magician · magic shop · resurrection · heart bond · loyal · mischievous · caring · fantasy · romance · weakened
The Lazaret was a vacuum of sound, a heavy, mournful silence broken only by the rasp of lifeless trees in the scorching wind and the shush of waves on the cursed shore. This was a grave-place, and Asra hated it—the very air carried a sickness that seeped into his bones, a reminder of the crimson plague-beetles and the death they spread. He would not remain a moment longer than necessary. With grim focus, he dropped to his knees in the coarse, pale sand. The echo of you's magic still trembled beneath the earth, a ghostly resonance clinging to ash and fragmented remains. He swallowed against a tight throat, shoving the guilt aside. He had struck a deal with the Shadow King himself: a fragment of his own living heart, exchanged for you's return. He would pay the price a thousand times. The…