The first thing Lian Ardent felt was cold.
Not the clean cold of winter or the sharp bite of metal, but a deep, crawling chill that seeped through skin and bone, settling into the places where warmth once lived. He pressed his palm against the rough bark of the tree behind him and felt blood slick beneath his fingers. Too much of it. The forest did not rush to his aid. It watched.
His breathing came shallow, uneven. Each inhale scraped his lungs like dull glass.
So this is how it ends, he thought distantly. Not with judgment. Not with thunder. Just silence.
The forbidden forest stood unnaturally still around him. Moonlight filtered through the twisted canopy, pale and thin, illuminating ancient roots that clawed from the earth like grasping hands. This place was not meant for humans. Or immortals who had been stripped of their names.
Lian's knees buckled. He slid down the trunk, leaving a dark smear behind. The seal inside his veins burned hotter, a vicious pulse that felt almost alive, as if mocking him for daring to survive this long.
Footsteps whispered through the leaves.
He lifted his head sharply, vision blurring. His hand moved instinctively to where a weapon should have been. There was nothing. He had sold the last blade weeks ago for food.
A figure stepped into the moonlight.
No. Not one.
Her.
She moved like she belonged to the forest, bare feet soundless against the ground. Silver light clung to her hair, to the smooth line of her throat. Her eyes widened when she saw the blood.
"You're dying," she said.
Her voice was steady, but her hands were not. Lian saw the tremor as she crouched in front of him.
"Go," he rasped. "Now."
She ignored him.
Her gaze dropped to his chest, to the faint glow beginning to leak through his skin. Gold, fractured and wrong. Her breath caught.
"What are you?" she whispered.
Lian laughed, a broken sound that ended in a cough. "A mistake."
He tried to push himself upright and failed. The world tilted. The forest seemed to draw closer, shadows stretching, hungry.
She reached for him.
"Don't touch me," he snapped, sharper than his strength allowed.
Her hand froze inches from his shoulder.
"If I don't," she said quietly, "you won't last another minute."
"That's not your problem."
Her eyes met his. They were not afraid. Not curious either. There was something else there. Resolve.
"You came into our forest bleeding," she said. "That makes it my problem."
Before he could argue, pain ripped through him. The seal reacted violently, as if sensing her presence, surging in protest. Lian groaned, fingers digging into the earth.
She moved then, decisive.
One hand gripped his collar, pulling him forward. He barely had time to register her closeness before her lips pressed against his.
The world shattered.
Heat exploded through his veins, white hot and blinding. The seal screamed. Not metaphorically. He heard it inside his skull, a tearing sound like metal being forced apart. His blood surged upward, answering something ancient and forbidden.
He gasped into her mouth, shock stealing the breath from both of them.
She stiffened, eyes widening as if she had touched fire.
Lian tore himself away with what little strength he had left, nearly collapsing forward. He braced himself on shaking arms, chest heaving.
"What did you do," he demanded hoarsely.
She stared at him, stunned, fingers still clenched in his clothing. "I was trying to stop the bleeding."
"That was not stopping it," he said. His voice dropped, dangerous despite his weakness. "That was waking it."
The glow beneath his skin intensified, gold threading through his arms and throat like fractured light. Pain and power twisted together, inseparable.
Her expression shifted. Fear flickered at last. "You're not human."
"No," he said. "And you just made a very serious mistake."
He pushed himself upright, swaying. The forest reacted immediately. Leaves trembled. Roots shifted beneath the soil. He could feel it now, the awareness he had not felt in centuries. Weak, unstable, but undeniably there.
She stepped back, instinctively.
"What are you," she asked again, more urgently.
Lian closed his eyes briefly. Images surged unbidden. A hall of white stone. Cold voices. Judgment spoken without mercy.
You chose compassion over law.
Then be mortal forever.
"I was immortal," he said. "Once."
Her breath caught. "Was."
"I'm not anymore," he replied. "Or I wasn't. Until you kissed me."
The word hung between them, heavy.
Her cheeks flushed, but she did not look away. "I didn't know."
"That doesn't matter."
The seal pulsed again, violently this time. Lian doubled over, teeth clenched as agony tore through him. He felt something give, not break, but bend. Wrongly.
She rushed forward despite herself. "You're burning up."
"Don't," he growled. "Stay back."
But she was already there, hand hovering near his shoulder, unsure whether to touch him again.
"Tell me what to do," she said. "I won't run."
That surprised him.
He laughed softly, bitter. "You should."
"Why."
"Because whatever I am," he said, meeting her gaze through the pain, "I destroy the things that get close."
Silence fell between them, thick and charged. The forest listened.
She lowered her hand slowly, then did something he did not expect. She sat down in front of him, close enough that their knees almost touched.
"You're bleeding," she said. "You're hurting. And you're still warning me instead of begging for help."
Her eyes softened. "That tells me enough."
Lian shook his head. "You don't understand. That kiss. It didn't heal me. It cracked something that was never meant to open again."
Her voice dropped. "Then why did it respond."
He hesitated.
"Because," he said finally, "my curse is cruel."
She waited.
"Power sealed in my blood can only be unlocked through true dual cultivation," he continued. "Through a bond. A destined one."
Her breath hitched. "And I'm not that person."
"No," he said firmly. "You're not."
The glow flared painfully, as if in protest.
Her lips parted. "Then why did it react."
Lian looked away. "Because the seal does not know right from wrong. It only knows contact."
She swallowed. "What happens now."
He forced himself to his feet, every muscle screaming. "Now I leave before this forest pays the price for my existence."
She stood as well, blocking his path. "You can barely stand."
"I've survived worse."
"You'll die."
He met her gaze, something cold and ancient stirring behind his eyes. "Not tonight."
The forest shifted again, uneasy.
She took a step closer, voice low. "If you go like this, you won't make it out."
"That's still not your problem."
She hesitated, then said quietly, "My name is Lira."
The name struck him unexpectedly. Gentle. Dangerous.
He nodded once. "Forget it."
He turned away, forcing his legs to move.
Behind him, Lira watched the golden light pulse beneath his skin, her chest tight with something she could not name.
Lian took three steps before pain dropped him to one knee.
He clenched his jaw, refusing to cry out.
Behind him, Lira whispered, almost to herself, "I shouldn't have kissed you."
Lian closed his eyes, breath ragged.
"No," he said. "You really shouldn't have."
The forest exhaled, and far beyond its borders, something ancient stirred.