The arrow quivered in the earth.
Liora stared at it for half a heartbeat before lifting her gaze to the woman who had fired it.
The archer stood with effortless balance, bow still raised, fingers steady on the string. She looked young,no older than Liora herself,but there was nothing uncertain in her stance.
Her dark hair was pulled back tightly, eyes sharp and unblinking as they tracked Kael's every breath.
Behind her stood an older man wrapped in a weather-worn cloak. He leaned lightly on a staff etched with faded runes, his gaze calm, calculating, and disturbingly curious.
"That thing," the archer said again, voice flat as drawn steel, "needs to die."
Liora moved without thinking.
She stepped in front of Kael.
The archer's eyes flicked to her instantly. Get out of the way.
"No," Liora said, surprised by the steadiness of her own voice.
Kael stirred weakly behind her
. "Liora…" His voice was hoarse with panic.
Move.
She didn't.
The older man raised a hand slightly.
Serin,he said mildly. "Not yet."
Serin didn't lower her bow. "You felt it too," she snapped.
The surge. That wasn't just corruption,that was synchronization.
"I know," the man replied. "That's why we're not killing him.
Liora's heart slammed painfully against her ribs.
What are you talking about?
The man's gaze settled on her, sharp now.
You should step away from him.
She shook her head. "He's hurt."
"Yes," the man said quietly. And if we handle this wrong, he won't be the only one.
Serin's jaw tightened. "Aldric,"
"If you kill him now," Aldric interrupted, his tone suddenly hard, you'll doom her.
The word hit like a blade.
Liora swallowed. "Doom who?"
Aldric's eyes never left Kael. "You."
Serin's fingers flexed on the bowstring.
Explain Now!
Aldric sighed and stepped closer, stopping just beyond the edge of the roots where Kael lay hidden.
He crouched, studying the faintly pulsing black mark on Kael's chest.
"Well," he said softly, that confirms it.
Kael's breathing hitched. Confirms what?
Aldric looked up at him. You're not possessed.
Serin scoffed. That thing almost ripped her throat out.
And didn't,Aldric replied. Despite every instinct telling it to.
Liora's stomach twisted. Then what is he?
Aldric straightened slowly. A synchronized host.
The words meant nothing to her.
But Kael flinched as if struck.
"No," he whispered. Not that.
Serin's voice was cold. That's exactly what he is.
Aldric nodded grimly. A curse-bearer bound to a manifested entity. Rare. Dangerous. Almost always fatal.
Liora's knees felt weak. You're saying the monster,the Nightbeast.
Isn't just hunting him, Aldric finished. It's bound to him.
Kael clenched his jaw, claws twitching weakly. I told you to run.
Liora ignored him. Bound how?
Aldric gestured between Kael and the fog-shrouded forest beyond. Their lives overlap. Their pain echoes. Their instincts bleed.
Serin lowered her bow just enough to point the arrow at Kael's heart. And when one dies,she said flatly, the other follows.
Liora exhaled shakily. Then kill the monster.
Serin's eyes hardened. If only it were that simple.
Aldric turned fully toward Liora now. There's a rule.
Her pulse spiked. "What rule?"
If anyone but the host kills the bound entity, Aldric said carefully, the curse doesn't die.
Kael squeezed his eyes shut.
It jumps,Aldric continued. It searches for the nearest viable vessel.
Liora felt cold spread through her veins. Nearest…?
Aldric met her gaze. Emotionally.
Silence fell like a grave.
Serin spoke first. Which means if I kill the beast while he's alive,
It finds her,Aldric said.
Liora staggered back a step. That's insane.
It's old magic, Aldric replied. It doesn't care if it's fair.
Kael's voice broke. That's why I was alone in the forest.
Liora spun on him. "You knew?"
I knew enough,he said quietly. If I died out there, maybe it would end with me.
Aldric's mouth tightened. That's not how it works.
Serin's bow snapped back up. Then we end it now. We kill him and the beast together.
No, Aldric said sharply. If he dies while synchronized, the curse seeks a replacement.
Serin's eyes flicked to Liora again.
Liora's breath hitched. "Me?
Aldric nodded once.
The forest seemed to close in.
No,Liora said. "That's not,he didn't choose me.
"But it did," Aldric said softly.
Kael pushed himself upright with effort, blood streaking his chin. Then let me go.
Liora rounded on him. Absolutely not.
Serin scoffed. "You're all idiots."
She stepped closer, eyes never leaving Kael. "You don't understand what he'll become. The longer that bond holds, the more he synchronizes. The beast learns him. Copies him.
Liora's voice trembled. It stopped when I touched him.
Both hunters froze.
Aldric's eyes sharpened. "Explain."
Liora hesitated. "When he was losing control… when I grabbed him… it slowed. And when I called his name,
Kael looked at her in horror. You said my name?
"You screamed it," Serin snapped. And the beast froze.
Aldric went very still.
"That shouldn't be possible," he murmured.
Serin frowned. What are you thinking?
Aldric looked between Kael and Liora, something unreadable stirring in his expression. That the curse didn't just bind a host.
Liora's skin prickled. "What do you mean?"
Aldric rose slowly. I think it anchored.
Kael swallowed. "To her."
The word settled between them like a death sentence.
No,Liora said fiercely. I didn't ask for that.
"Curses don't ask," Aldric replied.
Serin let out a sharp laugh. Perfect. Now we've got two liabilities.
She raised her bow again.
Liora stepped forward instantly. You won't shoot.
Serin's gaze hardened. Don't test me!
"If you kill him," Liora said, you kill me too.
Aldric inhaled sharply. "She's right."
Serin's hands shook,just barely. Then what are we supposed to do?
A low growl rolled through the forest.
All four of them froze.
The fog shifted, curling inward like something breathing.
Kael stiffened. "It's coming back."
Aldric's eyes snapped toward the sound. We can't stay here.
Serin cursed under her breath. He can barely stand.
Kael forced himself upright. "I'll move."
Liora grabbed his arm. You're not doing this alone.
Aldric studied her for a long moment. "If you stay with him,he said carefully, the bond will deepen.
"I know," she replied.
And when it does, Aldric continued, the curse will start choosing between you.
Her heart pounded. "Choosing what?"
"Who it keeps,"he said quietly.
The growl sounded again, closer now.
Serin lowered her bow slightly. We move. Now.
They fled deeper into the forest, fog swallowing their footsteps. Kael leaned heavily on Liora, his body burning beneath her touch, each breath ragged and uneven.
Behind them, something massive moved.
Kael gasped suddenly, clutching his chest. The black mark flared violently.
Liora cried out as pain stabbed through her own ribs,sharp, sudden, not hers.
She stumbled.
Aldric caught her arm. "You felt that."
She nodded, breathless. "Yes."
Aldric's face went pale.
Serin swore. "It's already starting."
Kael looked at Liora, horror etched across his face. "I'm so sorry."
The Nightbeast roared,right behind them.
Aldric turned sharply. "Listen to me," he said urgently. "There is one rule above all others.
Liora met his gaze. What?
"If the bound entity dies," Aldric said, the host must be the one to kill it.
The ground shook.
And if he can't? Liora asked.
Aldric's voice dropped to a whisper.
Then the curse breaks wrong.
The fog exploded outward as the Nightbeast burst from the trees, eyes blazing, claws tearing into the earth.
Kael's body convulsed violently.
And Liora felt something inside her answer the call.