Sera's POV
The magic burns.
It feels like lightning is crawling under my skin, carving patterns into my bones. I can't breathe, can't think, can't do anything but scream. The Beast King's clawed hand stays pressed against my forehead, and golden light explodes between us like a star being born.
Through the pain, I see symbols appearing on my arms—strange, glowing marks that twist and curl like living things. They burn themselves into my skin, permanent and terrifying.
"Stop!" I try to scream, but my voice won't work. "Please stop!"
The Beast King doesn't stop. His silver eyes—how are they silver when they were red a second ago?—stare into mine with an intensity that makes me feel like he's looking into my soul.
Then, as suddenly as it started, it ends.
He pulls his hand away, and I collapse. Maya catches me before I hit the ground, both of us trembling.
"Sera? Sera, what did he do to you?" Maya's voice sounds far away, like I'm underwater.
The Beast King takes a step back. He's breathing hard, his massive chest heaving. The shadows around him twist and writhe like they're angry. For a moment, he looks... confused? Like he doesn't understand what just happened either.
Then his eyes shift back to burning red.
He turns and walks away, disappearing into the shadows between the trees like he was never there.
"Did he just... leave?" Maya whispers. "Why didn't he kill us?"
I look down at my arms. The glowing symbols are still there, fading from gold to silver to a soft blue that pulses with my heartbeat. When I touch them, they're warm.
"I don't know," I say, my voice shaking. "But we need to move. Now."
We help each other up. Maya's ankle is badly hurt, but we don't have a choice. Behind us, the village is still burning. We can hear screams and roars and the crash of buildings falling.
We limp deeper into the forest, putting as much distance as we can between us and the nightmare behind us.
"Where are we going?" Maya asks, gasping with pain.
"Away," I say. "Anywhere away."
But I can feel something now—a tug in my chest, like an invisible rope tied around my heart. It's pulling me in a direction I don't want to go. Back toward the village. Back toward... him.
No. I'm not going back. I'm not.
We make it maybe half a mile before Maya can't walk anymore. Her ankle is swelling badly, turning purple. She sits down against a tree, tears streaming down her face.
"Go without me," she says. "You have to save yourself."
"I'm not leaving you!" I snap. "We'll rest here and—"
"Sera." Maya's voice goes quiet. "Look."
I turn around.
They're everywhere.
Shadowborn. Dozens of them, moving through the trees like liquid darkness. They haven't seen us yet, but they will. Any second now.
My heart pounds so hard it hurts. We're trapped. There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
One of them stops. Its head turns toward us, those glowing red eyes locking onto mine.
It opens its mouth and roars.
The other Shadowborn turn as one, all focusing on us. They start moving forward, slow and predatory, like cats playing with mice.
I grab a broken branch from the ground. It's pathetic—what am I going to do, poke a monster to death?—but it's all I have.
"Stay behind me," I tell Maya, even though I know it's pointless.
The Shadowborn get closer. Ten feet away. Five feet. I can smell them now—like smoke and metal and something rotten.
I raise the branch with shaking hands. "Stay back!"
The closest one laughs. It actually laughs, a horrible sound like grinding stones. It reaches for me with claws that could tear me in half—
And then it flies backward like it was hit by a truck.
The Beast King appears between us and the Shadowborn, moving so fast I barely see him. He grabs the creature that laughed and slams it into a tree so hard the trunk cracks. The other Shadowborn freeze.
The Beast King doesn't say anything. He just stands there, his massive body between us and them, radiating fury and power.
One of the Shadowborn makes a sound—like a question, maybe? Like it's confused why their king is protecting humans.
The Beast King growls. It's so deep I feel it in my bones. It's a clear message: Back off. She's mine.
The Shadowborn hesitate. Then, one by one, they melt back into the shadows and disappear.
We're alone with him again.
The Beast King turns to face us. His red eyes find mine, and I see something in them that doesn't make sense. Possession? Protection? I can't tell.
He moves toward Maya, and I jump in front of her without thinking. "Don't touch her!"
He stops. Then, slowly, he reaches past me—and I realize he's not trying to hurt Maya. He's examining her ankle with surprising gentleness. His clawed hand hovers over the injury, and shadows flow from his fingers, wrapping around the swelling like a bandage.
Maya gasps. "It doesn't hurt anymore. Sera, the pain is gone!"
I stare at him. "You... you healed her?"
The Beast King doesn't answer. He straightens up and looks at me with those burning eyes.
Then he reaches down, and before I can move, he picks me up like I weigh nothing at all. One arm under my knees, one behind my back, cradling me against his chest.
"What are you doing? Put me down!" I beat my fists against his chest, but it's like hitting stone.
"Wait!" Maya shouts. "Where are you taking her?"
The Beast King finally speaks, his voice so deep and rough it barely sounds human. "Home."
"I don't have a home anymore!" I yell at him. "You destroyed it! You killed everyone!"
Something flickers in his eyes. Pain? Regret? But his grip on me doesn't loosen.
"Your home now," he says. "My fortress. You belong there."
"I belong?" The words make me furious. "I'm not a thing you can own! I'm a person!"
He looks down at me, and for just a second, his eyes flash silver again. When he speaks, his voice is softer. "I know. That's why... you're still alive."
Before I can ask what that means, he starts walking. Fast. Maya calls after us, but the Beast King doesn't stop. The forest blurs around us as he moves with impossible speed.
"What about my friend?" I demand. "You can't just leave her there!"
"She's safe," he says. "The mark... protects those near you. Now."
The mark. I look down at the glowing symbols on my arms. They're pulsing brighter now, matching my racing heartbeat.
"What did you do to me?" I whisper.
He's quiet for so long I think he won't answer. Then: "Claimed you. Bound you. Saved you."
"Saved me? You attacked my village! People died!"
"Yes." His jaw clenches. "But you... wouldn't have. Not tonight. Tonight was meant... for you."
Ice floods my veins. "What does that mean?"
He stops walking. We're at the edge of a cliff overlooking a massive fortress made of black stone. It looks ancient and terrifying, with towers that scrape the sky and shadows that move on their own.
"Your sister," the Beast King says quietly. "Your village elder. Your... husband. They made a deal. You were the sacrifice. The price. They sold you to death."
My world tilts. "No. No, that's not—Lyra wouldn't—"
"She did." His red eyes burn into mine. "And they would have succeeded. If I hadn't... claimed you first."
My mind can't process this. My sister. Elder Mordain. Even Lord Damon. They all wanted me dead?
"Why?" I ask, my voice breaking. "Why would they do that?"
"Power. Money. Jealousy." He starts walking again, down a path toward the fortress. "Humans always have... reasons."
Tears blur my vision. Everyone I trusted. Everyone I thought cared about me. They were all planning to kill me.
"You're lying," I say, but I don't believe my own words.
"Am I?" he asks. "Then why... did your sister cry with relief? Why did the elder panic... when we came early? Why did your husband... run first?"
He's right. I saw all of it. I just didn't want to believe it.
We reach the fortress gates. They open on their own, groaning like something alive. Inside, I see more Shadowborn moving in the darkness, their eyes watching us.
The Beast King carries me through the gates, into the courtyard, past monsters that bow their heads as he passes.
"You'll be safe here," he says. "Protected. No one will hurt you."
"You hurt me!" I shout. "You took everything from me!"
He stops walking. We're in front of a massive door. He looks down at me, and I see something in his expression that looks almost... sad.
"No," he says quietly. "I took you... from everything that would have hurt you worse. There's a difference."
The door opens, and he carries me inside, into a room with a huge bed and windows overlooking the cursed lands.
He sets me down carefully on the bed, like I'm made of glass.
"Rest," he says. "Tomorrow... you'll understand."
"Understand what?" I demand, but he's already walking to the door.
He pauses in the doorway, his massive frame filling it completely. When he speaks, his voice is barely a whisper.
"That death... would have been kinder. But I couldn't let you die."
Then he's gone, the door closing behind him.
I sit there in the darkness, surrounded by monsters, marked by magic I don't understand, in a fortress that might as well be a prison.
And the worst part?
The glowing marks on my arms are warm. Almost... comforting.
Like they're happy to be here.