The forest whispered that night. It did not whisper as it usually did—with the rustling lullaby of leaves or the soft murmurs of river reeds—but in a voice that seemed alive, thick with warning. Luna pulled her cloak tighter, her breath fogging in the chill air as she slipped beyond the lantern-lit paths of the Forest Court. She should not have been out this late. Her father would be furious, Selene would be smug, and the elders would scold her with the same words they had since childhood: "Stay within theboundaries of light, child. Shadows are never your allies."
But Luna could not stay still. The pull had been unbearable since the bonfire. The stranger—the warrior whose eyes glimmered with midnight fire—haunted her thoughts. She told herself she only wished to know who he was, what business he had in the Forest Realm. Yet beneath that excuse simmered something more dangerous: a yearning she dared not name.
The deeper she went, the thicker the shadows grew. Branches clawed at her sleeves like skeletal fingers, and the mossy earth softened under her boots as though warning her to turn back. Luna pressed on. When the sound came—a snap of twig too deliberate to be the wind—her heart leapt. She spun, pulse racing.
"Who's there?" Her voice was steady, though her hand trembled where it clutched her dagger.
A shape moved between the trees. Broad-shouldered, cloaked in black, with hair like storm-tossed night. He stepped forward, moonlight catching the sharp line of his jaw. It was him.
Kael.
"You should not be here, Forest girl." His voice was low, dark velvet that made her knees weaken. "Your kind does not wander these borders without reason."
Luna swallowed. "And you? You don't belong here either. The Umbra are forbidden from crossing into our lands."
The corner of his mouth curved in something that was not quite a smile. "Then perhaps we are both guilty tonight."
Silence stretched between them. The forest itself seemed to hold its breath. Luna's dagger lowered an inch, though her instincts screamed she should raise it higher. His presence unsettled her, not because of danger alone, but because her chest ached with an odd mixture of fear and fascination.
"What is your name?" she asked before sense could stop her.
He hesitated. "Kael."
The name slid into her heart like a secret flame.
"And you?" he asked, stepping closer. His boots barely disturbed the ground, as though the forest itself dared not betray his weight.
"Luna."
His gaze lingered on her, and for a heartbeat, the forest seemed to vanish. No rules, no war, no boundaries—only two souls meeting where they should not.
Then the air changed. A hiss, a rustle, a ripple of energy thrummed through the trees. Shadows twisted unnaturally, writhing like snakes. Luna stumbled back, and Kael's hand shot out, catching her wrist. His grip was strong, burning, as though tethering her to something forbidden.
"Don't move," he said sharply.
Before she could protest, the ground erupted with dark tendrils—roots that weren't roots at all but shadow made solid. They lashed at her ankles, cold and cruel, dragging her down. Luna cried out, slashing with her dagger, but the blade passed uselessly through.
Kael's eyes glowed faintly as he muttered words in a tongue she did not know. The shadows recoiled as though scalded, retreating into the earth with a hiss. Silence returned, broken only by Luna's ragged breaths.
She stared at him, chest heaving. "What—what was that?"
Kael released her wrist slowly, his hand lingering a moment longer than necessary. "The forest tests you. It knows you do not belong to its light anymore."
The words struck deep, though she did not understand them fully. "And why do you belong here, then? You're Umbra."
His jaw tightened. "Perhaps I don't belong anywhere."
For a moment, vulnerability flickered in his gaze, a shadow of loneliness she recognized in herself. Against every warning, every rule, Luna felt something inside her shift.
She should have run. She should have turned and fled back to the safety of lanterns and walls and her sister's ever-watchful eyes. But instead, she whispered, "Then maybe we both don't belong."
Kael's eyes softened, just enough to undo her resolve. He stepped closer, so close she could see the faint scar running along his cheekbone, the rise and fall of his chest.
"Go back, Luna," he said finally, though his voice wavered as though he didn't believe his own command. "If your people find us here, it will be war. And if mine do…" His gaze dropped briefly to her lips, then back to her eyes. "…it will be worse."
Her heart thundered. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, a new voice sliced through the trees.
"Luna!"
Selene's call, sharp and accusing, rang across the forest. Lantern light flickered in the distance.
Luna flinched, panic seizing her chest. She turned back to Kael—but he was already gone, melted into the shadows as if he'd never existed. Only the warmth of his touch on her wrist remained, seared into her skin.
When Selene found her moments later, she forced a smile. "I was only walking."
Selene's eyes narrowed, studying her too intently. "Walking… in the dark?" Her tone carried suspicion, but also triumph, as though she had caught Luna in some unspoken crime. She had always monitored her, like some sort of moth against a light.
Luna said nothing. But inside her, the truth sang like a dangerous secret: she had met the Stranger of Shadows. And no matter how much she tried, she would never forget his name.