The Blade

Person (S

ed with a low, ominous hum, as if the river sp

r spirits, stood frozen in the narrow tunnel, my hand clutchi

test w

in my mind as I faced a cloaked figure,

pe the Starborn's fate. Beside me, Mason, the mysterious stranger whose hazel eye

on in the Shrine of the Ancients, her rune stone glowing with mystical se

he Willow Creek Sisterhood, le

dagger's spectral light casting e

" they said, their voice a low hiss t

ecy has begun, and y

cy scroll pulsing in my pock

in front of Lila, my voice steady

by Hannah's betrayal, branding Mason a traitor from Ra

h Sister-in-training would be stripped

their face. "The river spirits you worship are bu

fiance. "I'm no one's pawn," he said, steppi

or you'll

d that slithered through t

n heir. Ravenwood hasn'

secret past. Was this figure a hunter from

s rune stone, part of the my

g of blood and bond. I glanced at Mason, his hazel eyes meet

d hymns, felt like a distant ember, overshad

ove," Lila whispered

y is close. I hear

th accusations. Hannah's betrayal had led them to the hidden caverns, and

mth grounding me. "We can't fi

eir dagger, its spec

forbidden prophecy. The

e dagger clattered to the stone floor, its glow dimming. Lila

s handle cold and pulsin

just enough to reveal a glimpse of a familiar

's shadows, leaving only the

pulling me back. "We d

ulsing in time with the prophecy scroll. Was this the shadow's blade foretold? I

nd Lila deeper into the tunnel, awa

arth and deep caverns. My flashlight flickered, as if the river spirits were watching, jud

tural attraction pulling me toward him. Our bond felt unspoken,

run?" I asked, m

when you slipped o

to me, a storm of emo

voice low. "Something about y

e my heart race. I wanted to hate him for mocking my tradition

lsed, whispering of a myst

joking, half-serious. "The sacr

eyes. "And your holy rites didn't

crackled, a clash of identit

child, branded a traitor by Ravenwood. I was a sister, bound by sa

ling studded with crystals that glowed faintly,

its surface rippling as if stirred by river spirits. I k

the Ancients," I said, my voice hu

ring. "More of your sacred texts

"You don't get it, do you? The river s

, his hazel eyes

on't save you from what's coming. Raven

my faith. But before I could retort, Lila

a burning world, cities ablaze, rivers s

on light. The vision shifted, showing Mason and me, our

a star-crossed fate

trembling. Mason's hand gra

asked, his voice sof

red, pulling out the scroll. Its c

." My heart raced. Was our magical bon

r beads, whisper

ay here. The High As

heir lanterns casting faint shadows at the tunnel's e

the caverns

me, her loyalty to the High Assembly shattering our sist

g," I said. "There's a

stirred my thoughts. Our fated mates connection felt stron

len heir I could trust, or a trai

lder, the hum of the river spirits louder. The dagger

ed figure, and the rune stone. Was she protecting us

owed faintly, like the rune stone in Mother's hand. I touched it, and

to open, but a sudden scre

e shadows not the cloaked figure, but Hannah, her face twisted with

, Sarah," she said,

curse, and you've b

annah, my sister, h

or had the forbidden proph

ing rune stone, accuses Sarah of cur

told, or is a darker f