Shadowspine Forest, Night of the Blood Moon.
The Blood Moon hung low over Shadowpine Forest, casting the world in a deep, unnatural crimson. Its light seeped through the dense canopy, turning leaves into shards of red and shadow into something darker, almost alive. The forest seemed to hold its breath that night, as if waiting for something long forgotten to awaken. Somewhere deep within the tangle of trees, a circle of magic pulsed, invisible to the casual eye but alive to anyone attuned to the ancient forces still lingering in Eldoria.
Liora had never meant to be here. She had been wandering—restless, curious, seeking the kind of freedom her village could never offer. Her boots sank into moss, and the distant cry of an owl made her jump. She told herself it was just the forest, just the night, yet her instincts screamed differently. She wasn't alone.
Then she saw the clearing.
The sight stole her breath. In the center, a man knelt, his limbs bound by chains that shimmered like molten silver under the moonlight. The chains moved as though alive, twisting and tightening, sending sparks into the air with every pulse of the ritual surrounding him. His hair was black, falling in chaotic waves around a face that seemed carved from shadows and light. And his eyes—though closed—seemed to radiate a power that made the air hum.
Liora froze, her pulse hammering. She had read stories of witches and demons, of cursed princes and forbidden rites, but nothing had prepared her for this. It was real. Too real. And she was standing in the middle of it.
Something in the clearing shifted. A figure—Kael—opened his eyes. They were like twin coals smoldering in the dark, glowing faintly red, and for a moment, they seemed to pierce right through her. Liora gasped. He wasn't entirely human. She could feel it, a weight pressing against the edges of her senses: wolfish instincts, demonic heat, and something older, more dangerous still.
Her instincts screamed for her to run. Every tale her grandmother had whispered about the cursed woods, about monsters waiting in the dark, flashed in her mind. Yet her feet remained rooted to the ground. Something compelled her forward, something she did not understand but could not resist.
Then, her own skin burned.
A mark—hidden all her life—ignited on her wrist. A symbol flared bright as fire, echoing the patterns etched into the glowing circle surrounding Kael. Liora had never seen it before. Never even imagined it. And yet, it pulsed with recognition, as if her body had been waiting for this night for centuries.
Kael's chains writhed violently, as though aware of her awakening. He opened his mouth, whispering words she could not understand, an ancient language older than the kingdom itself. Each word sent shivers down her spine, and the air around them crackled with raw energy. Liora felt her heart jump—her presence had triggered something, something powerful, something dangerous.
The forest stirred. Shadows shifted at the edges of the clearing, coalescing into forms that made her stomach twist with fear. Figures cloaked in black, faceless, moved like smoke, their intentions unreadable but undeniably hostile. One stepped closer, a blade of black flame materializing in its hand. The ritual was incomplete, yet her arrival had set everything in motion.
Kael's gaze met hers again, and for a brief, terrifying moment, it was not just the prince looking at her—it was the predator, the demon, the cursed heir, and the protector, all at once. The look carried a warning, a promise, and a plea she didn't fully comprehend, yet understood in her bones: stay alive, or everything is lost.
Liora's legs moved on their own, as if obeying some hidden rhythm she did not know she possessed. The mark on her wrist burned brighter, and the circle around Kael flared, reacting to her presence. The shadows recoiled, hissing and curling, but they did not retreat completely. The forest itself seemed to lean in, holding its breath.
Then a deafening roar split the night. Kael strained against the chains, energy surging from him like waves crashing against stone. The shadows faltered, confused by the unexpected interference of her awakening. Liora's own powers responded instinctively, throwing tendrils of light from her mark, intertwining with the magic restraining him. The chains shuddered violently, sparks flying into the blood-red night.
A sudden wind tore through the clearing, and the spellbinding glow illuminated every terrified, awe-struck feature on her face. Kael's eyes, now blazing red, locked onto hers one last time before he tilted his head back, letting out a growl that seemed to shake the very roots of Shadowpine. The chains quivered, almost alive, before the circle's light surged violently, enveloping them both in searing brilliance.
When Liora blinked, the forest was silent again. The clearing lay in darkness, the Blood Moon dimming behind clouds, and Kael was gone. Only the lingering heat of magic and the pounding of her own heart remained.
She stumbled back, clutching her wrist, the symbol now a faint ember beneath her skin. One thought echoed relentlessly in her mind: she had seen something she shouldn't have. She had awakened something she didn't understand. And the prince—Kael, whoever he truly was—would never forgive her for it.
And yet… part of her knew. Somehow, some impossible part of her, that this night was only the beginning.
Shadowpine Forest had claimed witnesses before. But she was no longer silent.