⚔️ **CHAPTER 13 — The Price of Choosing**
The Council chamber was colder than Kael remembered.
Not in temperature—but in intent.
White marble pillars rose like judges, their shadows stretching across the circular floor where Kael now stood in chains of light. These were not restraints meant to hold his body.
They were meant to bind his **choice**.
Above him, the High Council had gathered in full for the first time in decades. Twelve thrones. Twelve helms. Twelve wills aligned against a single boy.
"You acted without sanction," the central voice declared.
"You altered an ancient seal."
"You rejected direct command."
Kael lifted his head. His eyes were tired—but steady.
"I saved Valenhold."
A ripple of displeasure moved through the chamber.
"You *interfered*," another councilor snapped. "You allowed the echo to stabilize. Two souls cannot coexist indefinitely."
"Then maybe," Kael said quietly, "the system that demanded one of us die is the problem."
Silence followed.
Then—
A laugh.
Slow. Measured.
Master **Aurelion** stepped forward, staff resting against the floor. "You speak boldly for someone who exists by accident."
Kael's jaw tightened. "You knew."
Aurelion didn't deny it.
"You knew a boy would be erased," Kael continued. "You let it happen. And when the power bonded to me instead, you called it fate."
Aurelion's eyes hardened. "I called it *necessary*."
The light-chains around Kael pulsed, reacting to his rising emotion. Somewhere deep inside, the second presence stirred—but did not interfere.
*Your choice,* the voice reminded him.
The central councilor spoke again. "Kael Ardyn, vessel of borrowed legacy. The Council has reached a verdict."
Liora's sharp intake of breath echoed from the observer's gallery.
"You are hereby stripped of academy protection," the voice continued.
"Declared an unstable anomaly."
"And sentenced to **Exile Beyond the Crownlands**."
The words hit harder than execution.
Exile meant no banners.
No name.
No return.
Kael closed his eyes.
So this was the price.
"Effective immediately," the councilor finished. "Your bond will be monitored from afar. Should corruption manifest—"
"You'll kill me," Kael said calmly. "Just say it."
Silence confirmed it.
The chains vanished.
Aurelion turned away first. "Leave before dawn," he said. "If you remain within Valenhold by sunrise, the order will be carried out."
Kael looked around the chamber one last time.
"This world survives by stealing from children," he said. "One day—it'll have to pay that debt."
No one answered.
---
The gates of Valenhold opened at dawn.
No ceremony.
No farewell trumpet.
Kael stepped beyond the threshold with a small pack on his back and his sword at his side. Liora stood waiting outside the walls, eyes red, jaw clenched.
"You weren't supposed to be alone," she said.
Kael smiled faintly. "I never really was."
She stepped forward and pressed something into his hand—a small crystal etched with academy runes.
"A signal stone," she whispered. "If you're ever in danger—real danger—use it."
Kael hesitated. "They'll trace it."
"I don't care."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Liora pulled him into a fierce embrace. "Don't become what they think you are."
Kael held on—just a second longer than necessary.
"I won't," he promised. "I'll become something worse."
He turned and walked into the wilds beyond the Crownlands, where maps ended and legends began.
As the academy disappeared behind him, the second voice spoke again—clearer than ever.
*Exile is where truths grow teeth.*
Kael nodded.
"Then let's survive," he said.
Far away, unseen—
A councilor removed their helm.
And smiled.
Because exile had always been the plan.
---