Lila's Pov
"Turn around," the voice said.
I wanted to run but my legs felt heavy. My knees shook, I turned around slow.
A tall figure stood behind me. His shape looked like a man but darker, I could not see his eyes but I felt them stare right into me.
I stepped back fast.
"Who are you?" I asked with a shaking voice.
The figure leaned forward. "I waited," he said. "You took long."
"I do not know you," I said.
"You know me," he said. "Your heart knows me, Your mark knows me, Your fear knows me."
"I do not want you near me," I whispered.
He stepped closer. The grass bent under his feet even though he looked like fog.
"You were mine," he said. "You still are.""No!" I cried. "I am not!"
He tilted his head like he was listening to my breath. "Your voice trembles. You fear me. Fear builds the bond stronger."
"I did not make a bond!" I shouted. "Stop saying that!"
He lifted his hand. A soft light floated around his fingers. "Your heart made it the night you cried on the forest path. Your tears touched the old soil. The soil heard you, I heard you."
I shook my head hard. "I did not call you.""You did," he said gently. "Your pain felt loud. I answered."
My feet moved back again. My heel hit a stone and I almost fell. His shadow touched the grass near me.
"Do not step closer," I said.
He lowered his head like he smiled. "You cannot tell me to stop."
I felt cold air touch my cheek, He moved again.
"Stay away from me!" I shouted. A loud sound echoed across the field, A voice I knew.
"Do not touch her!"
I spun around.
Damon stood on the edge of the field. His shirt had dirt, His arms showed bruises,His hair looked messy.
"Damon," I whispered. "How did you find me?"
"I looked for you everywhere," he said. "I will not lose you." He took slow steps toward me.
The dark figure turned his head toward Damon. The air grew colder. "You came," the figure said. "You follow her like a shadow."
"I follow her because I care," Damon said. "Not like you. You only want to take her."The figure stepped to my side. "She does not belong with you."
Damon's hands curled into fists. "Move away from her."
"Or what?" the figure asked.
"I will fight you," Damon said.
The figure looked amused. "A strong heart but a weak flesh."
Damon glared. "Try me."
I stepped between them fast. "Stop!" I said. "You will hurt each other!"
The figure placed his hand on my shoulder. I cried out, Damon ran toward us.
The figure pushed out his hand. A wave of cold wind hit Damon and threw him across the grass. He rolled and coughed hard.
"No!" I screamed. "Do not hurt him!"
The figure frowned. "Why protect him? He is nothing."
"He is not nothing!" I said. "He protects me. He stays with me."
The figure's voice turned low. "He cannot guard you forever."
"I do not need you!" I shouted.
He looked down at my glowing mark. "But you have me."
Damon stood again with pain in his eyes. "I will not stop," he said. "Let her go."
The figure ignored him and took my chin with one cold hand. His touch felt like ice. "Lila," he said. "Look at me."
I shut my eyes tight.
"Look at me," he repeated.
I shook my head. "No."
He leaned closer. His breath felt like frozen air on my face.
"Look," he said again.
Damon shouted. "Lila, open your eyes only for me!"
My heart pulled between both voices, My hands trembled. I opened my eyes just a little.
The figure's face looked clearer now. His eyes looked like deep shadows, He looked sad and calm at the same time.
"See," he whispered. "You know me."
"I do not," I whispered. "I do not know you."He touched my cheek. "You forgot," he said. "You forgot the night you reached for me.""Stop lying," I said. "I would never reach for you."
"You did," he said. "You begged for help.""When?" I asked with fear.
His eyes darkened. "The night you ran from the house of pain. The night someone hurt you."
My heart dropped.
"No one hurt me," I whispered.
He shook his head slowly. "You lie to yourself."
Damon took weak steps toward me. "Do not let him in your mind," he said. "He twists words."
The figure looked at Damon. "You do not know her past."
"And you do?" Damon asked.
"Yes," the figure said. "I saw her fear before she even knew my name."
"I never knew your name," I said quietly. The figure stepped closer to me again. "My name is Ciaran."
The name felt sharp in my chest. "Ciaran…" I whispered without meaning to.
Damon's eyes widened. "Do not say his name," he said. "Names give power."
Ciaran smiled. "She said it, It is enough."
My mark glowed bright red, I screamed.
Damon ran for me again. Ciaran lifted me from the ground with one hand. I floated in the air as if the wind held me.
"Put her down!" Damon shouted.
"I will not hurt her," Ciaran said. "She is my bond."
"I am not your bond!" I cried.
Ciaran stared at me. "Do you know why you were chosen?"
"No," I whispered.
"Because your soul has fire," he said. "A deep fire that called for me."
"I did not call you," I said.
"Yes," Ciaran whispered. "You did."
He lowered his head. "I saw the moment you broke. You cried so hard the ground opened under your tears. I came from that break."
"No!" I shouted. "That is not true!"
"It is," he said.
Damon grabbed my foot and pulled me down. "Let her go!" he yelled.
Ciaran's face hardened. The air tightened around Damon. Damon dropped to his knees and gasped for breath.
"Stop!" I screamed. "Please stop!"
Ciaran looked at me again. "Do you want him to live?"
"Yes!" I cried. "I want him to live!"
"Then come with me," he said.
I shook my head fast. "No! I cannot!"
"Then he dies," Ciaran said calmly.
My chest felt tight. I looked at Damon. He clawed at the grass as he tried to breathe."Lila…" he whispered.
"No!" I cried. "Please stop hurting him!""Come with me," Ciaran repeated. I reached out toward Damon. The grass around him turned black. Ciaran waited.
I cried harder, My head hurt, My chest felt heavy.
"Please," I whispered. "Do not take me."
He stepped closer. "Choose."
"I cannot," I said.
"You must," Ciaran said. "Now."
His hand reached toward me. Damon's breath grew slower. My mark burned like fire. Ciaran's fingers touched my wrist. A blast of red light shot out.
Ciaran's eyes widened, Damon gasped.
And a third voice spoke behind me. A voice deeper than both of them, A voice I had never heard before.
Yet it felt like it had waited for years.
"Step away from her," the voice said.
All three of us froze, I turned slowly.
And saw someone standing in the tall grass. Someone I never knew existed.
Someone with the same mark as mine.
Glowing.
Bright.
Alive.
And he whispered one thing that made the world break.
"I am her true bond."