The trees stood unnaturally still, the hum hanging in the air like a held breath.
Aria's glow pulsed brighter with every second, veins of silver crawling across her arms and throat. Her claws flexed against her sides, but her eyes were fixed on the creature.
It didn't move closer. It didn't need to. Its voice slid through the clearing, low and cold. "Leave him. Come with me. I will silence the whispers. I will give you strength… and you will never fear losing control again."
Her breath caught, just faintly. I could see it—the flicker in her gaze. The temptation. The relief it promised.
"Aria," I said, my voice steady despite the pounding in my chest. "That thing isn't offering help. It's a leash. You take its deal, you're gone. Not just the whispers—you."
The creature tilted its head, those hollow eyes narrowing on me. "He fears you, Veilborn. He hides it well, but he does. Do you not smell it? The truth?"
Aria's claws dug into her palms, silver dripping faintly from her knuckles. Her glow surged, spilling into the clearing. The whispers roared louder in the stillness, promising power, control, an end to the fear of hurting anyone again.
And then the creature lunged. Not for her. For me.
It moved like lightning, closing the gap in a blink. I barely had time to shift, claws meeting its cold, slick limbs as we crashed to the ground. Its strength was unnatural—raw, unyielding, and wrong.
"Aria!" I snarled, straining as its claws pressed toward my throat.
For a heartbeat, she didn't move. Her glow burned brighter, the whispers urging her to let go, to let the power spill free. To stop holding back.
And then… she chose.
Aria let the glow explode, silver flaring so bright it lit the entire clearing. She slammed into the creature, her claws tearing through its side in a single, vicious strike. The force of it sent the thing sprawling into the trees, its hollow eyes flickering.
But she didn't finish it. She didn't lose herself. She stopped—panting, shaking, forcing the glow back under her skin even as the whispers screamed in fury.
The creature rose, tilting its head. And then it reached out one spindly hand, its voice like crackling static. "You will come to me when you're ready. Until then…"
Its claw brushed the inside of her wrist. A searing light burned there, etching a black mark into her skin.
Aria hissed, clutching her arm, but before either of us could strike, the creature melted into the shadows, the hum fading as the forest went still again.
The glow beneath her skin dimmed, but her breathing stayed uneven. She looked at the mark, then at me, her voice low.
"What… did it just do to me?"
I didn't have an answer. But as the mark pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat, I had a sinking feeling we were about to find out.