The night air clung to Raine's skin, thick with silence and smoke. Behind her, the remnants of the burned-out temple still whispered of blood and betrayal. Ahead of her, Kael stood at the edge of the cliff, staring out across the forest like he was trying to outrun his own thoughts.
She approached slowly, uncertain.
"You shouldn't be here," he said, his voice quiet, but hollow. "Not tonight."
"Why?" she asked, keeping her distance. "Because I saw what you really are?"
He didn't flinch. Didn't turn. The moonlight caught the sharp line of his jaw, the curl of his fingers into fists.
"No," he said finally. "Because I'm still trying to accept it myself."
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The forest below stretched like a sea of shadows, the wind a low howl. Then Raine stepped closer. Close enough to see the blood on his sleeve. Not his blood. Not fresh.
"Was it them?" she asked, voice quieter now. "The cult?"
Kael nodded. "Their leader called me by name. Said the prophecy began the night I was born."
Raine's heart sank. "And what does that mean?"
"It means," he turned to face her now, eyes darker than night, "that everything I tried to bury is clawing its way back. That maybe the curse isn't just something placed on me… maybe it is me."
She looked at him — really looked — and saw not the beast she'd once feared, but the man buried underneath centuries of pain. His face was still bruised from the battle, his shirt torn, but there was a softness to his eyes that hadn't been there before.
"You're not your curse," she said. "And you're not your bloodline."
"Tell that to the flames," he whispered.
Raine reached out slowly, placing her hand over his. He tensed, but didn't pull away.
"If the prophecy is waking," she said, "then let it come. You're not facing it alone."
Kael searched her eyes like he didn't believe it. Like he wanted to. "You should hate me. After everything."
"Maybe I should," she admitted. "But I don't. Because every time you pushed me away, it wasn't to hurt me. It was to protect me. I see that now."
He looked down at her hand. His thumb brushed her knuckles, barely there, like a breath of wind. The mask he wore — not the physical one, but the one he hid behind — cracked just enough for her to see the man beneath.
And he was terrified.
"I don't know how to protect you from what's coming," he said. "I don't even know what I am anymore."
"Then let's find out together."
For the first time, Kael didn't answer with silence. He didn't retreat into himself or vanish into the dark. Instead, he leaned in. Not a kiss, not yet. But close. Close enough that their breath mingled in the space between them.
Then—
A sound.
Low. Distant. Wrong.
Kael stiffened. "They're here."
"Who?" Raine whispered.
He turned toward the forest, eyes glowing faintly with that terrible, beautiful power. "The ones who want me dead. The ones who believe killing me will end the curse."
His voice turned sharp. Cold. Alpha.
"They're wrong."