Bound by blood and flame

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Chapter Seven – Shadows, Riddles, and Heat

The Daggercliff Caves rose like a monster's ribcage from the forest floor—twisted black stone spirals that stretched skyward like claws trying to tear through the sky. The path leading up to it was half-swallowed by vines and mist.

Stephanie pulled her hoodie tighter as the group reached the entrance. "Great. Another creepy dungeon. I totally missed this on my vacation checklist."

"Wait till you see the inside," Kael said cheerfully. "It gets worse."

Carmen rolled her eyes. "Kael, if you open your mouth one more time, I'll knock you out and leave you here."

Leon chuckled. "Seconded."

Zara, quiet as always, stepped forward. "Stay focused. These caves are ancient. They're not just traps—they test your mind."

Lucien said nothing. His presence loomed at the back like a cold wind, his red eyes scanning the trees behind them. "Azazel's spies could be anywhere. Get in, find the relic, and get out."

They all nodded.

Stephanie stared at the cave. Something about it pulled at her—like a memory she didn't know she had. She took a breath and stepped inside first. Then she looked back and nodded at them before moving further and noticing her environment.

The air changed instantly. The temperature dropped, and the sound outside vanished. Even her own footsteps sounded distant. Ethan followed close behind.

"I hate caves," she muttered and shivered slightly.

"I love them," Ethan said casually. "Especially the part where people trip and fall into eternal darkness."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "You're the worst."

"And yet you keep ending up next to me. And maybe falling for me?" He asked with a smirk.

"You wish. It's because fate is a sadist."

The tunnel opened into a wide chamber filled with hovering stones and golden runes that pulsed like heartbeats. In the center of the floor was a glowing circle with six points, one for each of them.

Zara knelt and studied the sigils. "It's a truth trial. Magical riddle lock. You can't pass unless you give an answer the magic accepts."

Stephanie glanced around. "And what happens if you lie?"

Kael snorted. "I imagine fire, screaming, and something horrible with claws."

Leon took a deep breath. "Sounds fun."

A booming voice echoed through the chamber:

"Only truth may light the path. Lies shall burn. The weak shall fall. Speak your fear. Reveal your shadow."

A small orb of flame floated before each of them.

Stephanie stepped toward hers and whispered, "Becoming the thing I was born from."

The flame pulsed. Then faded.

Kael said, "Being left behind."

Carmen: "Hurting the people I love."

Leon: "Losing control."

Zara: "Abandoning my purpose."

Then it was Ethan's turn.

He hesitated longer than the others.

"I'm afraid of becoming like my father."

The flames vanished.

A stone path lit up across a yawning chasm at the edge of the room.

Stephanie exhaled. "So far, so alive."

They stepped forward, one by one, the floor glowing beneath them. The deeper they went, the louder the whispers grew—voices brushing against their ears.

You're not strong enough.

You'll kill them all.

You don't belong here.

Stephanie gritted her teeth. "Ignore it."

Ethan walked beside her. "They're just echoes of our own thoughts."

She glanced at him. "You hear them too?"

He nodded. "All the time."

Another chamber opened ahead, larger than the first. This one held mirrors—hundreds of them—stretching from floor to ceiling in a perfect circle.

"Let me guess," Stephanie said. "More mind games?"

Kael was already staring at his reflection. "Damn. I look good even in nightmares."

The mirrors began to ripple. Each one reflected not them—but warped versions. Stephanie watched her own eyes turn crimson, her skin blackened with flame as horns rose from her head. She flinched.

"That's not me."

Ethan's mirror showed him cloaked in flame, golden wings spread behind him, his eyes pure fire.

"It could be," he murmured.

She looked at him. "Is that your phoenix side?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But it feels... right. And wrong."

They stood in silence for a moment, reflections flickering around them.

"Why do you keep showing up?" she asked suddenly.

Ethan's smirk returned. "Because I can't stay away."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I've got."

She sighed. "You're impossible."

He leaned closer. "And you're glowing again."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

The chamber faded as the mirrors vanished. Another hallway appeared.

Zara's voice came from ahead. "I see something—come on."

They ran into the final room, a circular space of obsidian stone and molten cracks in the ground. Hovering above a pedestal of bone and ash was a dagger—flame and shadow twined together in a twisting helix.

"The Relic of Bound Blood," Lucien said from behind them, appearing like mist.

Stephanie stepped forward slowly. "I can feel it."

"Because it's yours," Lucien said. "The dagger is a conduit for your power. A key. A curse. A choice."

"That's ominous," Leon muttered.

Suddenly, the room trembled.

A figure burst from the far wall—tall, cloaked, with a face like melted glass and eyes of silver smoke.

"A Memory Wraith," Zara hissed.

It screamed and launched forward, hitting the ground hard enough to crack stone. Carmen and Leon shifted mid-air, attacking it in sync. Zara followed, lightning streaking from her palms.

Kael leapt toward the side and summoned a wall of flame to slow it.

Ethan ran to the front and struck it with a burst of raw force—his eyes flashing white.

"Steph, get the dagger!" he yelled.

She ran, dodging fire and lightning. Her fingers closed around the hilt.

The moment she touched it, the world shattered.

Visions exploded into her skull—her mother screaming, her father's red eyes filled with sorrow, Azazel's laughter, a throne of bones, and her own voice screaming in a language she didn't know.

"Stephanie!" Carmen called.

But she didn't hear her.

She collapsed to her knees, fire erupting from her back in wings of light and smoke.

Her mark burned.

She screamed once.

And then everything went black.