Darian's POV
The arrow punches through my shoulder, and I bite down a scream.
Keep running, I tell myself. Don't stop. Don't die.
Three more assassins crash through the forest behind me. I hear their boots snapping branches. Hear their leader shouting, "The prince went this way! Don't let him escape!"
Prince. They still call me that, even though I'm not a prince anymore.
My brother Lucian made sure of that.
Another arrow whistles past my head. I duck and stumble, my legs shaking. Blood soaks through my shirt from the wound in my shoulder. I've been running for two hours, and I can't run much longer.
This is how I die, I think. Murdered in the woods by my own brother's men.
Six months ago, I was Crown Prince Darian Stormhaven, heir to the throne of Aethermoor. I was engaged to the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. I had everything.
Then I walked into my bedroom on my wedding day and found my bride Celeste in bed with Lucian.
My own brother.
She laughed when she saw my face. Actually laughed.
"Sorry, Darian," she said, not sounding sorry at all. "Lucian's going to be king now. I chose the winning side."
They dragged me from the palace. Stripped me of my title. My mother died three days later—they said it was from shame, but I know Lucian poisoned her.
And now he's sending assassins to finish what humiliation started.
I crash through a thornbush and nearly fall off a cliff. My boots skid on loose rocks. Below me, I see a cave entrance hidden behind a waterfall.
The Forbidden Caves.
Everyone says they're cursed. Haunted. Deadly.
But dying in a cursed cave sounds better than dying with an arrow in my back.
I jump.
---
The fall is short but brutal. I hit the water hard, and the current drags me toward the cave. My shoulder screams with pain. Black spots dance in my vision.
*Stay conscious,* I order myself. *Just a little longer.*
The water spits me out inside a dark cave. I drag myself onto the rocks, gasping and coughing. My whole body shakes.
Behind me, I hear the assassins at the cliff edge.
"Did he jump?"
"Into the Forbidden Caves? He's dead already. Let's go."
Their footsteps fade away.
I did it. I escaped.
For now.
I try to stand, but my legs won't work. Too much blood loss. Too much exhaustion. I collapse against the cave wall, my vision blurring.
*This is it,* I think. *I survived the assassins, but I'm going to bleed out in this cave anyway.*
At least Lucian won't have the satisfaction of killing me himself.
Then I see it.
A sword.
It sits on a stone platform in the center of the cave. The blade is pure black, but the edge glows crimson red like fresh blood. Even from here, I can tell it's the most beautiful weapon I've ever seen.
And I've seen a lot of weapons.
"Help," I whisper to no one. "Please. Anything."
That's when I hear the voice.
*"Finally."*
I freeze. The voice is female, exhausted, and echoing inside my *head*.
"Who's there?" I call out. My hand drops to my belt, but my dagger is gone. Lost somewhere in the forest.
*"Pick up the sword,"* the voice says. *"Pick me up, or you're going to die in the next five minutes."*
I must be hallucinating. Blood loss does that. Makes you hear things.
But the voice continues: *"I'm not a hallucination, idiot. I'm trapped in the sword. And those assassins? They're coming back. They're climbing down the cliff right now. You have maybe three minutes."*
I listen. And I hear it—boots scraping on rock. Voices getting closer.
"The captain said to check the cave anyway. Make sure he's dead."
Terror shoots through me. I'm too weak to fight. Too hurt to run.
The sword glows brighter, like it's calling to me.
*"Pick. Me. Up,"* the voice demands. *"Or we both die here."*
"What are you?" I whisper.
*"Someone who was murdered by people she trusted. Just like you're about to be. Now MOVE!"*
I don't have time to think. Don't have time to question.
I crawl toward the platform. Every movement sends pain screaming through my shoulder. My blood drips onto the cave floor.
The assassins' voices get louder. "I see light ahead!"
My hand closes around the sword's hilt.
The world explodes.
---
Red light erupts from the blade. It floods through me like liquid fire, burning away the pain, the exhaustion, the weakness.
Power. Pure, raw, incredible power.
It pours into my body, and I feel my shoulder wound closing. Feel my strength returning. Feel my heartbeat steady and strong.
But there's something else too.
A presence in my mind. A consciousness that isn't mine. The woman's voice, but clearer now. Sharper.
*"Finally,"* she gasps. *"Oh god, finally. I can FEEL again. Your body—I can feel through your body!"*
"What's happening?" I shout.
*"Soul-bond,"* she says. *"We're connected now. Your body, my power. Now shut up and fight because here they come!"*
Three assassins burst into the cave.
I move without thinking. My body flows like water, spinning and striking. The black sword cuts through the first assassin's blade like butter. He goes down.
The second assassin shoots an arrow. I dodge—but it's not me dodging. It's *her*, the voice, moving my body with supernatural speed.
*"Left!"* she screams in my mind. *"Duck! Now thrust!"*
I follow her commands. Together, we're a whirlwind of steel and death.
In thirty seconds, all three assassins are dead.
I stand there, breathing hard, staring at the bodies. The sword drips with blood that matches its red edge.
"What..." I can barely speak. "What are you?"
"My name is Elara,"* the voice says softly. *"And I've been trapped in this sword for three hundred years. You just freed me. Sort of."
"Sort of?"
"I'm still in the sword. But now I'm connected to you. I can see through your eyes. Feel through your body. And you can hear me.
I look down at the blade in my hand. It's still glowing crimson.
"This is impossible."
"So is your brother stealing your throne, but that happened too."
Her voice turns hard. "Here's the deal, Prince Darian. You want revenge on the people who destroyed your life? I want revenge on the people who destroyed mine. Work with me, and I'll give you power beyond anything you've ever imagined."
"And if I say no?"
"Then you can put me down and die in this cave when the next group of assassins arrives. Your choice."
I think about Lucian. About Celeste. About my mother's murder.
I think about how I have nothing left to lose.
"What do I have to do?" I ask.
Elara laughs—a sound like breaking glass and bitter joy.
"Help me find the people who killed me. Because here's the twist, Darian: one of them is in this world. And she's very close to you."
"Who?"
"Your brother's wife. Celeste."
The cave spins around me.
"That's impossible. Celeste can't—"
"Can't be my murderer from another world? Can't be a reincarnated soul?" Elara's voice turns cold. "Welcome to Aethermoor, prince. Impossible things happen here all the time."
I stare at the sword. At the blood on the blade. At the bodies on the ground.
"Prove it," I whisper.
And Elara shows me a memory—pushing it directly into my mind. I see a woman who looks almost exactly like Celeste, standing over a dying body. Smiling as someone bleeds out.
My legs give out. I fall to my knees.
"Oh gods," I whisper. "It's really her."
"Now do you understand?" Elara asks. "We're both victims of betrayal. Both destroyed by people we loved. Together, we can make them pay."
I look at the sword in my hand—the sword with a woman's soul trapped inside.
"Together," I agree.
"Good. Now get up. We have a throne to steal back."