Elena sat by her window, fingers absentmindedly tracing the rim of her teacup, eyes lost in the fading colors of dusk. The world outside moved in its usual rhythm — cars passing, students laughing, lights blinking on — but her heart was beating to something else.
A presence.
She felt it again. That quiet pulse in the air. The cold warmth.
Her skin prickled.
"Aiden…" she whispered, almost unsure.
There was no one there.
She got up slowly, walked to the door, swung it open — nothing. Yet her chest fluttered, like he was near. Not in sight, but not gone.
And this wasn't the first time.
Over the next few days, it kept happening. In the hallway. In the library. During class. She would pause mid-sentence, look around, heart racing, and mutter softly to herself, *"You're here, aren't you?"*
Aiden, hidden in his realm, heard her every time. And every time, his breath hitched.
She was feeling him.
Not seeing. Not hearing. Feeling.
No human had ever sensed a watcher's presence unless they chose to reveal themselves. Not even those marked. But Elena — she reached through the veil.
He appeared one night, unplanned, unable to hold back.
"How do you know when I'm near?" he asked softly from the edge of her room.
She looked at him calmly. "Because my soul shifts… and it only does when you're close."
The Watcher Council trembled at the news. It spread like flame — a human girl who could sense her protector without contact. Even without marks reacting. Impossible, they said.
But it was true.
Aiden stood before the Council in silence, their voices clashing.
"She's awakening something."
"She's not ordinary."
"Are you sure she's even *just* human?"
Aiden couldn't answer. Because the truth was — he didn't know anymore.
And it scared him how deeply that thrilled him.
---
The chamber of the Watcher Council was cloaked in shadows, lit only by the flickering white flame at the center — a flame that only responded to truth.
Aiden stood tall, though silence gripped his throat. His pulse echoed louder than the whispers spiraling through the ancient room.
"She's awakening something."
"She's not ordinary."
"Are you sure she's even just human?"
Their words struck like arrows, and Aiden flinched. He had trained for centuries to control every emotion. But this time, his stillness betrayed him.
The Council's eldest, Seraphiel, leaned forward from his high seat — his eyes like storm clouds, heavy and unreadable.
"Aiden... can you feel her now?"
Aiden hesitated. He could lie. But the truth was crawling beneath his skin like a second heartbeat.
"…Yes."
A sharp gasp rippled across the circle.
"You feel her soul shifting?"
Aiden nodded slowly. "Even when I try not to. Even when I'm cloaked. She... senses me."
"And she said it," another murmured. "She *knows*."
"She looked at me," Aiden breathed, "and said, *'My soul shifts… and it only does when you're close.'*"
The room fell still. The flame in the center flared blue — the sign of truth.
Aiden lowered his head, almost in shame. "I don't know what that means. But I know it's not ordinary."
Seraphiel stood, robes brushing the floor like feathers in wind. "Soul shifting hasn't been spoken of for five hundred years. The last time it was recorded, it marked the beginning of a war. A love too powerful to be contained within the laws of both realms."
"She's not supposed to feel you," another Councilor snapped. "That's against the veil. Watchers *watch*. They do not bond. They do not touch. And they do not—"
"Fall in love?" Aiden cut in, his voice low but clear.
The word tasted forbidden. And yet, he had said it. Owned it.
He wasn't sure when it happened. Was it the first time she looked up from her sketchbook and smiled at the sky, unaware he was near? Or the night she drunkenly gave him her number, her laughter echoing in his mind? Or maybe the moment she whispered, *"Please don't leave,"* clutching his hand in her sleep?
He didn't know.
He only knew he was no longer just her protector. He was bound.
"She looked at me," Aiden breathed, "and said, *'My soul shifts… and it only does when you're close.'*"
The room fell still. The flame in the center flared blue — the sign of truth.
Aiden lowered his head, almost in shame. "I don't know what that means. But I know it's not ordinary."
Seraphiel stood, robes brushing the floor like feathers in wind. "Soul shifting hasn't been spoken of for five hundred years. The last time it was recorded, it marked the beginning of a war. A love too powerful to be contained within the laws of both realms."
"She's not supposed to feel you," another Councilor snapped. "That's against the veil. Watchers *watch*. They do not bond. They do not touch. And they do not—"
"Fall in love?" Aiden cut in, his voice low but clear.
The word tasted forbidden. And yet, he had said it. Owned it.
He wasn't sure when it happened. Was it the first time she looked up from her sketchbook and smiled at the sky, unaware he was near? Or the night she drunkenly gave him her number, her laughter echoing in his mind? Or maybe the moment she whispered, *"Pleasedon't leave,"* clutching his hand in her sleep?
He didn't know.
He only knew he was no longer just her protector. He was bound.
Another Watcher stepped forward. Velaria — golden-haired, sharp-eyed — known for her discipline. And her obsession with Aiden.
"You risk everything," she hissed. "The veil between their world and ours is thinning already. You bring it closer to collapse — for a girl."
"She's not just a girl," Aiden snapped.
"No," Velaria smirked. "She's a disruption. And maybe a curse."
Seraphiel's voice thundered: "Enough!"
The flame surged with his command. Silence fell.
"This matter is no longer just about feelings," Seraphiel said. "It's prophecy now. A soul that shifts is the sign of an awakening. And if it happens between a human and a Watcher—"
"It changes everything," Aiden whispered.
He turned away from them. The Council faded behind him as his thoughts drifted back — to her.
To Elena.
Her eyes when she first heard him say her name.
Her wonder. Her fear. Her courage.
And now… her soul calling to his.
Was it fate? Or chaos?
He didn't know. He only knew he couldn't stay away.
***
That night, Aiden stood again outside her window. Hidden from sight. A ghost in the moonlight.
Elena slept, curled into her blanket like a child. Peaceful. Radiant.
And in her hand, the faint glow of the mark — the mark that appeared with no spell, no scar, no explanation.
His mark.
He had never touched her skin when it appeared. And yet… it bloomed like a secret flower, carved by the stars.
He whispered to the wind: "What are you, Elena?"
As if in answer, she stirred. Her fingers tightened slightly, as if reaching for something even in sleep.
Him.
He should leave. He should vanish and never return.
But instead, he placed a hand on her window frame, closed his eyes… and just stayed.
Because no matter what the Council said, no matter what the laws forbade…
He was already hers.
And she was already his.
Even if the world would burn for it.