Elara's POV
I can't stop shaking.
We're hidden in a cave deep in the canyon maze, far from the oasis, far from the bodies. Kael's bandages are soaked through with blood, but he refused to stop until he found shelter.
Now we're here. Safe. Alive.
And I can't stop seeing the guard's face as my blade went through him.
Elara. Kael's voice sounds distant, like he's speaking through water. You need to breathe.
I'm gasping. Hyperventilating. My hands are still covered in dried blood—his blood, the guard's blood, I don't know whose anymore.
I killed him, I whisper. I killed a man. I'm a murderer.
You're a survivor.
I drove a sword through his back! My voice breaks into a sob. He was a person. Someone's son. Maybe someone's father. And I killed him.
Kael moves closer despite his wounds, his hand finding my shoulder. He was going to kill me. Would have killed you next. You stopped him.
That doesn't make it better!
No, he agrees quietly. It doesn't.
The simple honesty breaks something in me. I collapse forward, sobbing into my hands, the full weight of what I did crashing down.
I took a life. Ended someone's existence. Their thoughts, their memories, their future—gone because of me.
How do you survive it? I choke out between sobs. How do you live with killing someone?
Kael is quiet for a long moment. When he speaks, his voice is raw.
I don't. I just keep moving.
I look up at him through tears. His face is pale from blood loss, pain etched in every line. The curse marks have spread further—covering his entire neck and collarbone now, creeping across his chest like poison.
Ninety-nine women, I whisper. How are you still breathing?
Because stopping feels like mercy I don't deserve. He shifts, wincing as the movement pulls his wounds. Every night I see their faces. Hear their screams. Remember the exact moment the light left their eyes.
His hand trembles as he touches his chest where the curse marks pulse.
You asked how I survive it? I don't. I'm drowning in their blood. Have been for twelve years. The only thing keeping me moving is knowing that stopping won't bring them back.
Tears stream down his face. He doesn't try to hide them.
But you— His voice cracks. You killed to save a life. Not to take one. That's different, Elara.
It doesn't feel different.
I know. He reaches out hesitantly, then pulls me against his uninjured side. I know it doesn't.
I collapse against him, sobbing into his chest while he holds me. His hand strokes my hair—gentle, careful, like I'm something precious instead of the blood-covered killer I've become.
The first time is always worst, he murmurs. You'll see his face forever. In nightmares. In quiet moments. When you close your eyes.
How do I make it stop?
You don't. His grip tightens. You just learn to carry it. Like all the other impossible things.
We sit like that as moonlight fills the cave entrance. Me crying. Him holding me. Both of us broken in different ways.
Eventually, my sobs quiet to hiccups. Exhaustion pulls at me, but every time I close my eyes, I see the guard falling.
Stay awake, I whisper. Please. I can't—I can't be alone with this yet.
Okay. Kael shifts carefully, keeping me tucked against him. I'll stay awake.
Tell me something, I say desperately. Anything. Just talk.
He's quiet for a moment, thinking. Then:
My mother used to sing. Before everything. She had the most beautiful voice. His words are soft, remembering. She'd sing while cooking, while cleaning, while working in the temple gardens. Old songs about stars and hope and better days.
I feel his chest rise and fall with breath.
After I became the executioner, she stopped singing. Just... stopped. Like the music died with her son's innocence.
Does she know you saved me?
I doubt it. She's still imprisoned in the temple. Valdris keeps her as insurance—in case I ever tried to run. His voice hardens. She's been his slave for twelve years. Cleaning. Serving. Watching her son become exactly what he forced him to be.
Rage flares through my grief. We have to save her.
We can't even save ourselves.
So we just leave her there?
We stay alive, Kael says firmly. That's all we can do right now. Survive. Fight. Keep moving.
I tilt my head to look at him. Is that enough?
His eyes meet mine—dark and honest. It has to be.
For a moment, we just stare at each other. His face is inches from mine. I can feel his breath on my skin, see the pain and exhaustion in his eyes.
See something else too. Something that makes my heart skip.
He's looking at me like I matter. Like saving me was worth everything he lost.
Elara, he whispers, voice rough. You should sleep. I'll keep watch.
I can't. Every time I close my eyes—
I know. His hand moves from my hair to cup my face gently. But you need rest. Tomorrow we have to move again. Run again.
What if they catch us?
They won't.
You don't know that.
No, he admits. But I'll fight like hell to make sure they don't.
His thumb brushes across my cheekbone, wiping away tears. The touch is so gentle it breaks my heart.
Why? I whisper. Why keep protecting me when you're dying anyway?
Kael's eyes close briefly. When they open again, they're full of emotion I can't name.
Because you sang on the altar and reminded me I was human. Because you chose to stay when I told you to run. Because you killed to save me even though it destroyed something in you.
His forehead touches mine.
Because you're the first thing in twelve years that made me want to survive instead of just exist.
My breath catches. We're so close. His hand still cupping my face. His warmth surrounding me. The space between us charged with something electric and terrifying.
Kael
A sound outside makes us both freeze.
Footsteps. Careful. Quiet. Someone approaching the cave.
Kael moves instantly, putting himself between me and the entrance despite his wounds. His blade appears in his hand.
Stay back, he mouths silently.
The footsteps stop at the cave entrance. A shadow falls across the moonlight.
Then—a woman's voice, hesitant and familiar:
Elara? Are you in there?
My heart stops.
I know that voice.
It's me, the voice continues. Please—I need to talk to you. It's about your sister.
Kael glances back at me, questioning. I nod shakily.
Mira? I call out. Is that you?
Yes! Relief floods her voice. Thank the gods. I've been searching for two days
She steps into the cave entrance, hood falling back to reveal my best friend's face. She looks exhausted, frightened, desperate.
Our eyes meet.
Elara, she gasps, rushing forward. I found you. Finally. I have to tell you
What? I stand on shaking legs. What's wrong?
Mira's face crumples. Tears stream down her cheeks.
It's Miri. Your little sister.
Ice floods my veins. What about her?
Mira's voice breaks on a sob:
Seraphine volunteered her as your replacement. The next blood moon—twenty-six days—they're going to sacrifice her on the same altar.
The world tilts.
My baby sister. Ten years old. Innocent and sweet and terrified of the dark.
No, I breathe. No, that can't, she's a child
The High Priest accepted the offering. Mira grabs my shoulders. Elara, they're preparing her right now. Seven days locked in the temple, just like you. If we don't do something—
She doesn't finish. Doesn't have to.
In twenty-six days, my sister dies.
Unless I stop it.
I look at Kael. His face is grim, understanding flooding his eyes.
We go back, I say, voice shaking with fury. We save her.
They'll kill you, Kael says quietly.
I don't care.
Elara
She's TEN YEARS OLD! I scream. She's innocent! She doesn't deserve to die because Seraphine wants me dead!
Mira wipes her tears. There's more. The resistance—people who've lost daughters to the temple—they want to help. They've been waiting for someone to fight back.
Resistance? Kael straightens despite his pain.
Thirty people. Maybe more. Families destroyed by the temple. They have supplies, weapons, safe houses. Mira looks between us. They're ready to move. They just need someone to lead them.
She looks at me.
You escaped the altar. Killed temple guards. Survived in the Barrens. You're the symbol they've been waiting for.
My mind races. A resistance. A chance to fight back. To save Miri. To expose the temple's lies.
To stop this from ever happening again.
I look at Kael. Will you help me?
He stares at me for a long moment. The curse marks pulse on his skin—spreading, killing him slowly.
Then he nods.
Yes. Whatever time I have left—it's yours.