Sera's POV
The screaming stops just before dawn.
I sit on the bed, hugging my knees, listening to the awful sounds echoing through the fortress. Roars. Crashes. Things breaking. Things dying.
The Beast King is keeping his promise—killing everyone who tried to hurt me.
And it's my fault.
No. I shake my head hard. It's not my fault. I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be bonded to a monster. I didn't ask to be trapped here.
But the guilt sits heavy in my stomach anyway.
When morning light finally comes, I'm exhausted but too scared to sleep. What if another Shadowborn comes through the window? What if the Beast King doesn't come back?
What if he does?
I'm staring at the broken window when I hear footsteps in the hallway. I tense, ready to run—but run where? The door's still locked.
Something slides under the door. Another food tray.
But this time, there's more. Clean clothes—a simple dress and soft shoes. A bowl of warm water and a cloth. And a note, written in handwriting so rough it's barely readable:
"Eat. You need strength."
My stomach growls traitorously. I pick up the bread and sniff it, checking for poison like I've done every meal. It smells fine. Fresh.
I take the smallest bite.
Nothing happens. No weird taste, no sudden dizziness. Just... bread.
I eat the whole thing, then the cheese and fruit too. I'm so hungry I almost cry.
After eating, I use the water to wash my face and arms. The blood from last night's cut is dried and dark. When I clean it away, I see the wound has already healed—just a thin pink line now.
The bond. It must be healing me faster.
I change out of the ruined wedding dress, finally. The new dress is soft and fits perfectly. Again, I wonder: how do they know my size? How long has this been planned?
Hours pass. The sun moves across the sky. Another food tray appears under the door, this time with hot soup and more bread.
No note.
I eat it anyway. What choice do I have?
On the third day, I make a decision. I'm tired of being afraid. Tired of hiding in this room while mysterious monsters bring me food. I need answers.
I need to see who's feeding me.
So I make a plan.
When I hear footsteps approaching that afternoon, I press myself flat against the wall beside the door. My heart pounds so hard I'm sure whoever's out there can hear it.
The footsteps stop. I hear the soft clink of dishes being set down.
Now.
I yank the door open as hard as I can.
A creature yelps and drops the tray. Food crashes everywhere—soup splashing across the floor, bread rolling away, the cup shattering.
We stare at each other.
The Shadowborn is smaller than the Beast King, less covered in shadows. I can actually see its shape—humanoid, with arms and legs, but with claws and those glowing red eyes. It's frozen in surprise, clearly not expecting me to fight back.
"Who are you?" I demand, trying to sound brave even though I'm shaking.
The creature backs up a step. "I'm... Rook."
It talks! It talks like a person, not like the grinding stone voices of the others.
"Why are you bringing me food?" I ask.
"King's orders." Rook looks at the spilled food and sighs—an incredibly human gesture. "He's going to be mad I dropped it."
"The Beast King sent you?"
"His name is Kael," Rook says, almost defensive. "And yes. He wants you fed. Protected. Kept safe."
Kael. The Beast King has a name.
"Safe?" I laugh, but it sounds bitter. "I'm locked in a room in a fortress full of monsters. That's not safe."
Rook's glowing eyes narrow. "You're alive, aren't you? After what happened three nights ago? After your own family tried to sacrifice you? Yeah, I'd say you're safer here than you ever were out there."
The words hit like a slap. "How do you know about that?"
"Everyone knows." Rook starts picking up the broken dishes. "The king told us. About the deal your elder made. About your sister's betrayal. About how you were meant to die on your wedding night as payment for..." He stops.
"Payment for what?" I press.
Rook looks away. "That's not my story to tell."
I want to grab him and shake the answers out of him, but he's still a monster with claws. Instead, I try a different approach.
"You sound different from the others," I say. "More... human."
Rook goes very still. Then: "I was human. Once. A long time ago."
My breath catches. "You were human? What happened?"
"The curse." Rook's voice goes quiet. "When Kael was transformed into the Beast King, some of us got caught in the magic too. His soldiers, his friends, people who were too close when it happened. We became... this."
He gestures at himself with disgust.
"That's horrible," I whisper.
"Yeah." Rook picks up the last piece of broken cup. "But Kael—he tried to shield as many of us as he could. That's why some of us kept more of our minds than others. He protected us, even while he was turning into a monster himself."
I don't know what to say to that. The Beast King—Kael—tried to save his people even while being cursed?
"You shouldn't be here," Rook says suddenly, standing up with the broken tray. "This place... it's not for humans. You should run. Get away before—"
"Before what?" I demand. "Before your king kills me? He can't. We're bonded. I die, he dies."
Rook's eyes widen. "He bonded you? Actually bonded you?"
"You didn't know?"
"No one knew! That's—" Rook runs a clawed hand through what might be hair. "That's insane. Bonding is permanent. Forever. He tied his life to yours?"
"Without asking me first," I say bitterly.
"He must really..." Rook stops himself. "I need to go. The king will be back soon, and he doesn't like when people talk to you."
"Wait!" I grab Rook's arm without thinking. His skin is cold and rough like stone, but he doesn't pull away. "Please. I need to know. What did the elder pay you for? Why did your king attack my village?"
Rook looks at my hand on his arm, then at my face. Something like pity crosses his features.
"Your elder summoned us," he says quietly. "Ten years ago, he made a deal with Kael. Protection for his village in exchange for... sacrifices. Every few years, someone had to die. Someone pure. Someone innocent. Usually it was travelers, people passing through that nobody would miss."
Horror crawls up my spine. "But this time..."
"This time, he offered you." Rook's voice is gentle. "The king tried to refuse. He hasn't taken a willing sacrifice in decades. But the elder said you were perfect—wolfless, magic-touched, and already sold into marriage. He said no one would miss you."
Tears burn my eyes. "He was right. No one did miss me."
"The king did," Rook says. "When he saw you, he couldn't... he refused to kill you. So he did the only thing he could. He claimed you. Bonded you. Made you impossible to sacrifice."
I'm crying now, unable to stop. "He saved me."
"Yeah." Rook gently pulls his arm free. "And now you're both trapped. He can't let you go, and you can't leave. That's why I said you shouldn't be here. This place will either break you or change you. There's no middle ground."
He walks toward the stairs, leaving me standing in the doorway.
"Rook," I call after him. "What happened to the Shadowborn who attacked me? The one at the window?"
Rook doesn't turn around. "Dead. All of them. The king doesn't tolerate threats to what's his."
"How many?"
"Seventeen." Rook's voice is flat. "He killed seventeen of his own people. For you."
He disappears down the stairs before I can respond.
I stand there, processing everything. Kael didn't just save me. He declared war on his own monsters for me. He killed seventeen of them.
Because we're bonded.
Because my death is his death.
I'm about to go back into the room when I hear it—a low, pained sound coming from somewhere below. Like someone trying not to scream.
I should go back inside. Lock the door. Pretend I didn't hear anything.
But I don't.
I walk to the stairs and look down into the darkness.
The sound comes again. Definitely pain. Definitely trying to be quiet.
My feet move before my brain catches up. I creep down the stairs, following the sound through winding hallways lit by torches that burn with strange blue flames.
I turn a corner and freeze.
Kael is there, in a small room, collapsed against the wall. His beast form flickers—man, monster, man, monster—like he can't control it. Blood covers the floor around him. So much blood.
He's hurt. Badly hurt.
And as I watch, I feel it—a sharp pain in my chest, right where my heart is. The bond. I'm feeling his pain.
"Kael?" I whisper.
His head snaps up, and his eyes—silver, not red—lock onto mine.
"Run," he gasps. "The bond... it's pulling. You shouldn't... see me... like this."
But I don't run.
Because I realize something terrifying: if he's this hurt, if the bond is this strong, if we're truly connected...
He's dying.
Which means I'm dying too.