Eleanor's POV
Someone's touching me.
Hands press against my chest—strong hands covered in strange glowing marks. I try to scream, try to fight, but my body won't move. Everything hurts. Everything burns.
"Relax, princess," a male voice says. Cold. Bored. "I'm saving your life. For now."
My eyes fly open. A man leans over me, his hands still on my chest. Dark tattoos cover his arms, swirling patterns that glow with shadow magic. His face is all sharp angles—high cheekbones, strong jaw, dark hair falling across his forehead. His eyes are the strangest thing: gray like smoke, but with flecks of something darker swimming in them.
He's beautiful in a way that screams danger.
"Get off me!" I try to push him away, but I'm so weak. My hands barely move.
"If I get off you, you'll be dead in about three minutes." He doesn't even look worried. "Your corruption has reached your heart. I'm the only thing keeping it from eating you alive right now. So unless you want to die, hold still."
Shadow magic flows from his hands into my chest. It should hurt—shadow magic always hurts—but instead it feels like cool water on a burn. The agony in my chest eases slightly. I can breathe again.
"Who are you?" I gasp.
"Adrian Blackwood." He finally looks at my face, and something flickers in his eyes. Interest, maybe. "Rogue wizard. Shadow magic specialist. Generally bad news." His lips quirk slightly. "And you're a Shade-Born elf princess who got dumped in my territory. So I guess we're both having a bad day."
"How did you know I'm a princess?"
"You reek of expensive perfume and entitlement." He lifts one hand from my chest to gesture at me. "Plus, you're wearing a ceremonial dress that probably costs more than most people make in a year. Not exactly subtle."
I look down. He's right—I'm still in my Bonding Ceremony dress, now torn and filthy. It feels like a lifetime ago that I put it on, so nervous and excited.
"I'm not entitled," I mutter.
"Sure." Adrian presses both hands to my chest again, and another wave of his magic floods through me. "That's why you're arguing with the person saving your life instead of saying thank you."
Heat rushes to my face. "Thank you."
"Too late. The moment's passed." But I see the tiniest hint of a smile.
His magic pulses through me one more time, and suddenly I can feel the corruption receding. Not gone—still there, still eating me—but slower. Like he's built a wall around it, holding it back.
"That should buy you a few hours," Adrian says, pulling his hands away. "But we need to move. Your friends are coming."
"My friends?"
"The hunters tracking you. Six elves, all with light magic weapons. They're about two minutes away." He stands, pulling me to my feet. I sway, and his arm wraps around my waist, holding me up. "And you're coming with me."
"Wait, I don't even know you—"
"You want to stay and explain to the nice hunters why you should live? Be my guest." He starts walking, half-carrying me. "But spoiler alert: they're not here to rescue you. They're here to finish the job your father started."
The words hit me like a slap. Father sent hunters. To kill me. Not to bring me home. Not to find a cure. To make sure I die.
"Why are you helping me?" I ask. My voice cracks.
Adrian's jaw tightens. "Because you're useful. Your magical signature is unique—light and shadow mixed together, somehow not exploding. I need to study that. So congratulations, princess. You're my new research project."
Research project. Not because he's kind. Not because he cares. Because I'm useful.
It shouldn't hurt, but it does.
We make it maybe twenty steps before I hear the voice that breaks my heart.
"Step away from the abomination, rogue!"
Cassian.
I turn, and there he is—my former fiancé, leading six Starfall hunters. They all wear light armor and carry weapons that glow with pure magic. Cassian's sword burns brightest of all.
He looks at me with pure hatred.
"Cassian," I breathe. "Please—"
"That thing is not Eleanor," he interrupts. "Eleanor died yesterday. That's just a monster wearing her face."
Each word is a knife in my chest.
Adrian's arm tightens around my waist. "This 'monster' has a name, pretty boy. And she's not going anywhere with you."
"You don't understand what she is," Cassian says. His voice shakes. "Shade-Born are dangerous. They lose control. They kill everyone around them. We're doing her a mercy."
"By murdering her?" Adrian's voice drops to something deadly. "That's a funny definition of mercy."
"It's the law." Cassian raises his sword. "The corruption will consume her completely. She'll become a mindless creature that destroys everything. Death is better."
"Maybe for you," Adrian says. "Not for her."
I can't believe this is happening. Cassian—the boy who asked me to marry him, who said he loved me—is here to kill me. And the only person defending me is a stranger who sees me as a science experiment.
"Last chance, rogue," Cassian says. "Hand over the Shade-Born, and we'll let you live."
Adrian laughs. It's not a nice sound. "You'll let me live? That's adorable." His free hand rises, and shadow magic explodes from his palm. "Let me tell you how this actually goes. You leave. Now. Or I show you exactly why the Guild has been hunting me for fifteen years."
The tattoos on his arms flare so bright they hurt to look at. The air around us gets heavy, thick with power. Even I can feel how dangerous he is. How much magic he's holding back.
The hunters step back nervously.
But Cassian doesn't. "She's Shade-Born. She has to die. It's the law."
"Then I guess I'm breaking the law." Adrian's voice is cold as ice. "Come get her. I dare you."
For a second, nobody moves. Then Cassian charges, sword raised, pure light blazing.
Adrian shoves me behind him. Shadow magic erupts from his hands like a tidal wave, slamming into Cassian and throwing him back twenty feet.
"Run!" Adrian shouts at me.
But I can't move. I'm frozen, watching Cassian climb to his feet. Watching the other hunters spread out, surrounding us. Watching Adrian prepare to fight six trained warriors to protect a girl he just met.
"I said RUN!" Adrian grabs my hand and pulls.
We run.
Behind us, I hear Cassian scream: "After them! Don't let the abomination escape!"
Adrian pulls me through the wasteland, shadow magic propelling us forward faster than I thought possible. My legs barely work. I'm exhausted, corrupted, dying. But Adrian doesn't let go of my hand.
"Where are we going?" I gasp.
"Anywhere but here!"
An arrow whistles past my head. Light magic—if it hits me, I'm dead.
Adrian yanks me sideways, and we tumble into a ravine. We hit the bottom hard, and pain explodes through my body. The corruption surges, spreading faster.
I'm dying again. The temporary fix Adrian gave me is already failing.
"Adrian," I wheeze. "I can't—"
"Yes, you can." He pulls me to my feet again. "You're not dying here. Not today."
"Why do you even care?"
His gray eyes meet mine, and for just a second, I see something other than coldness. Something that might be loneliness. Pain. Understanding.
"Because I know what it's like," he says quietly. "When everyone wants you dead for something you didn't choose."
Above us, I hear the hunters coming closer.
Adrian looks at me, then at his hand still holding mine. Something passes across his face—a decision being made.
"I'm going to do something crazy," he says. "And you're probably going to hate me for it. But it's the only way to keep you alive."
"What are you—"
He cuts his palm with a knife. Blood wells up, black with shadow magic. Then he grabs my hand and cuts it too.
"What are you doing?" I try to pull away.
"Binding us." He presses our bleeding palms together. "Blood magic. It'll link our life forces. My power will feed into you constantly, keeping your corruption stable. But there's a catch."
"What catch?"
Adrian's eyes lock with mine. "If you die, I die. If I die, you die. We're bound together. Permanently."
"You can't—that's—"
"Too late."
Magic explodes between our joined hands. His blood mixes with mine. I feel him—his emotions, his magic, his life force—flooding into me like a river. And he feels me too. I can sense his shock, his pain, his deep, aching loneliness.
The binding snaps into place like a lock clicking shut.
We're connected. Forever.
"What did you DO?" I scream.
Adrian grins, but his eyes are deadly serious. "Congratulations, princess. You and I just became each other's only reason to stay alive."
Above us, Cassian appears at the edge of the ravine.
His sword points down at us, blazing with light.
"It's over, Eleanor," he says. "Both of you. Die."