POV: Raine
I grabbed Ella's wrist and yanked her sideways just as another arrow whistled past her head.
"Move!" I shouted, pulling her into the thick forest.
Behind us, I heard Theron's voice ring out cold and clear. "Don't let them escape! The corrupted princess must be eliminated!"
Eliminated. Not captured. Not brought back for trial. He wanted her dead.
We ran, branches whipping at our faces. Through our bond, I felt Ella's terror mixing with rage—she was furious that the man she'd loved wanted to kill her.
"Can you use your shadow magic?" I gasped as we ran.
"I—I don't know how!"
"Figure it out fast!" I spun around and threw up a wall of dark magic behind us. It wouldn't hold for long, but it might buy us time.
An arrow punched through my barrier and grazed my shoulder. Pain exploded, and I stumbled. Immediately, Ella cried out too—she'd felt it through our bond.
"Raine!" She caught my arm, keeping me upright.
"I'm fine," I gritted out. "Keep moving!"
We crashed through the underbrush until we reached a cliff edge. Far below, a river churned through sharp rocks. Behind us, the elf guards were closing in.
"We're trapped," Ella breathed.
I looked at the river, calculating. The fall would probably kill us. The rocks definitely would.
Unless.
"Do you trust me?" I asked.
"What? No! We just met, and you—"
"Wrong answer." I grabbed her around the waist. "Hold your breath."
"Wait, what are you—"
I jumped.
Ella screamed as we plummeted toward the rocks. Wind roared in my ears. At the last second, I channeled every bit of dark magic I had left, creating a cushion of shadows beneath us.
We hit hard, but not hard enough to die. The shadow magic absorbed most of the impact, then dissolved. We crashed into the shallow edge of the river, and freezing water swallowed us whole.
I kicked toward the surface, dragging Ella with me. We broke through gasping and choking. The current immediately grabbed us, pulling us downstream away from the cliff.
Above us, I heard Theron shouting orders, but his voice grew fainter as the river carried us away.
For several terrifying minutes, all we could do was struggle to keep our heads above water. The current was vicious, slamming us against rocks, spinning us around. Through our bond, I felt Ella's panic threatening to overwhelm her.
Stay calm, I tried to send through our connection. I've got you.
Whether she heard me or not, she stopped thrashing and let me guide us toward the riverbank. We finally dragged ourselves onto muddy ground, both of us shaking and coughing up water.
"That," Ella gasped between coughs, "was insane."
"That was survival." I checked my shoulder where the arrow had grazed me. Blood mixed with river water, but it wasn't deep. "Can you walk?"
She nodded, though her legs shook as she stood. "Where are we?"
"Somewhere in the Border Forests. That river probably carried us miles from Theron's guards." I looked around, getting my bearings. "There's an old hunter's cabin about an hour from here. We can hide there while I plan our next move."
"Our next move?" Ella's voice rose. "They want to kill me! My own people! Theron was supposed to marry me, and now he's hunting me like an animal!"
"I know." I started walking, and she followed. "Welcome to exile. It doesn't get easier."
We walked in silence through the darkening forest. By the time we reached the cabin, night had fallen completely. The structure was barely standing—rotted wood and a leaking roof—but it would keep us hidden.
Inside, I managed to light a small fire. We sat close to it, trying to warm up. Ella hugged her knees to her chest, staring into the flames.
"He really wants me dead," she said quietly. "Not captured. Not imprisoned. Dead."
"Because you're dangerous to him alive." I leaned back against the wall. "You're the true heir. As long as you exist, his claim to the throne is questionable."
"I don't even want the throne anymore!" Ella's voice cracked. "I just want to break this curse and be left alone!"
"Doesn't matter what you want. Theron can't risk you coming back and exposing his betrayal." I paused. "He's the one who made you touch the Shadowthorn Tree, isn't he?"
Ella's head snapped up. "How did you know?"
"Because curses like yours don't happen by accident. Someone planned it." I watched her face carefully. "What exactly did he say to you before you touched the tree?"
She was quiet for a long moment. Then, slowly, she spoke. "He said the old superstitions about the Shadowthorn were just stories to scare children. He said touching it would prove my courage as a future queen." Her hands clenched into fists. "I trusted him. I loved him. And he used that to destroy me."
The pain in her voice hit me harder than I expected. I knew that kind of betrayal—the Wizard Guild had done the same to me.
"People like Theron see others as tools," I said. "Resources to be used and discarded. The Guild was the same way."
"Is that why you left?" Ella asked. "Because they betrayed you?"
I hadn't talked about this in five years. Hadn't wanted to. But something about Ella—maybe the bond, maybe just her genuine interest—made the words come easier.
"I left because they killed my sister."
Ella's eyes widened. "What?"
I pulled up my sleeve, showing her the scars that covered my arm. Dark, twisted marks where my own magic had burned me over and over. "The Wizard Guild teaches that light magic is pure and good. That dark magic is evil and corrupt. But it's all lies."
"What do you mean?"
"Light magic doesn't come from nowhere, Ella. It has to draw power from somewhere." I traced one of the scars. "The Guild captures magical creatures—phoenixes, unicorns, fae—and drains their life force to fuel their 'pure' magic. They call it harvesting. I call it murder."
Ella looked horrified. "I didn't know. In my kingdom, we always thought the Wizard Guild was noble."
"Everyone thinks that. They're very good at hiding their crimes." The old anger burned in my chest. "My sister, Lyra, was a student at the Guild. She was talented, kind, everything a wizard should be. Then one day, the Archmage decided the Guild needed more power. He performed a ritual that required a sacrifice."
My throat tightened. Even after five years, saying it out loud hurt.
"He chose Lyra. Said she was 'honored' to give her life for the Guild's strength. They killed her and absorbed her magic into their reserves." I looked at Ella. "I was supposed to stand there and accept it. To believe it was for the greater good."
"But you didn't," Ella said softly.
"No. I confronted the Archmage. Told him he was a murderer. He branded me a heretic and ordered my execution." I laughed bitterly. "I escaped that night and started teaching myself dark magic—magic that draws only from the caster's own life force. It hurts me, yes. But it doesn't hurt anyone else."
Ella reached out slowly and touched my scarred arm. Her fingers were gentle, tracing the twisted marks. "I'm sorry about your sister."
Something in my chest cracked. When was the last time someone had shown me genuine sympathy? When had anyone cared about my pain?
"She would have liked you," I said quietly. "Lyra always believed people could change, could be better than what others expected. You're proving her right."
Ella's hand was still on my arm, and through our bond, I felt her emotions—sadness for my loss, anger at the injustice, and something else. Something warm that made my heart beat faster.
"We're both outcasts now," she said. "Both betrayed by the people we trusted most."
"Yes." I met her eyes. "But at least we're not alone."
The moment stretched between us, charged with something I couldn't name. The firelight made her silver eyes glow, and for a second, I forgot she was cursed, forgot she was an elf princess, forgot everything except—
A floorboard creaked outside the cabin.
We both froze.
I held up my hand, signaling Ella to stay silent. Through the cracks in the walls, I saw movement. Shadows circling the cabin.
Not elf guards. These figures moved differently—fluid, predatory, wrong.
Then I heard a voice that made my blood run cold.
"I can smell your magic, Raine. Dark and delicious, mixed with that cursed elf blood." Morgana's voice drifted through the night. "Did you really think jumping into a river would throw me off your trail?"
Ella's face went white. I felt her terror spike through our bond.
"You can't run forever," Morgana continued. "Surrender the Shadow Elf to me, and I'll let you live. Refuse, and I'll take you both."
I looked at Ella. Her curse marks were glowing faintly, responding to her fear. If the entity inside her woke up now, with Morgana right outside, we were finished.
"What do we do?" Ella whispered.
Before I could answer, the cabin door exploded inward.
But it wasn't Morgana who stepped through.
It was Theron, his sword drawn and bloody, with a smile that made him look like a completely different person.
"Hello, my corrupted bride," he said. "Did you miss me?"
And behind him, I saw Morgana emerge from the shadows, her hand resting on Theron's shoulder like they were old friends.
They'd been working together all along.