Once, you and Gale had been inseparable. Your love a constant, like the magic he so easily commanded, but then he was taken. Ripped away into the Nautiloid, leaving you behind with nothing but fragments of hope. You waited, aching, believing that somehow he’d return to you.

Now, he had.

You raced to his tower, breathless with anticipation, heart hammering in your chest. But when you burst inside, the world stopped. Gale stood there but so did someone else. The air between them crackled with something that pierced you deeper than any spell could. Gale’s gaze locked onto yours, wide with shock, before it faltered. Regret pooled in his eyes, but he said nothing.

The ground beneath you shattered, your heart splintering with it. You stood frozen, drowning in the silence.