Arelia's pulse hammered as shouting echoed from the forest line.
Boots. Metal. The unmistakable sound of soldiers.
Her breath quickened. She looked from the trees to Kael, confused and terrified all at once.
"Why would soldiers… why would they want me?" she asked, voice shaking.
Kael didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stepped closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear.
"Arelia… you're not safe here. Not anymore."
Before she could respond, a horn blared in the distance—sharp and urgent.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"That's the signal. They're spreading out. They'll reach this field in less than a minute."
Her eyes widened. "Kael, I can't just leave my home without understanding anything!"
Another shout. Closer this time.
Kael grabbed her hand—not rough, not gentle, but firm.
A touch that said he had made a decision for both of them.
"You can survive without answers," he said. "You cannot survive if you stay."
Arelia felt her chest tighten. She didn't trust the situation. She didn't trust herself. But something in Kael's eyes…
Soft. Urgent. Unreasonably protective.
It made her trust him.
Before she could think, he pulled her into motion.
"Run."
They sprinted through the path behind the fields, weaving between tall grasses. Arelia's breath came short and fast; Kael never loosened his grip. His cloak snapped behind him as he led her with sharp, calculated steps.
Shouts grew louder. Branches cracked. The soldiers were close.
"How… how do they even know who I am?" Arelia managed to ask as they ran.
Kael didn't slow. "Your surname. Voss. There shouldn't be anyone alive with that name."
Arelia stumbled but he quickly steadied her, pulling her against him for a heartbeat.
"Careful," he murmured.
Her heart jumped at the tone—gentle, despite the chaos around them.
They reached the old stone bridge outside the village, half-broken from years of disuse. Kael stopped, pulling her into the shadow of its arch.
Arelia gasped for air. "Kael… please. Just tell me the truth."
He looked at her then—not as a prince, not as someone giving orders, but as someone conflicted.
Someone who cared too much.
"You're the last of the Voss bloodline," he said quietly.
"A family my father believed he wiped out eighteen years ago."
Arelia stared at him. "My family… was killed?"
Kael's throat tightened. "Because of a power your bloodline carried. A power the empire feared… and still fears."
A sick shock washed over her.
"My father never told me—"
"He wanted to protect you." Kael's voice softened. "If he had lived long enough, he would have told you the truth. Or at least tried."
"W-what power? I don't have any magic."
Kael exhaled slowly. "It's dormant… for now. But if the soldiers even suspect you might awaken it—"
He looked away, unable to finish.
Footsteps sounded on the hill above them.
Soldiers.
Close.
Kael grabbed her hands, urgency sharp on his face.
"Arelia, listen to me. They didn't come here to capture you."
Her breath hitched.
"They came to kill you."
She froze.
No sound.
No breath.
Just cold fear gripping her spine.
Kael stepped closer, voice trembling for the first time.
"I can protect you. But only if you come with me. You must choose now."
Boots slammed on the gravel above them.
A soldier shouted,
"Check under the bridge!"
Arelia looked at Kael—
his worried eyes, his steady hands holding hers, the fear he was trying to hide.
Her world was ending.
Her life was changing.
But in this moment… he was the only safe thing she had.
She nodded.
Kael exhaled in relief and pulled her sharply into the darkness behind the bridge.
"Hold on to me," he whispered.
Before she could ask why, he wrapped his arm around her waist—and the ground beneath them trembled.
A hidden passage.
Magic-activated.
A drop and then
A fall—
Arelia gasped as the earth gave way and both of them plunged into darkness.
Arelia felt the world tilt,
She felt herself falling—but before panic could rise, Kael's arm tightened around her, pulling her securely against his chest.
"I've got you," he whispered.
They slid down a smooth, stone shaft, the air rushing past them. Arelia buried her face against his shoulder, trembling. She had never been this close to him, never felt the warmth of someone holding her as if her life mattered.
The fall ended suddenly.
They landed on soft sand. Kael hit the ground first, holding her so she wouldn't take the impact.
Arelia blinked, breath shaky.
"W-what just happened?"
Kael gently released her, scanning the dim surroundings. A soft glow came from enchanted stones in the walls—a tunnel, old but still alive with faint magic.
"An escape route," he said. "My mother created it years ago. When she was still alive."
Arelia noticed the change in his voice. Softer. Sadder.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He didn't respond for a moment. Instead, he stood, offered her his hand, and helped her up. His grip was steady, warm, grounding.
"Come. We can't stay long."
They began walking through the tunnel. The faint echoes of soldiers' voices grew distant, muffled by layers of earth.
Arelia finally spoke.
"Kael… what do they want from me? Why is my family so important? What did we ever do?"
Kael glanced at her, something heavy in his eyes.
"They weren't afraid of what your family did," he said quietly.
"They were afraid of what they could do."
"I don't understand."
He stopped walking and turned fully to her.
"The Voss bloodline carries a magic called Soulfire," he explained. "It's rare and Pure.
Arelia frowned. "But I've never used magic. I didn't even know it existed."
"That's because it sleeps until it's triggered. Until the world pushes you hard enough to awaken it."
Arelia's breath trembled. "And if it awakens?"
Kael's eyes softened with something almost painful.
"Then the empire will stop at nothing to destroy you."
Her heart twisted.
"So that's why you're helping me?"
Kael hesitated.
Just a second.
Just long enough to reveal a truth he didn't want her to see.
"No," he said quietly. "I'm helping you because my father won't hesitate to kill you… and I refuse to be part of that."
Arelia's chest tightened. Something about his voice—about the raw honesty—made her step closer.
"Thank you," she whispered.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Kael's breathing slowed. His gaze held hers longer than necessary.
The space between them felt warm, dangerous, delicate.
But the moment shattered when a faint growl echoed from deeper inside the tunnel.
Arelia froze. "Kael… what was that?"
He stepped in front of her again, posture instantly protective.
"This tunnel was abandoned years ago," he said. "But it shouldn't be home to anything alive."
The growl came again—closer now, wet and low.
Arelia's heart raced. "Kael, something is coming."
He reached behind him and pulled out a second dagger, the blade glowing faintly.
"Stay behind me," he said. "And whatever you do—don't run."
The shadows ahead shifted.
Then something crawled into view.
Long limbs.
Glowing yellow eyes.
Skin like cracked stone.
Teeth that dripped with black venom.
A creature Arelia had only heard about in stories used to scare children.
...