The forest outside Black Hollow swallowed Elena whole.
She didn't know how long she had been running. Branches tore at her skin, the wind howled in her ears, and her wrist still burned with the mark that had appeared in the diner. The same symbol that had made Vivienne smile like the end had already begun.
She finally stopped near the edge of an old stone clearing, her breaths ragged, eyes wild.
"You are his. You always were."
No. No, she couldn't be. Not Dorian's. Not Miles's. Not anyone's.
Elena sank to her knees, clutching her wrist as the mark pulsed with unnatural heat. Her vision blurred, her mind flooded with flickering images—memories that weren't hers: temples made of bone, blood running like rivers, stars falling from the sky. A man holding her, whispering her name like it was sacred.
Dorian.
And then—light.
A warm presence pierced the storm in her mind. She turned her head, heart leaping as Miles emerged from the trees, glowing faintly, his power flaring like an aura of blue flame around him.
"Elena." His voice was breathless, pained. "You ran."
"I had to." She stood shakily. "I can't be what Vivienne says I am. I won't."
Miles came to her, cupping her face gently. "You're not. You're more than any prophecy, more than what your blood says. I know you, Elena. The real you."
The way he looked at her made her throat tighten. Miles had always been the one to pull her back from the edge.
"I don't know who I am anymore," she whispered.
He stepped closer, pressing his forehead to hers. "Then let me help you find her. I'll fight for you, Elena. Always."
The moment shattered.
A cold gust swept through the clearing. Shadows curled around the trees like smoke.
And then, Dorian stepped out of the dark.
His eyes burned with something deeper than rage—longing.
"Get away from her," Miles snapped, stepping in front of Elena.
But Dorian didn't stop. "She doesn't need your protection."
"I'm not letting you manipulate her again."
"I don't need to," Dorian said, eyes locked on Elena. "Because she feels it. The pull. The truth."
Elena's breath caught as he approached. She should have been afraid, but instead… her heart raced for a different reason. She did feel it. A magnetic force drawing her to him.
"I dreamed of you before I ever knew your name," Dorian said softly. "You've always been mine."
"You're twisting her!" Miles shouted, his hands flaring with power.
Dorian's shadows pulsed around him like a second skin. "Then let her choose."
The wind stilled. The clearing fell silent.
Elena's chest rose and fell, her eyes darting between them. Miles—warm, fierce, protective. Dorian—dark, intense, a part of her soul that had been sleeping until he arrived.
And both of them… staring at her like she was the only thing that mattered in the world.
"I don't know if I can choose," she whispered.
"You already have," Dorian murmured.
"No," Miles said, his voice trembling. "You don't have to rush this. Just come with me. Please."
Tears slid down her cheeks.
And then—her mark flared, pulsing once. Twice.
The ground split beneath her feet, glowing with ancient runes. A circle of power formed around her, casting light and shadow into the trees.
Both men stepped back in shock.
Elena looked down at her hands—glowing now, radiant with a strange energy.
"I think," she said, voice shaking, "I'm changing."