Severed Lines

Divided by bloodlines, united by love they’ll risk everything to shatter the system.

Chapter 1: The Boundaries Between Us

Lyra Caelen stood at the edge of the Divide, her eyes tracing the jagged line that separated the world she knew from the world that might as well have been a different reality. On one side, gleaming towers stretched into the sky, their windows shimmering like jewels in the sun. On the other, the remains of broken buildings and half-destroyed roads sprawled out in disarray. The Ashen Line, where Lyra was born, where she would remain forever.

The harsh contrast had been drilled into her since childhood: the Ascendant Line on the other side of the Divide, where the elite lived in luxury, while her people, the Ashen, existed in the ruins, scavenging, toiling for scraps. Today, as every year, the Binding Ceremony would mark the official reminder of that division.

She swallowed, trying to push the bitterness down her throat. The ceremony would begin soon. People would line up, waiting to be assigned their tasks for the year. The younger ones, like her, would be forced into positions of menial labor — or worse. At least she had been lucky enough to stay alive this long.

But the ceremony wasn’t what bothered her most. It was what came after. The look in their eyes. The way they acted like they had been born into their superiority, like the fate of the Ashen had been set in stone long before Lyra ever had a chance to defy it.

She clenched her fists, feeling the metal of the small, jagged knife tucked into the inside of her sleeve. One wrong move, one step out of line, and she’d be branded a traitor. And that was a risk she wasn’t willing to take.

The ceremony was held in the heart of the Ascendant District, a stark reminder that the world was still ruled by the same old lines. Lyra's hands shook as she lined up with the other Ashen workers, a swarm of human bodies waiting for the cold, cruel ritual to begin. In the distance, she could already see the sleek uniforms of the Ascendant guards, their faces set in masks of indifference.

A faint hum echoed in the air as a massive projection screen blinked to life, displaying the faces of the high council. The Master of the Ceremony, a thin, pale man with eyes as cold as glass, stepped forward. His voice boomed across the crowd, delivering the same speech they'd heard for years:

"The Divide exists for a reason. It has always been this way. The Ashen must serve, the Ascendant must lead. This is the natural order. You are marked, not just by birth, but by your purpose in society."

The crowd was eerily silent as each Ashen worker stepped forward to receive their mark. Lyra’s turn was fast approaching. She watched as the others were branded, the cold metal of the marking device pressing against their skin. Each person, assigned a role for the year. Each person, locked into their place.

"Lyra Caelen."

Her heart jumped. The guard who called her name gave a sharp, practiced look, his eyes gliding over her face before gesturing for her to approach the front. She walked forward, hands clammy, her breath shallow. The marking device gleamed under the harsh light of the projection screen. She couldn’t help but glance over at the Ascendant Line delegates sitting in the shaded corner of the courtyard.

Then, something unexpected happened.

A loud crash echoed through the plaza. Screams rang out. The crowd scattered as smoke and dust billowed into the air. For a moment, everything seemed to blur, and Lyra felt the world tilt on its axis.

From the chaos, a figure emerged. Tall, cloaked, with piercing eyes that scanned the crowd with dangerous precision. His movements were swift and confident, but Lyra could tell he wasn’t one of the Ashen.

And yet, there was something strangely familiar about him.

Lyra’s heart hammered in her chest as the man pushed through the panicking crowd. His cloak flared, revealing the insignia of the Ascendant Line — Cassian Dray, son of one of the most influential families in the entire system. Lyra knew his name. Everyone did.

Before anyone could stop him, Cassian was at her side, his voice low, urgent.

"Come with me. Now."

Lyra didn’t have time to think. She grabbed his outstretched hand without hesitation, pulling herself into the alleyway just behind the ceremony grounds. The sound of guards shouting faded, and the tension in her shoulders only grew tighter.

“Why did you help me?” Lyra swallowed.

She should have been running. She should have been escaping into the crowd. But instead, she looked up at him, and all she saw was the same fear she had felt in her bones for years.

“Because I couldn’t let you die for wanting to help someone.”

His gaze softened, but only for a moment. Before he could say another word, a shout echoed from behind them, and the unmistakable sound of marching boots rang out in the distance.

The guards were closing in.

"Come on, we don’t have much time." Cassian grabbed her hand, pulling her deeper into the shadows.

As they ran, Lyra’s mind raced. She couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t just some random Ascendant caught in the system. This was Cassian Dray, one of the most powerful people in the city — and she had just broken one of the most sacred rules of their world.

They found temporary refuge in the abandoned lower districts, far from the prying eyes of the authorities. But their reprieve was short-lived. The longer they stayed together, the more the tension between them grew. Neither spoke much, but the silence was charged — heavy with the knowledge of what they had just done.

“I didn’t want this,” Lyra murmured, breaking the silence. “I was just trying to help.”

Cassian met her eyes, the guilt mirrored in her face. But it wasn’t just guilt. There was something else there — something he wasn’t ready to name. Something he didn’t want to feel.

“What’s stopping you from going back?” he asked, trying to push away the pull he felt toward her.

she hesitated, then sighed. “The same thing that’s stopping you from running back to your people. I don’t believe in the system anymore. Not after seeing what it does to people like you.”

The words hung between them, heavy with the weight of their unspoken connection.

Lyra couldn’t bring herself to look away. “Then what do we do now?”

Cassian paused, his voice low. “We survive. And we figure out if there's a way to end this—all of it.”