Elaria scrambled back, breath caught in her throat.
The boy didn't move. He stood like a ghost carved from night—dark clothes, silver eyes, a crown of twisted black metal resting on unruly hair. The trees behind him were silent, as if the forest itself feared him.
"You don't remember me, do you?" he asked.
Elaria shook her head.
"I wouldn't expect you to," he murmured. "You were a baby when the curse chose us."
She rose slowly, keeping her distance. "Who are you?"
"The heir of the Shadow Court. Prince Kael." His voice was soft, almost kind, but it held power that made the ground seem thinner beneath her feet.
She blinked. "Shadow Court? That's just a myth."
He smirked. "You think your life hasn't been one?"
Her fingers tightened around the pendant her mother gave her. "Why were they hunting me?"
Kael stepped closer. "Because they know you belong to me. Because your blood is tied to mine. And because your death… would break me."
She didn't understand.
Not yet.
But when she looked into his eyes, something inside her stirred. A pull, ancient and unrelenting. As if the universe had already written their fate in the stars.
Kael extended a hand. "Come with me. I'll show you what they never told you."
Elaria hesitated.
He didn't force her.
But she took his hand anyway.
Because deep down, she already knew—
This was just the beginning.