Elara's POV
Rage burns through my veins as I stare at Thalia, my traitorous sister, and the man who sentenced me to death.
Before I can move, Kaelen's shadows explode outward.
They crash into Cassian's men like a tidal wave of pure darkness. Screams fill the entrance hall as soldiers are thrown backward, their light-magic weapons clattering to the floor.
You dare invade my realm? Kaelen's voice echoes with power that shakes the very walls. You will regret this.
The battle erupts in chaos. Shadows against light. Kaelen fights with terrifying efficiency, but there are too many attackers. One man's blade slices across Kaelen's arm, and I feel the pain through our bond like it's my own wound.
I gasp, doubling over.
Elara! Thalia screams. Run!
But I'm not running. Not anymore.
Light explodes from my hands pure, blinding, and powerful. It slams into three soldiers, throwing them through the citadel doors. I stare at my glowing palms in shock.
I just used magic. Real magic.
Cassian's eyes widen. She has light magic! Kill her before she fully awakens!
More soldiers charge at me. Kaelen appears between us, shadows forming a protective barrier.
Don't touch her, he snarls.
Together, we fight. My light and his darkness working in harmony, creating something beautiful and deadly. Purple-silver energy fills the hall, stronger than either of us could create alone.
Within minutes, Cassian's men lie defeated. The survivors flee back through the veil, leaving only Cassian and Thalia.
Nyx materializes, teeth bared. Should I end them?
No. Kaelen's voice is ice. Send them back to Lummis. Let them tell their king what happens to those who attack the Shadowlands.
As Nyx drags the prisoners away, Thalia looks back at me, tears streaming.
I'm sorry, she mouths.
I turn away. I have no words for her.
One Week Later
The citadel is quiet again, but everything has changed.
Kaelen tries to avoid me. After the battle, he locked himself in the eastern wing, claiming he needs space to recover.
But the binding magic won't allow it.
By the second day of separation, pain starts. A dull ache in my chest that grows worse with each hour. Through the bond, I feel Kaelen suffering too.
On day three, the pain becomes unbearable. I'm doubled over in my tower room when the door crashes open.
Kaelen stands there, looking haggard. His curse marks writhe violently.
This is your fault, he growls.
My fault? You're the one hiding!
I'm trying to protect you!
From what? We're already bound! Avoiding each other just hurts us both!
He wants to argue, but the pain forces him closer. The moment he enters the room, the ache in my chest eases.
We stare at each other, both breathing hard.
This is impossible, Kaelen mutters. The bond shouldn't be this strong already.
Well, it is. So either you accept it, or we both suffer.
His jaw clenches. Fine. But I'm not happy about it.
From that day forward, we're forced together. Breakfast in the dining hall. Lunch in the library. Dinner in his private chambers. The bond won't let us be apart for more than a few hours.
Kaelen is cold and cruel, using sharp words to push me away. You're clumsy. You're ignorant. You know nothing about this world.
But I see through it. He's scared. Terrified that he'll care about me and then watch me die.
You can be mean all you want, I tell him during one particularly tense meal. It won't make me leave.
You should want to leave.
But I don't.
Day Five
I explore the citadel while Kaelen broods. The halls are endless, full of rooms that haven't been used in centuries.
That's when I start seeing them.
Ghosts.
Translucent figures that drift through walls, repeating the same actions over and over. A woman brushing invisible hair. A child playing with toys that aren't there. A soldier standing guard at an empty post.
They're echoes, Seris explains when I find him in the library. The old scholar has become my teacher, appearing whenever I have questions. People who died when the curse first struck. They're trapped in the moment of their deaths, endlessly repeating their last actions.
That's horrible.
Yes. Seris's eyes are sad. Kaelen sees them too. Every day, he's reminded of everyone he couldn't save.
The ghosts whisper as I pass:
Beware the prophecy.
The light brings death.
Run while you can.
Their warnings send chills down my spine.
What prophecy? I ask Seris.
The one that brought you here. He pulls out an ancient book, pages yellowed with age. The last light-blood will either break the Dark King's curse or complete it. There is no middle ground.
Kaelen already told me that.
But did he tell you what 'completing' the curse means? Seris's expression darkens. If you complete it, you and Kaelen both die. Your combined power light and darkness feeds the curse for another five hundred years, making it even stronger. Entire kingdoms could fall under its shadow.
My blood runs cold. And breaking it?
Kaelen returns to mortality. The curse ends. But... Seris hesitates. The prophecy suggests the light-blood must sacrifice herself to break it. You would die, and Kaelen would live.
So either we both die, and I die alone.
Those appear to be the options, yes.
I sink into a chair, mind reeling. No wonder Kaelen is desperate. No wonder he tried to kill me quickly. He knew what was coming.
Day Seven
A magical bird arrives at my tower window. It's made of light, carrying a message tied to its leg.
I open it with shaking hands.
Elara
It's Mira. I don't know if this will reach you, but I had to try. The resistance is growing. We've exposed Cassian's medicine hoarding. The king is losing support. There's going to be a revolution.
But there are rumors about you. They say you're alive. They say you're bound to the Dark King. They say you've become something powerful.
Is it true? Are you okay?
If you can, send word. Let me know you're alive.
Your friend always,Mira
Tears blur my vision. Mira. My best friend who never gave up on me.
I write back quickly, telling her I'm alive, that things are complicated, that I'm trying to survive.
The light bird takes my message and vanishes.
That evening, Kaelen and I share dinner in tense silence.
Finally, I can't take it anymore.
Why do you hate me being here so much?
I don't hate you being here.
You act like it.
I act like I don't want to watch you die! He slams his hand on the table. Is that so hard to understand?
I'm not going to die!
You don't know that! His control breaks. You're just a girl. A human girl with barely awakened magic, bound to a curse that's killed thousands. You're brave and stubborn and infuriating, and you have no idea how dangerous this is!
Then teach me! I stand, matching his anger. Stop pushing me away and help me get stronger! Or are you too scared to actually try?
I'm terrified! The confession explodes from him. I'm terrified that I'll start caring about you and then lose you like I lost everyone else!
The binding marks on our arms pulse with light, responding to the raw emotion between us.
We stare at each other across the table, both breathing hard.
You already care, I say quietly. I can feel it through the bond.
Kaelen's expression crumbles. Then we're both doomed.
Before I can respond, the citadel shakes violently.
Books fall from shelves. The table cracks down the middle. Kaelen's curse marks flare brighter than I've ever seen.
What's happening? I grab onto a chair to steady myself.
Kaelen's face goes pale. The curse. It's reacting to our bond. To our emotions. Every time we fight or feel strongly, it destabilizes.
What does that mean?
It means
The floor beneath us shatters.
We fall through darkness, still connected by the binding magic, plummeting into the depths below the citadel.
Into a place Kaelen whispers has been sealed for five hundred years.
The Chamber of Souls.
Where the curse was born.
And where, according to legend, the truth about the prophecy is hidden.