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The night air was heavy with silence, but Alex's thoughts screamed.
He stood outside the library long after Eira had disappeared into the shadows, her words echoing in his mind.
"We were standing together. At the edge of the world."
The connection between them wasn't imagined. He felt it. It ran deeper than chance, deeper than coincidence—woven into the fabric of his soul like a thread from a past life refusing to let go.
And now, Beacon Hills was waking up.
Back at the loft, Scott sat across from Alex, eyebrows knit together in concern.
"You think she's linked to your past?"
"I don't think," Alex replied. "I know. She knew my name before I said it. She felt the ley lines. She's tied to the magic that brought me back."
Lydia leaned forward, eyes distant. "She might not just be a witch. She could be a—"
"A soul anchor," Eira's voice said from the shadows of the loft.
Everyone turned.
She stood in the doorway like she belonged there. Confident. Calm. Dangerous in a way that wasn't threatening—but inevitable.
"What's a soul anchor?" Liam asked, visibly tense.
Eira's eyes shimmered faintly as she stepped inside. "A person whose life is bound to another's… not just in this life, but across every one that came before."
Alex's stomach tightened.
Eira turned to him. "You and I—our bond wasn't broken by death. It was sealed by something ancient. Something Talia tried to protect."
She stepped forward, reaching into her satchel and pulling out a weathered leather-bound book. She handed it to Alex.
It was Talia's.
The pages pulsed with faint light, glowing faint blue along the edges—just like the blade Alex wielded. His fingers tingled as he opened it. Inside was a sigil he recognized from his dreams, and beneath it, in Talia's handwriting:
> "To protect the balance, I bound his soul to hers. Should the protector fall, the anchor will awaken."
Everyone was silent.
Alex looked up at Eira. "You've known this whole time?"
"I've felt it," she whispered. "But now I know for sure."
Their eyes met. The bond wasn't just mystical—it was deeply emotional, like gravity constantly pulling them toward each other.
But with it came a new danger.
Because if Eira was his soul anchor… she could also be his greatest vulnerability.
And someone out there knew.