo of the perfume she once wore. My gut clenches in revulsion and longing all at once.She’s using illusions to unnerve me.

“Time has softened your edge, my warrior,” Nerezza murmurs, voice a seductive hush. “Look at you now, tethered to a second-rate purna, battered by battles you barely survive. Come with me, and I’ll restore your full power. I’ll make you unstoppable again, like the warrior I once loved.”

My runes pulse, responding to her proximity, stirring old memories. I want to recoil, but a part of me is rooted by the conflict raging in my chest.She’s lying.Yet I recall the days we defied an entire continent, forging an unlikely alliance between purna and gargoyle. She was so vibrant, so passionate—until that passion curdled into something monstrous.

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