POV: Amara
And suddenly, I wasn't afraid. I was power.
Rahel knelt before me, breathing hard, his claws dug deep into the altar stone. The mark on my arm burned bright gold now, swirling up to my shoulder. I should have been scared. But all I felt was clarity… like fog was lifting after years of darkness.
Then the sky cracked.
A deep rumble echoed through the ruins, and the air turned sharp, cold. Rahel's head snapped up.
No, he whispered. Not now.
The shadows behind the altar moved. A figure stepped out… smooth, exact, radiating a calm that felt wrong.
Kael. His long white coat drifted like smoke around his feet, not a wrinkle on him, not a hair out of place. His eyes cold gray, like winter frost locked onto me with a slow-burning delight.
Amara, he said softly, as if we were lovers reunited. Come home.
I took a reflexive step back. No.
A smile tugged at his lips, beautiful and cruel. You still defy me. I expected that. It's part of your charm.
Charm? I spat. You told me I was nothing. That I was a mistake.
Kael tilted his head. I said you were dangerous, Amara. And I was right, wasn't I? His gaze flicked to the golden mark wrapping my arm. Look at you now. Becoming.
Rahel stood between us in an instant. You don't belong here.
Kael's smile didn't fade. Neither do you. Beasts should know their place.
She belongs to me, Rahel growled.
Kael didn't even move. She belonged to me first.
I stiffened. I didn't belong to anyone.
Kael stepped closer, ignoring Rahel completely. You don't remember, do you? What I told you the night you begged for power?
Rahel turned to me, confused. What's he talking about?
I My breath caught. A flash of something cold in my mind. Kael's lips near my ear. His voice low and smooth.
"You were made for gods, Amara. Not beasts."
I stumbled back. No… no, I never…
You did. Kael's voice was syrupy smooth. You came to me. You asked for strength. I gave you a choice. And you chose this. His eyes glinted. You chose him.
Rahel's gaze snapped to me. What is he saying?
I don't know, I said, but the words shook.
You do know, Kael said. You always did. You just buried it under all that human guilt.
Rahel growled low. Get away from her.
Kael finally looked at him. Ah, yes. The cursed beast. He took a slow step forward. Do you even understand what you carry inside you? That curse, it wasn't random. It wasn't fate.
Rahel's jaw clenched. I've lived with it all my life.
Yes. But do you know why you were cursed? Kael's eyes sparkled as he turned back to me. Should I tell him, Amara? Or do you want to be the one?
What is he talking about? Rahel asked again, stepping toward me. Amara, tell me.
I don't know, I whispered. But I was lying. My hands started shaking. Something inside me… the memory, the power, was starting to pull.
Kael saw it too. He grinned. Oh, she knows. And soon, you will too.
Rahel turned to him. What did you do to her?
Kael's eyes darkened. She came to me. I gave her the mark. She was meant to awaken the goddess within. But she… He paused, eyes flicking between us. She fell in love with the wrong creature.
Rahel lunged. Claws bared.
Kael raised a hand and flicked his fingers.
A shockwave burst from his hand. Rahel was thrown across the altar like a rag doll, falling into the stone with a sickening crunch. He groaned, barely moving.
No! I ran to Rahel, dropping to my knees.
Blood dripped from his mouth. Amara, he wheezed. Don't… trust him…
Kael stood over us now. I warned you not to fall. But you did. And look what it's doing to you. His finger brushed the edge of my mark. This isn't a gift anymore. It's a wound.
I slapped his hand away. Don't touch me.
He smiled, unmoved. It's too late. You're bound to him now. Do you feel it? The way your soul reaches for his?
I glared at him. You're just trying to twist everything.
Oh, I don't have to twist, he said. The truth does that just fine.
Rahel groaned again. His voice was hoarse. What truth?
Kael knelt beside me and whispered in my ear soft, like a secret.
You think he loves you? His lips curled. Wait until he finds out why you cursed him.
I froze.
Rahel looked up at me, pain clouding his face. What… is he saying?
I didn't answer.
Because suddenly, deep inside my mind, another memory stirred. One I had buried far, far away… Blood. A practice. My hands on Rahel's chest. The moon going black.
My voice… chanting. My mark glowing. And Rahel, screaming. No, I breathed, stumbling back.
Kael stood, brushing off imaginary dust. Ah. There it is. The look of understanding. Isn't it delicious?
Rahel struggled to sit up. Amara, what did you do?
I didn't mean to… My voice cracked.
Kael turned, already walking away, his coat spreading like wings. Tell him the truth, Amara. Or don't. Either way…
He looked over his shoulder with a smirk.
He's going to remember soon.
The wind howled through the ruins. And the golden mark on my skin burned with guilt.
And the golden mark on my skin burned with guilt. Not pain guilt. Like it remembered something I didn't. Like it judged me.
Rahel's hand brushed mine, but I pulled away.
You okay? His voice was hoarse.
I nodded too quickly.
Kael just watched. His expression unreadable now. No more smirk. No more charm. Just a strange stillness, as if he was... waiting.
What do you want from me? I asked, with voice low.
He took a step closer. You'll remember soon.
I tensed. Remember what? Rahel growled, stepping between us.
Kael's eyes gleamed. That she's not what you think. That none of this is.
Then his gaze flicked down to my mark. It shimmered, twisting into a new shape almost like a blooming flower, except… wrong. Something ancient. Something holy.
Rahel's breath caught. What the hell is happening to her?
Kael tilted his head. Ask her soul.
And then he vanished. Just gone. No scent. No sound. Like the shadows swallowed him whole.
I staggered back. My chest ached. My skin pulsed. Rahel caught me.
Amara
But my vision blurred, and suddenly
A memory slammed into me.
Blood. A temple. A knife in Kael's hand my hand on it. I was the one who cursed Rahel.
And behind me, in that memory, I was laughing.