KAELEN'S POV
The palace shakes again and I pull Elara behind me.
"How many soldiers?" I demand.
"At least a thousand," Riven says. "Maybe more. They're using siege weapons. Trying to break through the Gateway wards."
"The wards will hold."
"For now. But my lord, they have mages. Powerful ones. They're chanting something. Some kind of breaking spell."
Through the bond, I feel Elara's spike of fear. Not for herself.
For me.
"They want to kill you," she says. "Varen knows if I die, you die. So he's coming to make sure we both—"
Another explosion cuts her off. This one so close the windows shatter.
Glass rains down and I throw up a shield of shadows, protecting both of us.
"The wards just fell," Riven says grimly. "They're through the Gateway."
No. This can't be happening.
I haven't had to defend the Shadowlands in centuries. Haven't had to fight. The curse made me too dangerous to attack directly.
But now they know my weakness.
Elara.
"We need to evacuate the civilians," I say. "Get everyone to the lower levels. Seal them in."
"And you?"
"I'll meet them at the gates."
"You can't fight an entire army alone!"
"I've done it before."
Three hundred years ago, when they massacred my family. I fought. I killed hundreds of them.
And I lost anyway.
"Not alone," Elara says firmly. "I'm coming with you."
"Absolutely not."
"You don't get to make that choice anymore!" She grabs my arm. "We're bonded. If you die, I die. Which means I have just as much right to defend us as you do."
She's right and I hate it.
"Fine. But you stay behind me. You don't fight. You don't take risks."
"I'll do whatever I have to do to survive." She looks at Riven. "Do you have weapons?"
He grins. "I like her. Come on."
We race through the palace. Servants and court members scatter as we pass, all heading for the lower levels.
Riven leads us to the armory. Walls covered in weapons, most of them ancient and wickedly sharp.
Elara grabs a short sword. Tests the weight. "This works."
"Do you even know how to use that?" I ask.
"I lived in the poorest part of Aeloria for eight years. You learn to defend yourself or you die." She straps the sword to her belt. "Let's go."
We run for the main gates.
Outside, I can hear them. The army. Thousands of voices shouting. Metal clanging. War horns blowing.
I haven't heard these sounds since the massacre.
My hands shake and I force them still.
"Kaelen," Elara says softly. Through the bond, she feels my fear. "We can do this."
"You don't understand. Last time I faced an army, everyone I loved died."
"Last time you were alone. This time you have me."
Her confidence flows through the bond, mixing with my fear, creating something new.
Something like hope.
We reach the gates.
I throw them open with a blast of shadow magic.
And see the army spread across the twilight landscape like a disease.
Soldiers in formation. Siege weapons. Mages in the back, their hands glowing with spell-light.
And standing at the front, surrounded by guards, is Varen.
His snake smile is visible even from here.
"DARK KING!" His voice carries across the distance. "We've come to collect what's ours!"
"The tribute?" I call back. "She stays. We had a deal."
"The deal was she dies. One way or another." Varen steps forward. "Hand her over and we'll leave peacefully. Refuse, and we'll burn your palace to ash with both of you inside."
Beside me, Elara tenses.
"He's bluffing," she whispers. "He wants me dead but he can't risk the Shadowlands destroying Aeloria in revenge."
"He's not bluffing." Through the bond, I feel her confusion, so I explain. "The curse makes me too dangerous to kill directly. But if an Aeloria army is already here, already committed to battle, then my death becomes justified. An act of war, not murder."
"So what do we do?"
"We fight."
I step forward, letting shadows pool around my feet. Letting the curse rise to the surface for the first time in centuries.
The darkness spreads like spilled ink, covering the ground, climbing the walls, blocking out what little light exists in the twilight sky.
The army falters.
Good. They should be afraid.
"You made a mistake coming here," I say, my voice amplified by magic. "You think because I haven't fought in three hundred years, I've grown weak. But I haven't grown weak. I've grown patient. And my patience just ran out."
I release the shadows.
They explode outward like a tidal wave of darkness, slamming into the front lines of soldiers.
Men scream. Weapons clatter to the ground.
But the mages are ready. They throw up shields, blocking most of my attack.
"NOW!" Varen screams.
The mages start chanting. The same breaking spell they used on the Gateway wards.
But this time, they're targeting the bond.
I feel it instantly. Like hooks sinking into my soul, trying to rip it apart.
Elara screams beside me.
"NO!" I grab her hand, pouring power into the bond, reinforcing it.
But there are too many mages. Too much magic.
The bond starts to crack.
"Kaelen," Elara gasps. "I can't—"
"Hold on. Just hold on."
Through the bond, I feel her pain. Feel the magic trying to tear her away from me.
If the bond breaks now, we both die.
I dig deeper into my power. Deeper into the curse.
The darkness rises, hungry and vicious, and for the first time in centuries, I let it loose completely.
Shadows explode from me in every direction. Not controlled. Not careful.
Pure destruction.
The front lines of the army disappear, swallowed whole. The siege weapons crumble to dust. Even the mages stumble back, their spell breaking.
But I've gone too far.
The curse is in control now. Not me.
It wants blood. Wants death. Wants everyone who ever hurt me to suffer.
"Kaelen, stop!" Elara's voice cuts through the rage. "You're losing yourself!"
She's right. I can feel it. Feel my humanity slipping away beneath the curse.
Feel myself becoming the monster everyone says I am.
"I can't stop it," I gasp.
"Yes, you can. Look at me. LOOK AT ME."
I force my eyes to hers.
Through the bond, she pours every ounce of her strength into me. Her love for Calla. Her determination to survive. Her ridiculous, impossible hope that we can fix this.
The curse fights back, but she fights harder.
Slowly, painfully, I pull the darkness back under control.
When I can breathe again, half the army is gone.
The other half is fleeing.
Only Varen remains, protected by a shield his mages are maintaining.
"Impressive," he calls out. "But you can't keep that up forever. Eventually, the curse will consume you. And when it does, you'll kill her yourself."
Through the bond, I feel Elara's realization.
He's right.
The curse is getting stronger. Every time I use my power, it takes a bigger piece of me.
Eventually, there won't be anything left but the monster.
And the monster won't care about bonds or love or protecting anyone.
It'll just destroy everything.
Including Elara.
"We need a new plan," I mutter.
"Agreed." Elara's grip on my hand tightens. "Lyris. We find her. She's the only one who might know how to stop this."
"The sanctuary is three hours into the shadow forest. We'll never make it with an army hunting us."
"Then we split up. I go to Lyris. You stay here and—"
"No." The word comes out harsh. Final. "We're not splitting up. If the bond breaks while we're separated, we both die instantly."
"Then what do we do?"
Before I can answer, something moves in the shadows behind Varen's army.
Something big.
My blood runs cold.
"What is that?" Elara whispers.
I stare at the massive shape emerging from the darkness. At the wings spreading wide enough to block out stars. At the eyes glowing red with ancient hunger.
"That," I say quietly, "is a shadow dragon. They've been extinct for two hundred years."
"So how is one here now?"
The dragon roars, and the sound shakes the earth.
Varen's smile widens.
"I brought a gift," he calls. "In case the curse wasn't enough to kill you. This dragon has been bound to my will. Starved for decades. And it has very specific orders."
The dragon's eyes fix on me and Elara.
"Kill the bonded pair," Varen finishes. "Starting with the girl."
The dragon launches into the air.
And dives straight at us.