The script under Mara's hands brightens, each pulse answering the locket like a second heartbeat. Nezznar stays locked in place, but his eyes sharpen, tracking every flicker.

A thin seam of silver light runs farther across the pedestal, then spills into the floor sigil beneath it. Mara flinches as the glow climbs her wrist and into the locket's chain.

The chamber hums louder. The pedestal seam widens by a hair, and the hidden script on the stone flashes the name Mara again, as if demanding a choice from Kynes.

Bren tightens her grip on her blade, and Nezznar's bound glare fixes on Kynes, furious and waiting for the next move.

Kynes loosens the magical grip on Mara at once. The locket slips free into his control as the pedestal gives a harsh metallic sigh.

His other hand closes. Nezznar and the bound intruder jerk hard, their voices cut off as the chamber goes suddenly still around them.

Bone gives way under invisible pressure. Both bodies go slack in the same breath, falling into silence beside the red-lit pedestal.

Kynes keeps pressure on Nezznar alone, slow and deliberate, like a vise tightening by inches. The floor sigil burns brighter under the weight of it.

Mara stares at the locket in Kynes's hand, freed and shaking, while silver script continues to gleam across the pedestal, now fully open to his claim.