*******HARPER
Luna and I headed to Aliya's house that evening. She was waiting at the doorway, her face pale but smiling politely.
"Come in, you two," she said softly, stepping aside. Her robe was loose, the collar shifting as she moved. That's when I saw it—thin red scratches along the side of her neck. They were partially hidden by fabric, but not enough to escape my notice.
I froze for just a second, my gaze lingering longer than it should have. She noticed, I was sure, but she didn't flinch. Didn't explain.
And I didn't ask.
Pretending I hadn't seen anything felt safer—for now.
"I'll set up the spare room," Aliya said.
Luna shook her head. "No need. We'll share a room." She glanced at me, and I understood her unspoken message. Safety in numbers.
Later, when we were alone in the room, the lights dimmed and the night pressing against the windows, I sat on the edge of the bed, my knees drawn up.
Chris's voice stirred in my mind first. "You're not seriously considering working with him, are you?"
"I don't have many options," I murmured. Luna was brushing her hair at the mirror, but I could tell she was listening.
Hay chimed in, his tone sharper. "You do have options—you just don't like them. That's different."
I sighed. "If Vaelthor's really helping her, that's not a fight I can handle alone. Kael—Gamekeeper or not—knows more than we do. And if joining him is the only way to survive this—"
"It's risky," Luna cut in, turning to face me. "But maybe you're right. We can't keep reacting. We need to be ahead of them for once."
That settled it, or at least put it on the path to being settled.
---
********Harper
I must have drifted off sometime after midnight. My last conscious memory was of Chris and Hay bickering in low voices, Luna lying beside me, her breathing steady.
Then the dream came.
Same as before—the world was crumbling. People I cared about lay motionless on the ground, lifeless eyes staring into nothing. My mother. Luna. Maisie. Uncle Mark. Sophie. All gone. My chest tightened until I could barely breathe.
But this time, someone else was there.
He stepped from the smoke like he owned the ruins, his presence towering, suffocating. Vaelthor.
"Harper," he said, voice deep enough to shake the air. "My other half."
The words froze me in place.
He circled me slowly, as though studying a rare artifact. "You fight so hard to hold yourself together. To stay tethered to meaningless bonds. You're wasting yourself."
"I'm not—" I started, but he silenced me with a look.
"You need to let your inner energy take control. Stop clinging to irrelevant things. You belong with me. I understand you more than anyone else ever could."
I took a step back. "You don't know me."
His mouth curved in something between a smile and a threat. "I know you better than you know yourself. And I'll wait for you, Harper. Because you will come to me."
The dream shattered before I could speak again, my body jerking awake. My heart was pounding so hard it hurt.
---
********
Across the city, in a quiet, dimly lit room, Natalie leaned back in her chair, one leg crossed over the other, eyes fixed on the man standing near the window.
"Tell me," she said, her voice almost playful, "what exactly do you plan on doing with Harper?"
Vaelthor didn't turn to face her. His gaze stayed on the moonlight spilling through the glass. "I want her to be one with me."
Natalie's brows rose slightly, curiosity sparking. "One with you? That sounds dangerously romantic for someone like you."
His lips curved faintly, but his tone was dead serious. "It's not romance. It's inevitability."
The night outside seemed to grow darker, as though even the shadows understood his intent.