THE UNBROKEN

It was late morning when the trio stepped into La Señora Behike's study once more.

The fire burned low. A kettle of something herbal and warm bubbled near the hearth, scenting the room with basil, orange peel, and magic.

Niegal sat carefully. Elena, still sore from the night before, eased onto the woven cushion beside him with a soft groan and a knowing smirk. She didn't say anything, but the look she gave her husband said enough.

He cleared his throat.

La Señora Behike chuckled without looking up from her tea. "You wear each other well," she said. "But you have questions."

Niegal nodded. "The lion…"

"…has always been there," the elder finished for him. "Yes. It's no coincidence. You are a vessel of an old god- just like Sotomatteo before you."

Elena leaned forward, brows raised. "So it's true then? Sotomatteo wasn't just legend. He was… like you," she said, nudging Niegal gently with her foot. "A beast of the gods."

"More than a beast," the Behike replied. "A protector. A sacred weapon made flesh. The truth of him was lost. Bastardized. Just like Yidali. History feared them, so it erased them. But here-" she gestured to the burning mark on Elena's chest, "-and here," she added, pointing at Niegal's pulsepoint where his sigil still flickered faintly, "they return."

Niegal stared into the fire. "The lion has always been a part of me. I used to think it was anger. Madness. Something to suppress. But the Behike back home… she knew."

"She did," the old woman said with a soft nod. "She always knows."

Elena winced slightly as she adjusted her posture. Her voice was dry, curious. "And what about the bond? Between woman and beast?" She tilted her head. "Is it choice? Or… is it something else that binds us?"

Señora Behike smiled, gently. "Choice, always. But not the kind most people think. You chose each other long ago. That night, at the old estate, the first time your bodies united?"

Elena's cheeks flushed, but she didn't look away.

The elder continued. "That was your moment. You sealed it then, whether you realized it or not. That kind of joining, between a vessel of Guabancex and a vessel of the beast? It's not just physical. It's eternal. You were meant to find each other in this life. And every one after."

Niegal exhaled slowly, the weight of it sinking in.

Elena blinked. "So… you're saying I'm tied to this big fuzzy rage-beast for all my lives?"

The Behike laughed, loud and wheezing. "Yes, mi Doña. And he, to you. You are his storm. His clarity. His counterpart."

Elena groaned, letting her head fall back. "Ugh. Our Behike back home could've just said that instead of giving me riddles and moonlight visions."

"She's too cryptic for her own good," Niegal muttered.

Elena pointed at him. "Right? I knew I wasn't crazy!"

They all shared a laugh. For a moment, even with the truth of ancient bonds and divine forms hanging in the air, it felt light.

Safe.

Then the Behike stood, slowly. "Rest today. You'll need it. The storm hasn't passed. It's only waiting for your next command."

Elena nodded. "Then we'll be ready."

Niegal offered his hand to help her up. She took it. Fingers laced, the lion and the storm walked back into the sunlight, side by side.

Bound. Willingly.

And ready.