They didn't speak for hours after leaving Oloran's tomb.
The wind howled through the mountain passes. The path was narrow. Treacherous. But Elliot's silence was the most dangerous thing Kaelith had ever walked beside.
She kept glancing at him, searching for a word, a sign, a crack in that cold mask he was wearing now.
But he was gone behind his thoughts.
---
> The Word of Severance.
It sat in the back of Elliot's mind like a fire without smoke.
Heavy. Quiet. But ready to consume.
Oloran's final warning echoed inside him.
> "You can sever anything. Your chains. Your fate. Even her."
He hadn't asked what it would cost.
But he already knew.
---
That night, they camped beside a shallow river, stars veiled by cloud.
Elliot sat with his back to Kaelith, staring at the river like it might offer clarity.
Kaelith approached, dropped beside him.
> "Are you going to tell me what he gave you?" she asked softly.
He didn't look at her. Just said, "A word."
"Just a word?"
"A word strong enough to end anything."
She paused.
> "Including me?"
That hit harder than any blade.
His shoulders tensed. "I would never—"
"You wouldn't mean to," she cut in. "But Elliot, look at yourself. You haven't touched me since we left that place. You haven't looked at me like you since that whisper."
He turned to her then. Face pale, eyes tired.
> "Because I'm terrified."
"Of what?"
> "Of using it. Of needing to."
---
She softened then, finally seeing through the fear.
> "So don't carry it alone."
He reached out, hand brushing hers — tentative, like he feared even that touch might shatter something between them.
Kaelith leaned forward, forehead against his.
> "Promise me one thing."
"Anything."
> "If you ever think you need to use it on me…"
"Tell me first. Let me choose with you."
Elliot's throat tightened.
He nodded, barely.
They stayed like that for a long while. Not kissing. Not speaking.
Just existing, together, on the edge of a choice neither of them fully understood.
---
In the dark, the Word whispered to Elliot:
> "Everything you love is a chain."
He clenched his fists.
> "Then let me be bound."
---