Aelin thought she understood silence.
She had lived with it most of her life the quiet after pain, the quiet after fear, the quiet that followed every scream she swallowed so the world wouldn't hear her breaking.
But this silence was different.
It pressed against her ears, heavy and unnatural, as Kael's body lay motionless on the shattered ground before her. Blood pooled beneath him, dark and glistening, soaking into the stone like an offering the earth was too eager to accept.
"No," she whispered.
Her voice sounded foreign, distant, as if it didn't belong to her anymore.
She dropped beside him, knees hitting the ground hard enough to bruise, but she didn't feel it. Her hands hovered over his chest, shaking violently, afraid to touch him afraid that the moment she did, the truth would become undeniable.
The mark on her wrist burned.
Not with its usual sharp agony.
This was deeper. Slower. Like something inside her was screaming without sound.
"Kael," she said again, louder now. "Open your eyes."
Nothing.
She pressed her palm against his chest.
Warm.
Too warm.
Her breath hitched as she felt the torn flesh beneath her fingers, the place where the execution blade had pierced his heart. Blood slicked her skin, and the mark flared violently in response, shadows creeping up her arm like they were trying to reach him.
"No," she whispered again, her voice cracking. "You don't get to leave. Not like this."
The air shifted.
Aelin froze.
The shadows around them stretched unnaturally long, bending toward Kael's body as if drawn by an invisible force. The ground trembled faintly, a low vibration humming through her bones.
Her mark burned hotter.
She gasped, clutching her wrist as pain tore through her, sharp enough to steal her breath. This wasn't the curse reacting to danger.
This was recognition.
Something answered.
Kael's body jerked violently.
Aelin screamed his name as his back arched off the ground, a hoarse, broken sound tearing from his throat. Black veins spread across his chest, mirroring the pattern of the mark on her skin as shadows poured into him like a tide rushing back to shore.
"No...no, stop!" she cried, scrambling backward as raw power exploded outward, knocking her off her feet.
The shadows wrapped around him, sinking into his wounds, weaving themselves into muscle and bone and something far deeper. The air crackled with dark energy, thick and suffocating.
Then
He inhaled.
A sharp, violent gasp dragged air back into his lungs like he was ripping himself out of death's grip by sheer will.
"Kael!" Aelin sobbed.
His eyes snapped open.
Silver fire burned where darkness had been.
She barely had time to react before he surged upright, moving with terrifying speed. His hand closed around her throat, lifting her off the ground effortlessly.
Aelin choked, panic flaring as she clawed at his wrist.
"K-Kael," she rasped. "It's me."
His grip tightened.
For a heartbeat, she didn't see recognition in his eyes.
Only hunger.
Then his gaze flickered.
The silver dimmed, fractured, as if something inside him was fighting its way back to the surface.
"Aelin," he whispered.
Her name broke whatever held him.
He released her instantly, catching her before she collapsed, his arms tightening around her like he was afraid she'd vanish. She coughed violently, gasping for air as he pressed his forehead to hers, shaking.
"I'm sorry," he murmured hoarsely. "I couldn't stop it."
She clung to him, sobbing into his chest. "You died," she whispered. "I felt it. You were gone."
"I know," he said quietly. "So was I."
She pulled back just enough to look at him.
He looked the same and not at all.
Dark veins faded slowly beneath his skin, retreating like shadows at dawn. The wound in his chest was closing unnaturally fast, flesh knitting itself together in a way that made her stomach twist.
"What happened to you?" she asked.
Kael hesitated.
"When my heart stopped," he said slowly, "something answered the mark."
Her blood ran cold.
"There's more to it," he continued. "The curse isn't just a beacon. It's a tether. It doesn't let go easily."
The forest around them groaned.
Branches snapped. Shadows peeled themselves from the trees, forming tall, twisted shapes with hollow eyes and jagged limbs. Monsters but stronger than before.
Drawn to him.
Kael stepped in front of her instantly, body tensing.
"Stay behind me," he said. "No matter what happens."
She grabbed his arm. "You're still hurt."
"I'll survive," he replied. "They won't."
The creatures lunged.
Kael met them head-on.
Blades of shadow erupted from his hands, forged directly from the curse's power. He moved like a storm, each strike brutal and precise, tearing through the monsters with terrifying efficiency. Blood sprayed. Screams echoed through the trees.
One slipped past him.
Aelin cried out as it lunged for her.
Kael was there in an instant, slamming the creature into the ground hard enough to crack the earth beneath them. He tore it apart with his bare hands, shadow and blood coating his skin.
When it was over, silence fell again.
Kael stood trembling, chest heaving, eyes dark with exhaustion and something far more dangerous.
He turned to her slowly.
She stepped toward him without hesitation.
He flinched. "You shouldn't touch me right now."
She ignored him.
She cupped his face gently, thumbs brushing away blood and shadow alike. "You came back," she whispered. "That's all I care about."
"I'm not the same," he said.
"I know," she replied softly. "Neither am I."
Their foreheads touched.
The kiss that followed wasn't gentle. It was desperate grief, relief, and hunger tangled together as if letting go might tear him away again.
When they finally parted, Kael rested his forehead against hers.
"If the curse takes me one day," he said quietly, "promise me you'll run."
She shook her head. "If it takes you," she said, "it takes me too."
Something in his eyes broke.
He pulled her into his arms, holding her like she was the last thing keeping him human.
And somewhere deep beneath the world, something ancient stirred pleased.