Sera's POV
The shadow creatures move like liquid nightmare, pouring through the broken wall with too many teeth and claws that scrape against reality itself.
"REALM WALKER!" they shriek again, the sound stabbing into my brain. "GIVE US THE REALM WALKER!"
I can't move. Can't breathe. Can't do anything but stare at the monsters that shouldn't exist.
The man—the impossibly tall being who emerged from the box—steps in front of me. His movement is faster than my eyes can follow. One second he's standing still, the next he's between me and the creatures.
"You dare enter my presence uninvited?" His voice drops the temperature another ten degrees.
The lead creature, bigger than the others with horns curling from its skull, laughs. "Your presence means nothing anymore, Fallen Sovereign. You've been imprisoned for three centuries. The realms have moved on. You're weak. Forgotten."
Something dangerous flashes in those silver eyes.
"Shall we test that theory?"
He moves.
I've never seen anything like it. He doesn't fight—he destroys. His hands become blades of pure shadow, cutting through the creatures like they're made of paper. Black blood sprays across the basement walls. The monsters scream and die, their bodies dissolving into smoke.
But more keep coming. The hole in the wall is getting bigger, and I can see more creatures scrambling over each other to get inside.
They're here for me. I don't know why, don't understand what "Realm Walker" means, but I know with absolute certainty that they want to kill me.
Or worse.
Through the strange connection in my chest—the bond that snapped into place when he emerged—I feel his thoughts. Not words exactly, but feelings. Calculation. Strategy. And underneath it all, something unexpected: He doesn't want me to die.
"Can you run?" he asks without turning around, his hands still tearing through monsters.
"I—yes—I think—"
"Then RUN!"
I run.
My legs finally remember how to work. I sprint for the stairs, but a creature drops from the ceiling in front of me, blocking my path. It's smaller than the others, but its eyes glow red and hungry.
"Little mortal," it hisses, "you smell like power. Like destiny. We're going to eat you slowly—"
Its head explodes in a burst of silver light.
The man appears beside me, his hand still glowing. "I said run. That includes not stopping to chat with demons."
"That was a DEMON?"
"One of many. Move. NOW."
He grabs my wrist and pulls me toward the stairs. The moment his skin touches mine, the bond flares hot and bright. I gasp. He does too. For a second, we both freeze, staring at each other.
I see into him. Past the cold exterior, past the ancient power. I see a young man standing in fire, screaming as everything he loves burns. I see him make a choice that breaks him. I see three thousand years of emptiness, of being unable to feel, of being more weapon than person.
And he sees me. Every lonely night, every cruel word from my family, every moment I felt invisible and worthless. He sees all of it in a heartbeat.
"Impossible," he whispers again, but this time it sounds less like anger and more like wonder.
A demon lunges from behind him. The spell breaks. He spins, killing it with a gesture, but more are coming. Too many.
"The stairs!" I shout.
We run together, his hand still locked around my wrist. The bond pulses between us like a heartbeat. I can feel his power flowing through it, ancient and vast and terrible. But I can also feel something else—confusion. Fear. Emotions he hasn't felt in millennia, now crashing through him because of me.
We burst through the basement door into the main hallway. Empty. Everyone's gone home from the auction. We're alone with the monsters.
"How many are there?" I gasp, running beside him.
"Too many. Someone sent an entire hunting party." He glances at me, his silver eyes sharp. "They knew you'd be here. Someone told them."
My stomach drops. "My family wouldn't—"
"Wouldn't they?"
The question hits like a punch. Would they? Would Miranda and Father sell me out if it meant protecting themselves? After everything tonight, I don't know anymore.
We reach the main entrance. He throws open the doors and we stumble into the cold night air. The New York street is busy with cars and people. Normal people living normal lives, having no idea that monsters are real.
"We need to move," he says, pulling me down the sidewalk. "They won't attack in front of this many witnesses, but they'll follow."
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere I can open a portal back to my realm."
"Your realm? No! I'm not going to some—"
He stops so suddenly I crash into him. His eyes bore into mine, and for the first time, I see genuine emotion on his face. Desperation.
"Listen carefully. The bond between us has marked you. Every supernatural being within a hundred miles can sense it now. Demons, celestials, dark fae—they're all going to come for you. Some want to kill you because the bond is forbidden. Others want to capture you because you're apparently something called a Realm Walker, whatever that means. Either way, you're hunted."
"But I didn't do anything!"
"You freed me. You bonded with me. Whether you meant to or not doesn't matter." His grip on my wrist tightens. "Your only chance of surviving the night is staying with me."
"I don't even know your name!"
"Kaine." The word comes out rough, like he hasn't said it in centuries. "My name is Kaine Ashver. And you just became the most dangerous person in every realm."
A scream cuts through the night air behind us. I turn and see them—dozens of shadow creatures pouring out of the auction house, no longer caring about witnesses. People on the street start screaming and running.
"They're not hiding anymore," Kaine says grimly. "That means they have orders to capture you at any cost."
"What do we do?"
He looks at me, and I see the ancient warrior beneath the cold exterior. "We fight. Or we run. Choose quickly."
Before I can answer, the ground beneath our feet starts to crack. Black tendrils shoot up from the broken concrete, wrapping around my ankles.
"SERA!" Kaine lunges for me, but the tendrils are faster. They yank me downward, pulling me through the sidewalk like it's water.
The last thing I see is Kaine's face, his carefully controlled expression finally breaking into pure fear.
Then darkness swallows me whole, and I'm falling through shadow and screaming and cold, falling toward something ancient and hungry that's been waiting for me.
Waiting for the Realm Walker to finally come home.