The silence inside the cottage shattered.
A low rumble shook the earth beneath their feet, followed by a whisper of power that slid across Aerin's skin like cold steel. His breath caught in his throat, his heart pounding so hard it drowned out the world around him.
Kael's crimson eyes burned faintly in the dark as he stood perfectly still, his head tilted, listening. "They've found us."
Lucien had his sword out in an instant, its blue runes glowing faintly in the shadows. "Who?" His black eyes narrowed, sharp and dangerous.
Kael's golden hair shifted as he turned toward the window, the moonlight catching strands like molten fire. His voice was low, steady, and laced with quiet threat.
"Demons."
Aerin froze, his short black hair falling into his wide, startled eyes. "…Demons? You mean… like you?"
Kael's gaze flicked toward him, sharp and cutting. "Not like me." A muscle in his jaw flexed. "Lesser ones. Drawn here when you tore open the veil. They followed the scent of my awakening."
The words sank in like ice water. Aerin's stomach twisted.
Lucien took a sharp step forward, placing himself protectively between Aerin and the door. "How many?"
Kael's crimson gaze darkened. "Four… no, five." His voice was eerily calm, but the shadows coiling at his boots deepened, stretching like claws across the floorboards. "And they're not here to talk."
Before Aerin could react, the first window shattered.
The Ambush
The force of it knocked Aerin backward onto the floor. Shards of glass rained across the wooden boards as a dark, twisted figure leapt into the room, landing on all fours. Its skin was black and slick like obsidian, its elongated limbs bending wrong, and its glowing white eyes locked instantly on Aerin.
Lucien moved first.
He lunged forward, blade flashing in the moonlight, cutting clean across the demon's chest. The creature shrieked, an ear-splitting sound that made Aerin's bones vibrate, but it didn't fall it lunged back harder.
Two more shadows spilled through the broken window.
Kael didn't move at first didn't need to. The room shifted subtly around him, the air growing heavy with heat, the edges of his long golden hair glowing faintly in the dim firelight. His crimson eyes burned brighter, almost molten.
The first demon lunged at him and Kael simply raised his hand.
With a single motion, the creature froze mid-leap, its body locking unnaturally as if caught by invisible chains. Then, with an almost bored flick of Kael's wrist, flames erupted beneath its skin. It screamed once, then collapsed into smoking ash.
Aerin stared, his chest heaving, the sigil under his sleeve pulsing violently in response to Kael's power. The bond thrummed between them, hot, electric, alive.
Lucien shouted over the chaos, swinging his sword into the second demon. "You could've warned us there'd be more of them!"
Kael stepped forward smoothly, shadows trailing him like living tendrils. "I just did."
The third demon leapt for Aerin and Kael was there before Aerin could even scream, his arm sliding in front of him like a wall. His shadows shot forward, forming jagged spikes midair, impaling the creature instantly. Blood hissed against the wooden floor as the demon fell in two twitching halves.
Kael didn't even glance at it. He turned his head slightly, crimson eyes narrowing at the last two shapes slinking at the edge of the tree line outside.
"They want you, little mage," he said, voice low, dangerous. "Stay behind me."
Aerin nodded shakily, backing away, but Lucien stepped forward sharply, black eyes blazing. "I'll handle the last two."
Kael's jaw tightened. "You'll die."
Lucien didn't flinch. "Then I'll die protecting him."
For a moment, Kael's expression sharpened into something cold and unreadable, but he didn't argue. Instead, his shadows stretched farther, sliding snake-like across the floor and curling protectively around Aerin's feet.
The Last Strike
The final two demons came through the broken door at once fast, feral, and silent.
Lucien met the first head-on, his sword glowing as it cut deep into its shoulder, black ichor spraying across the floor. The creature shrieked, clawing at him, but Lucien drove his blade deeper until it stilled.
The second one went for Aerin.
Kael's hand shot forward, his long golden hair whipping behind him as his shadows erupted like living fire. The demon didn't even make it halfway across the room before Kael's power ripped it apart midair, scattering it into smoke and dust.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Aerin's chest heaved as he sank slowly to the floor, his hands shaking violently. The faint crimson sigil beneath his sleeve pulsed with his heartbeat, throbbing painfully now, like it was feeding on Kael's unleashed magic.
Lucien's shoulders rose and fell heavily as he wiped demon blood from his blade, his black eyes still burning, but his gaze turned instantly toward Aerin.
"Are you hurt?" Lucien knelt beside him, his gloved hand brushing faintly against Aerin's. "Did they touch you?"
Aerin shook his head quickly. "N-No. I'm fine… I think." He looked up at Kael then, startled to find him already watching.
Kael leaned against the wall, his golden hair damp with sweat, shadows slowly withdrawing back into his skin like smoke being pulled into a flame. His crimson gaze locked on Aerin, unreadable.
"…We're not safe here," Kael said finally, voice low. "More will come."
Aerin swallowed hard, forcing himself to his feet. "…Then we… we'll figure something out in the morning."
Lucien shot Kael a sharp look. "He needs rest. You stay away from his room."
Kael ignored him.
A Room Apart
They cleared the broken glass and dragged one of Aerin's old trunks to block the damaged window. The cottage was quiet again, the only sound the soft crackle of the small fire Lucien lit in the corner.
Aerin fetched spare blankets and pointed down the short hallway. "There's a second room," he said softly, avoiding Kael's intense gaze. "You can… sleep there."
Kael inclined his head slightly, saying nothing as he stepped into the dim hallway, his crimson eyes lingering on Aerin for just a moment longer before disappearing into the shadows.
Lucien exhaled, sinking into a chair near the door, blade still in hand. "I'll keep watch," he muttered.
Aerin nodded faintly, exhaustion washing over him as he slipped into his small room and closed the door.
Sleep came slowly. His body ached, his mind restless, his heart still hammering from the fight… but eventually, the bond's faint hum lulled him into uneasy dreams.
The Midnight Choice
Kael stood in the dark hallway, unmoving, silent.
The moonlight caught in his long golden hair as he stared at the closed door to Aerin's room, crimson eyes glowing faintly in the shadows.
Inside, he could hear Aerin's slow, steady breaths.
Kael's hand flexed at his side.
There was a way. A dangerous, forbidden way. He could sever the bond… but only if one of them died before the magic rooted too deeply.
If he killed Aerin tonight, he would be free.
His crimson eyes burned brighter, shadows curling around his fingers like blades forming from smoke. Slowly, quietly, he pushed the door open.
The faint glow of the firelight touched Aerin's sleeping face, his short black hair falling across his forehead, his lashes trembling faintly with dreams.
Kael stepped closer, shadows gathering, his hand raised over Aerin's chest one strike, and it would be over.
But then he froze.
The bond pulsed faintly between them, warm and alive, and Kael felt it Aerin's fragile heartbeat, soft and steady. His crimson gaze lingered on the curve of his jaw, the soft rise and fall of his breath, the faint crease in his brow even in sleep.
Kael's hand trembled.
For the first time in centuries, he hesitated.
Slowly, the shadows withdrew, slipping back beneath his skin like whispers swallowed by silence.
Kael turned his head, jaw tight, crimson eyes burning with something he couldn't name.
And then, without a sound, he stepped back into the hallway and disappeared into the darkness.
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End of Chapter Three