CHAPTER ONE – The Witch in the Ruins
Dawn broke over the shattered valley like a wound reopening.
Ash still clung to the air from the firestorm that had swept through Noctara three nights ago. The once-great citadel of witches was now nothing but hollow towers and bones. Yet amid the wreckage, Elara D'Vayne walked hood drawn, cloak tattered, eyes bright with defiance.
She didn't remember how she survived the night of the Blood Moon.
Only fragments remained a blinding red sky, the altar splitting apart, the scream that wasn't hers, and the sound of his voice. Kael.
Her hand still bore the sigil, a faint crimson glow pulsing beneath her skin like a heartbeat. She'd tried everything to hide it gloves, ash, even blood magic but it burned through each attempt, marking her as what she was. A witch reborn in a world that no longer wanted her kind.
The morning wind carried the scent of iron and rot. Somewhere in the distance, the Black Guard would be searching. They always came for survivors after a purge not to save them, but to finish what the flames had not.
Elara tightened her grip on her satchel, keeping her steps silent. Every ruined corner, every shadow might hide a soldier or something worse. The old world was gone, and the new one had no mercy.
"Run all you want, little witch," a voice whispered through her thoughts. It wasn't her imagination.
It was him.
Elara froze, heart pounding.
"Kael?" she whispered.
No answer, only the echo of a faint, amused chuckle in her head.
Ever since the ritual, she'd felt him inside her mind, like a shadow brushing against her soul, always watching, always silent. She didn't know whether he was a curse or a guardian. All she knew was that she couldn't separate him from the bond that now tied them.
Her reflection in a broken mirror caught her eye, pale face, soot-stained cheeks, eyes like molten silver. The witch blood ran stronger than ever.
She looked away. "I didn't ask for you," she muttered under her breath.
No one ever does, came the low reply, this time clearer, like the air itself had spoken.
Elara spun, but the ruins behind her were empty. Only dust and falling stones answered. Yet her chest tightened, because she could feel him closer now, a presence at the edge of her being, cold and dark as the abyss.
The sound of hooves in the distance broke her trance.
The Black Guard.
She ducked behind the wreckage of an overturned statue, pressing herself into the shadow. From her hiding place, she watched armored riders sweep through the valley black cloaks dragging through the ash, spears gleaming like fangs.
Their leader dismounted, his voice harsh.
"Search the area. The witch's mark was sighted here last night."
A witch-hunter's seal glowed blue in his palm. Elara's sigil burned in answer, like fire under her skin. She bit her lip to keep from gasping.
They can feel you, Kael's voice murmured, calm and unhurried. You're bleeding energy into the air. Stop fighting it.
"Easy for you to say," she hissed softly.
"You're not the one being hunted."
On the contrary, he said. I've been hunted for centuries.
Elara's pulse raced. The soldiers moved closer. One of them turned toward her hiding spot. The man's eyes swept over the ruins, pausing only a few feet away. His hand tightened on his blade.
Elara closed her eyes. Magic thrummed beneath her skin, ancient and restless. The spell she was about to use could expose her or save her life.
"Shadow bind," she whispered.
The darkness around her stirred. It rippled like smoke, then wrapped around her body, bending light and sound. To the soldier's eyes, she became part of the rubble. The spell drained her instantly, cold seeping into her bones, but she held on until the patrol passed.
Only when the last hoofbeat faded did she release the breath she'd been holding.
"You're reckless," Kael said. Effective… but reckless.
She ignored him and pulled her cloak tighter.
"Where are you?"
A faint shimmer formed in front of her, and from the mist emerged a shadow tall, armored, faintly transparent. His face was half-hidden by a cracked helm, but his eyes… they burned with quiet ruin.
Kael.
Elara stepped back instinctively. "You're you're real."
"I told you," he said, voice like gravel over silk. "Our souls are bound. When your blood touched the altar, the seal between realms broke. You brought me back."
Her throat went dry. "I didn't mean to summon you."
"I know." His gaze lingered on her mark.
"And yet, here we are."
Elara swallowed. "What do you want from me?"
Kael tilted his head. "The same thing you want, witch, freedom."
The word struck her like a blade.
Freedom.
From the curse.
From the hunts.
From the endless blood that tied her to a dying world.
But before she could answer, the air shifted, sharp, metallic, humming with danger.
Kael turned, his armor flickering like smoke.
"They're coming back."
Elara's heart stopped. "How many?"
"Too many."
The first arrow struck the stone near her head. She ducked, magic already sparking between her fingers. Kael drew his spectral sword, black fire dancing along the blade.
"Run!" he commanded.
"I'm done running!"
The ground split as she unleashed a surge of energy, red lightning tearing through the ruins. Soldiers screamed as the earth swallowed them. Kael's shadow blade cut through the rest, a silent storm of death and darkness.
When the battle ended, the valley was quiet again. Smoke coiled in the air like ghosts returning to sleep.
Elara fell to her knees, trembling. Her blood stained the dirt, glowing faintly where it touched the earth. The power inside her felt endless, but heavy. Too heavy.
Kael sheathed his blade and approached her. Though he was only half-solid, his presence radiated strength. "You can't fight them all, Elara. You'll burn yourself before you burn them."
She lifted her gaze, stubborn fire flickering behind her exhaustion. "Then teach me. You were once their general, weren't you? You fought against the Coven before you fell."
He paused, then, slowly, nodded.
"I did."
"Then help me end what they started."
The wind howled through the ruins as if the world itself protested the bond that had just been sealed, not by magic this time, but by choice.
Kael looked at her, his eyes unreadable.
"You're playing with a curse, witch."
"I've lived with one my whole life," she said softly. "Might as well use it."
For the first time, he almost smiled, faint, bitter, but real. "Then we begin at dusk."
As the blood-red sun sank behind the ruins, the last witch of Noctara and the fallen knight of shadows walked into the darkness together.
Neither knew that deep beneath their feet, the Covenant of Blood had awakened once more and it was watching.