[BL] I Didn't Sign Up For This Chapter 56: In Which We Get a Very Unwelcome Phone Call (Fro

The second rift was bigger than the first.

Not catastrophically bigger, but definitely bigger. Where the first tear had been maybe six feet tall, this one was easily ten, pulsing with that sa sickly purple-black light that made my eyes hurt.

"This one’s been active for three weeks," Mara said, checking her equipnt. "It’s destabilizing faster, we need it closed before it reaches critical mass."

We were in an abandoned warehouse district on the edge of the city, the kind of place where nobody asked questions and most people had the good sense to stay away.

Henrik was setting up monitoring gear while Mara established a periter ward. Azryth and I stood about twenty feet from the rift, studying it.

"It’s angrier than the last one," I observed.

"Larger rifts have more volatile energy." Azryth wrapped his hand around mine. "The closure for this one will require more power and more precision. Are you ready?"

"As I’ll ever be."

We’d practiced for two days. Channeling power together, synchronizing our energy, learning to rge without collapsing. I’d even closed a tiny practice tear without accidentally manifesting the spectral blade.

Progress.

"Monitors are active," Mara called out. "You’re clear to proceed."

We moved closer to the rift, stopping about ten feet away.

I reached out with that sixth sense, feeling the tear’s structure, it felt like a wound in reality, torn edges, unstable energy, chaos barely contained. But underneath, there was structure, patterns, places where the tear was thinnest, most vulnerable.

"I see it," I said.

"Good. Now..!"

The rift pulsed violently.

Mara’s monitors started screaming warnings.

"What’s happening?" Henrik shouted.

"Energy signature just changed!" Mara stared at her equipnt. "There’s sothing..!"

The rift tore wider, and then I heard it.

A voice, coming through the dinsional tear, distorted but distinct.

"Well, well. What have we here?"

Azryth went absolutely rigid beside .

"Brother. I wondered when you’d resurface. Five hundred years is a long ti to sulk."

Through the binding, I felt Azryth’s reaction, shock, fury, old pain.

"Veyrith," he said, his voice like ice.

Oh shit.

"The very sa." The voice was getting clearer, like whatever was speaking was moving closer to the rift. "I’ve been watching your little project, closing my rifts. How industrious of you."

"Your rifts," Azryth repeated. "So you’re coordinating this."

"Coordinating? My dear brother, I’m orchestrating sothing far grander than your limited perspective can grasp." Cold laughter echoed through the tear. "Though I must say, your timing is impeccable, just when I thought you’d be sealed forever, here you are, free, bound to a..." He paused. "What is that delightful creature you’ve attached yourself to?"

I felt his attention shift to , and it made my skin crawl.

"A warden," Veyrith continued, sounding genuinely delighted. "Oh, this is rich. The great Azryth Valek, reduced to binding himself to a mortal. How the mighty have fallen."

"Leave him out of this," Azryth said, and I felt power starting to manifest around him, actual flas flickering at his shoulders.

"Leave him out? But he’s the most interesting part!" More of that cold laughter. "Tell , little warden, how does it feel to be shackled to a failure? To a demon lord so pathetic he let himself be sealed for five centuries?"

"Fuck off," I said before I could stop myself.

Silence. Then Veyrith laughed again, genuinely amused this ti.

"Oh, I like this one. He has spirit." The voice sharpened. "But spirit won’t save you, warden. Neither will that curious little seal you’re carrying. Yes, I can sense it even through the dinsional barrier. Kael inheritance magic, unless I’m very much mistaken. How fascinating."

How the hell did he know about the seal?

"This has been enlightening," Veyrith continued, "but I have a schedule to keep, do carry on with your futile efforts to close my rifts. It’s adorable, really. Like watching children play at being heroes."

"We’ll stop you," I said, hating how my voice shook slightly.

"Will you?" The amusent was thick in his voice. "You can barely close one rift without exhausting yourselves, and I have so many, by all ans, try. I could use the entertainnt."

The rift pulsed, and I felt his attention pulling back, preparing to leave.

"One more thing, brother," Veyrith said, and his voice had gone cold. "That little warden of yours? The one you’re so protective of? I’m going to enjoy breaking him, slowly, thoroughly, and you’re going to watch, powerless to stop it. Just like you watched everything else fall apart around you."

Through the binding, I felt Azryth’s fury spike to dangerous levels.

"Oh, and Riven?" Veyrith said my na like he was tasting it, savoring it. "That is your na, isn’t it? Riven Kael, last of your bloodline, I’ve done my research. When the ti cos, I’ll make sure your death serves a purpose. Your essence could prove quite useful for my work, a warden’s power, properly applied... yes. That has potential."

"Close the rift," Azryth said, his voice deadly quiet. "Now."

I didn’t argue.

I pulled on the binding, letting Azryth’s power surge through to stabilize , and reached for the rift. The energy that poured through was white-hot, furious, desperate, absolutely done with this conversation.

I offered the rift closure. Not gently this ti, not with patience or careful structure, just raw determination backed by amplified power.

Close. NOW.

The rift fought back, but I didn’t care. I hit it with everything, warden structure amplified by infernal power, forcing the dinsional fabric to seal whether it wanted to or not.

Veyrith’s laughter echoed as I felt the tear begin to collapse.

I pushed harder, pouring more energy through the binding, more power than was probably smart, the edges knitted together, reality healing itself under the pressure.

Azryth’s power steadied when I wavered, compensated when I faltered, kept from burning out completely as I forced the closure.

Then, with a sound like reality sighing in relief, the rift sealed.

The backlash hit hard. I staggered, and Azryth caught before I could fall.

"What," Henrik said into the sudden silence, "the absolute fuck was that?"

"That," Azryth said, his voice still cold with barely controlled rage, "was my brother."

Mara was staring at her equipnt, expression grim. "The energy signature spiked massively when he made contact, he forced the rift open wider just to communicate with you."

"He wanted us to know he’s aware," Azryth said. "That he’s been watching, that this entire crisis isn’t random chaos."

"He knows about ," I said, my voice shakier than I wanted. "About my bloodline, about the seal. How the hell does he know about the seal?"

"Because Veyrith is thorough." Azryth’s arm tightened around . "He wouldn’t orchestrate sothing on this scale without gathering intelligence on potential threats. And apparently, we qualify."

"We’ve closed two rifts," I pointed out. "Two. Out of hundreds, how does that make us a threat?"

"Because you’re a Kael warden with an active inheritance seal, bound to a demon lord with legitimate claim to the infernal throne." Mara was typing rapidly on her tablet. "That combination is exactly the kind of thing that would concern him, you’re an unknown variable in whatever he’s planning."

"He threatened you," Azryth said quietly, and through the binding I felt his fury mixing with fear. "Specifically, by na, that wasn’t a casual intimidation."

"No, that was a promise to torture and kill while you watch." I tried to sound flippant and failed. "So, you know. Tuesday."

"This isn’t funny, Riven."

"I know it’s not funny. I’m terrified." I looked at him. "But what are we supposed to do? Stop closing rifts because your brother made threats?"

"No." His jaw was tight. "But we need to be more careful, he’s not just aware of us now, he’s actively interested. That makes everything more dangerous."

"Everything was already dangerous," Henrik pointed out. "We’re closing dinsional tears that could destroy reality, Veyrith being a psychopath doesn’t really change the risk assessnt."

"It does if he decides to co after us directly," Mara said. "Or send forces to stop you from closing more rifts, we’ve been operating under the assumption that we had ti to work quietly. That assumption is now invalid."

She was right. Veyrith knew about us, knew what we were doing, knew enough about to make specific threats.

"We keep going," I said. "We close more rifts, we figure out what he’s planning and how to stop it."

"Agreed," Azryth said.

"Let’s get back to the safehouse," Mara said, packing up her equipnt. "We need to analyze this encounter and figure out our next move."

We left the warehouse together, the empty air where the rift had been feeling like both a victory and a warning.

Veyrith knew about us now.

He’d made his threats.

And sohow, we had to figure out how to stop whatever he was planning before it killed us all.

The ride back to the safehouse was quiet. Henrik drove while Mara reviewed the data from the rift closure. Azryth sat beside in the back, his hand never leaving mine.

Through the binding, I felt his thoughts churning. Anger at his brother, fear for , grim determination to protect from whatever Veyrith had planned.

"Stop it," I said quietly.

"Stop what?"

"Spiraling. I can feel you through the binding, you’re catastrophizing."

"My brother just threatened to torture you to death while I watch. I think so catastrophizing is warranted."

"Maybe. But it’s not helpful." I leaned against him. "We knew this was dangerous, we knew there were major threats involved. Veyrith being one of them doesn’t change what we need to do."

"It changes everything."

"How?"

"Because now it’s personal." His arm ca around . "Before, this was about stopping a dinsional crisis, now it’s about my brother specifically targeting you to hurt ."

"So we hurt him back," I said. "We close his rifts, we disrupt whatever he’s building. And eventually, we face him directly."

"You say that like it’s simple."

"It’s not simple. It’s terrifying and probably suicidal." I looked up at him. "But we’re doing it anyway, right?"

He was quiet for a mont. Then: "Yes. We’re doing it anyway."

The seal on my wrist pulsed warmly.

My mother had given tools for exactly this kind of situation.

Ti to use them.