Elara ran, breath ragged, heart hammering against her ribs. The forest stretched endlessly, dark and unwelcoming, yet she pushed on, desperate to put as much distance as possible between herself and the army of shadows hunting her. Her palms burned faintly, a lingering trace of magic that refused to fade. She forced herself to suppress it, but the thread tugged relentlessly at her chest, pulling her closer to him—Kael.
"Stay calm… you can survive this," she muttered to herself, twisting her hands into fists. Her legs burned, her lungs screamed, but she couldn't stop. Not now. Not ever.
A sudden snap of a branch behind her made her freeze. She whirled, staff ready, eyes scanning the misty forest. But it wasn't the soldiers this time. The shadows moved differently—fluid, alive, unnatural. The very air seemed to warp around her.
"Looking for me?" a voice purred from the darkness. Smooth, dangerous, velvet edged with steel. Kael stepped from the shadows, his presence like a living weight pressing down on her. His crimson eyes glinted beneath the hood, fixed entirely on her.
Elara's pulse spiked. "I… I'm not yours," she stammered, her staff trembling in her hands.
"Yours?" he echoed, stepping closer. The forest itself seemed to lean toward him. "No, little moon. Not yet. But this…" He gestured toward her chest, where the thread of the curse pulsed faintly. "…this is mine to bind."
Her stomach twisted. Every instinct screamed at her to fight, to run, but the thread pulsed stronger, pulling her like a tether she could neither resist nor sever. She summoned her magic, golden light spilling from her palms, coiling around her like a living thing.
Kael didn't flinch. Instead, he extended a hand, darkness curling around it like smoke. "Resist, if you dare," he said softly.
Before she could react, shadows erupted from the ground like black tendrils, wrapping around her wrists and ankles. They weren't ropes, not exactly—they were alive, writhing, searing cold as they coiled tighter. Her magic flared in response, fighting, resisting, yet the shadows didn't yield.
"You can't run from me," he murmured, voice low, dangerous. The pulse of the curse surged in her chest, a fire she couldn't control. "The bond calls, Elara. You will be mine… in time, whether you wish it or not."
She struggled, summoning every ounce of magic, but the shadows were relentless. They coiled tighter, binding her arms and legs to invisible chains that burned with icy pressure. The thread pulsed violently, screaming through her veins as if in pain, connecting her to him in ways she couldn't comprehend.
"Stop!" she shouted, voice cracking. "I won't let you!"
Kael's smirk ghosted across his lips, almost approving. "You think this is about choice?" he asked. "It's never been about choice, little moon. It's about survival. And the curse… the curse chooses for both of us."
Her magic flared again, brilliant and raw, illuminating the trees like lightning. The shadows writhed and hissed, sparks of golden light clashing against black tendrils. She felt herself pulled toward him, drawn in spite of herself, as if the curse had already marked her.
Kael reached out, and the air itself seemed to bend, the shadows parting just enough for him to touch her shoulder. The contact sent a shock of heat through her, making her knees buckle. "Feel it?" he murmured. "The connection. The bond."
She gasped, choking back a sob. "I… I don't want this."
"You already do," he said softly. The thread in her veins throbbed, alive and demanding. Every fiber of her being screamed to resist, yet part of her… something deep and forbidden… responded. Fear, anger, and an inexplicable attraction collided, leaving her dizzy.
The shadows pulled her fully to her knees. Kael circled her slowly, like a predator admiring prey. His presence pressed against her like a living thing, oppressive yet intoxicating. "The soldiers won't touch you," he said. "I'm the only one who can. I'm the only one who dares."
"Why?" she whispered, voice barely audible. "Why me?"
He crouched slightly, crimson eyes boring into hers. "Because, little moon, the curse runs through you. Through your blood. And it's tied to mine. You belong to it… and through it, to me."
Her pulse raced. The thread of the curse burned hotter, and she realized—terrifying and undeniable—that she couldn't pull away even if she wanted to. It pulsed with a life of its own, and in that moment, she understood why her mother had feared it, why the soldier had hesitated at her birth.
"Enough," he said, voice low, final. He extended both hands, and the shadows tightened like steel chains, dragging her upward. She struggled, magic flaring, but it was no use. The thread sang, binding her to him. Her heart pounded in terror and… something else she didn't dare name.
She stumbled, dragged forward, until she collapsed at his feet. He crouched beside her, his dark cloak spilling over her trembling form. His fingers hovered near her face, not touching, but she could feel the heat of his presence.
"You're mine now," he whispered. "Not by choice… not yet. But the bond is made."
Elara's golden light flared uncontrollably, washing over the glade like fire, illuminating his features. She realized, with a cold twist of fear, that the thread had not only tied her to him—it had marked her for him. Every pulse of the curse screamed that she could never fully escape.
Kael stood, tall and unyielding, the shadows at his command curling like a living barrier. "Come," he said, voice low and commanding. "You will ride with me. And you will learn… the cost of your magic, the truth of your blood."
Her legs trembled. She wanted to resist, to run, to fight—but the thread pulled her inexorably forward. The golden glow of her magic flickered and dimmed, responding to the dominance of the curse.
With a final glance at the devastated forest, at the fleeing villagers she could no longer protect, she allowed herself to be drawn into the shadows at his command. The trees swallowed them both, leaving only silence in their wake.
Somewhere deep inside, a small, stubborn spark of defiance remained. Elara pressed her palms to her chest, feeling the pulse of the curse, and whispered to herself: "I will survive… even under him."
Kael's crimson eyes followed her, sharp and unyielding. "Good," he murmured. "Because your survival… will belong to me."
The forest grew still once more, shadows curling back into themselves, leaving the only sound—the quiet, steady heartbeat of a bond that had begun, a curse that had claimed them both, and a story that had only just begun.