My girlfriend is trapped in my superpower

Chapter 41: Shadows in Passing



The night pressed heavy against the village, silence cloaking every rooftop and alleyway. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

Selene had ordered it: no light, no voice, no movement.

I crouched in the shadows with Mira and Bram, my pulse hammering in my ears. Lyra shimmered faintly beside us, arms folded, for once not smirking. The villagers huddled like ghosts in their doorways, every eye fixed on the road.

Then came the sound. Hooves crunching dirt. Metal clinking against armor. Voices.

I peered through a gap in the shutters. A procession moved down the road: half a dozen armored guards, their torches casting restless light, and at the front—

Sareth. My so-called mentor.

His hood was down, his face sharp in the firelight. He looked colder, harder, more dangerous than I'd ever seen him in Ashthorne.

"Another dead end," one of the guards spat. His voice carried in the silence. "Nothing here but rot."

Sareth's reply was low but sharp enough to slice through the night. "Lies. This place should've held something. Someone. Do not tell me I was sent on shadows."

"Master Corvin swore—" another guard started.

"Corvin is a fool," Sareth snapped. His tone was poison wrapped in ice. "If the Heir was here, he's gone. And if this village once sheltered him, they'll pay for their silence."

My gut twisted, heat rising under my skin. The heir. He was hunting me. Not guiding. Not mentoring. Hunting.

The guards cursed under their breath, one muttering, "A waste of time. The council will not be pleased."

Sareth's eyes scanned the empty houses one last time. For a terrifying moment, I thought they landed on mine. My lungs froze. But then he turned his horse with a flick of the reins.

"Burn it later if you must," he said, his voice like gravel. "But tonight we ride. The trail isn't cold yet."

They passed through. Torches flickered, then vanished into the distance.

Only when the last echo of hooves faded did anyone move. The villagers released a collective breath, the sound like waves collapsing on the shore.

"Why… why didn't he know?" I whispered, more to myself than anyone else. My voice trembled, raw with betrayal. "If he was sent to find me—why didn't he know this village wasn't deserted?"

A villager woman crossed herself with trembling hands. "Because he isn't what he pretends to be. Sareth bears the blood of those who once sought to break the seal. If he finds you, heir, the shadows will feast again."

Fear rippled through the crowd. Some whispered prayers. Others looked at me like I was already the answer to their salvation.

"The bearer of the sun is finally here," an old man rasped. His words sent shivers through me. "The seal will hold. The night will not win."

Selene stepped forward, her cloak heavy with shadow, her eyes catching mine. "Come. There's much you need to know."

We followed her through the square until the crowd thinned and the houses muffled their whispers. She led me into a crumbling hall at the village's heart, where ancient murals scarred the walls—paintings of fire and shadow locked in eternal war.

"This is where it began," she said softly. "Our clan was forged to bind the monster beneath the world. Fire and shadow, brother and sister. Sun and night. Without both, the seal weakens. Without you, Kael, it breaks."

I stared at the murals. Figures with burning eyes stood against towering beasts, their flames coiling with shadow. One figure stood at the center, brighter than the rest.

The fire inside my chest burned like it recognized the painting. I wondered if I had ever been free—or if my whole life had been leading me here.

The villagers eventually drifted back to their homes, murmurs trailing like restless ghosts. Mira lingered near the doorway, her hand never straying far from her sword. Bram leaned against the wall, yawning in exaggerated fashion but watching everything with sharp eyes.

Selene gestured me deeper into the hall. Lyra flickered, following us like a lazy flame. "Ohhh, private sibling talk. This is where secrets spill, Kael. Try not to look too shocked."

I ignored her—for once. My steps echoed against the stone as Selene led me toward the mural of the central figure, the one haloed in fire. She stopped, her hand brushing the cracked surface.

"Mother spoke of you often," she said at last, her voice quieter than before. "Not in names, but in promises. That one day, when the shadows grew restless, the other half of the seal would return."

I swallowed. "And you always believed her?"

Her lips pressed thin. "I wanted to. But hope is a cruel thing. It feeds you while starving you at the same time. Every year that passed, I thought she lied. That you were never real."

I shifted, the weight of her words pressing down on me. "And now that I'm standing here?"

She turned to me then, her eyes as dark as midnight water. For the first time, I saw the uncertainty behind her strength. "Now I don't know whether to feel relieved… or terrified."

The silence that followed was heavier than any blade.

Lyra, of course, cut through it with a dry laugh. "Well, isn't this cozy? Fire-boy meets shadow-girl, and suddenly the fate of the world is their family drama. Lovely."

"Quiet," Selene snapped, shadows curling tighter at her wrists. But then she looked back at me, and her voice softened. "Listen to me, Kael. Sareth is not who you think he is. His blood is tied to the old betrayers—the ones who tried to harness the beast for themselves. They failed, and they were cursed for it. But their line lingers."

My stomach twisted. "Then why… why would he pose as my ally? My mentor?"

"Because he doesn't need to steal the flame outright," Selene said. "He only needs to guide it. Twist it. Lead you toward choices that make you his pawn."

Her words dug deep, each one a nail in the coffin of whatever trust I had left for Sareth.

I wanted to protest, to say she was wrong—but the memory of his cold voice on the road rang too sharp in my ears. The heir. Not Kael. Not his student. The heir.

My fists clenched. "If that's true… then I've been walking in chains without even realizing it."

Selene's eyes flickered with something like pity, though it was buried under the steel of her resolve. "Then break them, brother. Before it's too late."

Behind us, Bram cleared his throat loudly. "Well. That was dramatic." He smirked, but his eyes were dead serious. "I don't like this Sareth bastard. And if what she says is true, I like him even less."

Mira stepped forward, her jaw tight. "If Kael's in danger, we don't wait for Sareth to move. We prepare."

For once, Lyra didn't joke. She only looked at me, her ember eyes strangely unreadable. "Tick-tock, Kael. The seal's trembling, the shadows are whispering, and your 'mentor' might be sharpening his knife. What are you going to do about it?"

I didn't have an answer. Only the fire burning hotter in my chest, demanding one.

The room seemed to shrink around us, walls whispering with shadows, the fire inside me pressing tighter, hotter. My thoughts tangled with Selene's words, with the villagers' reverence, with Sareth's shadow looming larger than ever.

I was heir, savior, seal-bearer. A chain or a key. I didn't know which.

Selene's gaze lingered on me, sharp but not unkind. "Mama left something for you," she said finally. Her voice carried a weight that made my chest tighten. "If you are who she believed you to be… it may help you understand."

Before I could speak, the heavy wooden doors creaked. An old villager shuffled in, his eyes wide with urgency. He bowed low to Selene, then looked at me with fear and awe tangled in his stare.

"They're moving," he whispered, voice trembling. "The enemy… their scouts have been seen near the borders. The seal stirs."

Every muscle in me went rigid. Mira cursed under her breath. Bram muttered something that sounded like of course. Lyra only smiled like she'd been waiting for this all along.

Selene's shadows shivered across the floor. "Then we don't have time to waste."

Her eyes locked with mine, the weight of blood and fire between us. "Come, brother. It's time you learn the truth."

The words landed like a vow, sharp and final and just like that, the fire in my chest roared louder.


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