đ· Chapter Two: The Stranger from the Mist
The morning came soft and golden. Dew clung to the grass like tiny diamonds, and the world smelled of new beginnings. Yet Elara's heart was restless.
She kept thinking about himâthe stranger from the mist, the one whose eyes held starlight. It felt foolish, she told herself. Maybe she had dreamed him. Maybe the night had played tricks on her lonely heart.
But when she stepped outside, she saw footprints by the lake. Large, steady, and real.
Her breath caught.
He had been there.
Elara followed the prints into the woods. The forest hummed with lifeâbirds whispered, trees swayed, and somewhere, the faint sound of a flute drifted through the air. She moved closer until she found him again.
Kael stood in a small clearing, sunlight spilling through the trees like gold dust. He wasn't wearing his hood this time. His hair was dark and a little wild, and his eyesâthose same glowing eyesâlooked like they held entire constellations.
"You followed me," he said, a hint of surprise in his smile.
"I didn't mean to," Elara murmured, though her cheeks told another story. "I just⊠wanted to know if you were real."
He laughed softlyâa sound that felt like warmth and wind together. "I'm as real as the stars that guided you here."
She tilted her head. "And who are you, really?"
Kael hesitated, looking toward the shimmering edge of the forest. "I come from beyond the veilâa place your people call the Moonlands. We guard the balance between light and shadow."
Elara blinked. "A guardian? Why would someone like you come to our little village?"
His gaze lingered on her face, gentle and searching. "Because something powerful has awakened here. Something that shouldn't existâand you, Elara, are at the center of it."
The world seemed to still around her. "Me?" she whispered.
Kael stepped closer, his hand hovering near hers. "You carry the light of the old magic. I felt it the moment I saw you by the lake."
Elara's pulse quickened. "But I'm just a girl."
Kael shook his head, voice low. "You are far more than that."
Their eyes metâand for a heartbeat, the forest faded. It was only them, suspended in the quiet pull between destiny and desire.
The wind brushed against their skin like a promise, and the first drops of rain began to fall. Kael lifted his hand, catching one. The raindrop shimmered with light before dissolving into a spark that drifted between them.
"Every storm begins with a single drop," he said. "And every legend with a single meeting."
Elara didn't know what the future heldâbut in that moment, she knew one thing: her life would never be the same again.