đź“–
Elara sat alone on the black stone bench, waiting.
She'd survived three more wraiths since the Shadowgrove trial, each one more vicious, more personal. The last had worn her brother's face. She hadn't seen him in years—not since she'd run from home and signed that cursed contract in blood.
Now she sat in Lucien's war room, hands clenched, the mark on her chest burning faintly.
A door opened behind her.
Lucien entered—cloaked in shadows, as always. But this time, he wasn't alone.
A woman trailed behind him: tall, with midnight-black hair twisted into a braid, and eyes like flint.
"Elara," Lucien said, "meet Adira. She was the last soul I marked before you."
Adira didn't bow. She didn't smile. She looked Elara up and down like one might assess a broken blade.
"She's not ready," Adira said flatly.
"She'll learn," Lucien replied. "Today."
He turned back to Elara and slid a thin scroll onto the table before her.
Her name was written in blood-red ink across the top.
Mission No. 001 — Assigned to: Elara.
She unrolled it slowly.
Target: Daniel Wren.
Location: Earthside – London.
Status: Alive. Purpose: Interference.
Order: Silence him by midnight. Permanently.
Her blood froze.
Daniel Wren wasn't just some stranger.
He was her ex.
The only man who ever saw past her walls. The one she left behind the day the deal began. The only one who ever tried to save her from herself.
She looked up at Lucien, her voice thin. "This is a test."
"No," he said. "It's your duty."
"You want me to kill him."
"I want you to choose."
"Choose?"
"You can walk away. Refuse the mission. But if you do—" He stepped closer, eyes cold. "—you break the bargain. And when that happens, your soul is mine."
Adira leaned in from the shadows. "You knew the cost. Every marked soul pays it in blood."
Elara gritted her teeth, fighting the rush of guilt and fury rising in her chest.
"What did he do?" she asked.
Lucien's answer was emotionless: "He's researching the Ink."
Her breath caught. "He knows?"
"He suspects. He speaks of it in public. If he finds proof, the balance between realms breaks. My world enters yours fully. And neither will survive the collision."
Elara's hands trembled as she picked up the black dagger sealed with her mark. It pulsed in her hand.
"You said I was saving the balance," she whispered. "Not becoming a monster."
Lucien leaned close.
"There is no salvation without sacrifice."
✴️ Earthside – 8:47PM
Elara stood across the street from the flat in London, dressed in human clothes, hood up, hair tucked.
She hadn't set foot in this world for weeks. The air here smelled cleaner. The night felt real.
Daniel was inside. His light was on. She could see his silhouette move past the window.
He looked the same—broad-shouldered, golden skin, always with that permanent frown like he was trying to solve the world.
He'd always tried to solve her.
The dagger in her hand trembled, sensing her conflict.
She walked toward the door.
With every step, the mark on her skin throbbed.
She could hear Lucien's voice in her head:
"Finish it, and the path opens."
"Hesitate, and the price is you."
She reached the door.
Lifted her hand.
Knocked.
The door opened.
And Daniel's eyes widened in stunned disbelief.
"Elara?"
She didn't speak.
He reached out, his voice cracking. "You're alive… I thought you—"
Bang.
The energy in her palm flared and knocked him back into the room. Not fatal—but enough to freeze time for a moment.
She stood over him.
Raised the dagger.
And froze.
Because in his hand…
…was a notebook.
Its title scrawled in black ink:
"The Deal of Blood – What They Don't Want You to Know"
Her eyes met his.
"You know."
He coughed, dazed. "You're not here to see me. You're here to kill me."
She hesitated.
Then said quietly, "Not yet."
And vanished into the shadows.