The moonlight spilled across the glade like spilled milk, soft and quiet—deceptively calm. Yet beneath that serene glow, chaos stirred.
Raine stood at the edge of the sacred lake, its surface shimmering like a mirror of stars. Her bare feet pressed into the cold grass, heart racing as the scent of ancient magic prickled her senses. She wasn't alone.
"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, refusing to turn around.
"You needed to see the truth for yourself," Kael's voice came from behind—low, steady, and somehow… distant.
Raine's jaw clenched. "You mean the truth you've been hiding from me all along?"
Silence.
Then footsteps—his—approached, slow and careful. "Not hiding. Protecting."
"From what?" she spun to face him, eyes blazing. "My past? My blood? Or the power that scares even you?"
He didn't answer right away. His gaze dropped to the lake, troubled. "This place… it's where I was cursed."
Raine froze. She hadn't expected that.
Kael stepped forward, eyes locked on the water's surface. "This is where it all started. Where my father's enemies bound me to the blood oath. I was just a boy." He let the memory hang in the air like fog.
She looked at him—really looked—and for the first time, saw the weight he carried. Not just as a king, but as a man forged in fire and betrayal.
"You think I'm afraid of your past?" she said softly. "I'm drowning in my own. Maybe it's time we stop hiding from who we are."
Kael met her eyes. "You're not just anyone, Raine. The night you were born, the stars shifted. The elders marked it. You were destined to change everything."
"And now?" she asked.
"Now…" he stepped closer, his presence grounding her, "…we rewrite fate together. Or we fall trying."
A howl echoed from the far hills—sharp, urgent.
They both turned. The moment was gone, stolen by the night.
Kael's jaw tightened. "We don't have much time."
Raine nodded, stepping beside him. "Then let's finish what they started."
As they walked toward the woods, the silver veil of moonlight trailed behind them like a forgotten prophecy waiting to be fulfilled.