•Slave•

Rhydian hadn’t come back since the night before.

The air in his chambers was cold, still carrying the faint scent of smoke and blood.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my hands, wondering why they still trembled, not from fear, but from memory.

The memory of him, the way his eyes glowed crimson, the brokenness I saw in his eyes, a man that has carried pain for the most part of his life, the way his voice cracked when he whispered;

“You should fear me.”

And the way I couldn’t fear him, instead I felt a pull towards him, his wounds and scars.

The door opened without warning, and Kael stepped in, his face was unreadable, he was followed by the woman in red cloth from the other night.

Her eyes were pale, too pale, like they had forgotten what color was supposed to be and it scared me, because she looked familiar in an unsettling way.

“This is Elder Mara,” Kael said quietly.

“She was sent by the King. She comes with blessing and caution.”

The woman smiled, soft and cold at the same time.

“You must be Ayla,” she said. Her voice sounded like wind against old stone. “The girl bound by blood not her own.”

I didn’t understand what she meant, but the way she looked at me made me uneasy, like she saw something inside me I hadn’t yet seen myself.

“I am here to cleanse you,” she continued, “to free you from what binds you. It will not hurt. It will only reveal.”

“What do you mean by that? What do you want to reveal?” i said, not letting someone like her touch me without telling me exactly what it was for.

Kael looked at me with surprise, like he hadn't expected me to say anything but be docile and adhere to the woman’s instructions.

“You do no speak that way to an elder, Ayla” Kael said and I almost laughed.

“Rules are made for people who were born to follow them, I am no wolf, so why should I follow your rules? Does Rhydian know about this?” I said looking Kael straight in scared at my own confidence too.

“I am sure you have questions, I am here to answer them. So stop being difficult and sit” the woman said and I could feel the authority in her voice, one that I couldn't argue with.

I took a sit on the bed, unable to say anything else and I saw Kael smirk at me with victory, I know he hated me, I just need to find out how much so that I don’t fall into his trap one day.

Elder Mara began to light candles around the room, one after another.

The scent was thick and sweet, making my head heavy, I sat when she told me to, in the center of the circle drawn on the floor with lines and symbols carved with something silver that shimmered faintly.

“Give me your hand,” she said.

I obeyed. She pressed a small blade across my wrist, gently, almost tender and let my blood fall onto the runes.

The moment the first drop touched the floor, the air shifted.

The room hummed, the light flickered, and the markings beneath me hissed and burned as if alive.

I gasped, not from pain, but from something inside me stirring, something unfamiliar, but just as alive as I was.

Elder Mara’s expression changed, the calm in her face broke into shock.

“Moonlight,” she whispered.

“In mortal blood…”

My heart stuttered. “What does that mean?”

Before she could answer, thunder rolled outside a deep, like the growl of a storm. A mark on my back flared, red and wild and it hurt me badly and I hissed in pain, clawing at my back to see what was burning me. After few moments, it stopped.

And then,the door burst opened

It was Rhydian.

His eyes glowed like the embers of dying fire, his hands clenched, the curse mark on his arm burning through his sleeve, he was angry

“What have you done?” His voice shook the air.

Elder Mara turned, unafraid.

“The bond must be purged, or she will doom us all.”

“She will doom you,” he snarled. His presence made the light in the room twist, the runes changed colours as if terrified of him.

It started again and I could barely breathe, this time the burning in my veins grew stronger silver light crawling under my skin like liquid fire. I reached out weakly.

“Rhydian…”

He looked at me once, and something inside him snapped.

He drew his sword, slicing through the circle that held me.

The moment the blade broke the line, energy erupted, a flash so bright it threw Mara back and shattered half the candles.

The humming stopped and a heavy silence fell in the room, when I looked down, my blood still glowed faintly on the floor.

Rhydian knelt beside me, his face wasn’t angry anymore. Just afraid, afraid for me.

“Ayla, are you okay?” He brushed my cheek before he cuppedit in his big palm, and I felt the tremor in his hand.

“What just happened?” Kael said shock evident on his face.

Behind him, Elder Mara rose slowly, her red clothes stained with ash. She stared at me, not with anger now, but disbelief.

“Her blood,” she whispered.

“It’s not human.”

I froze. “What?”

“It bears the mark of the Moonline,” she said, almost to herself. “A bloodline thought lost before your King’s crown was ever forged.”

Rhydian turned sharply toward her. “That bloodline was wiped out centuries ago.”

“Then tell me why it answers to the curse you carry,” she said, her voice soft but filled with knowing.

My vision blurred, the room swayed.

I could hear it, the sound of my heartbeat syncing with his, a low echo that didn’t belong to either of us alone.

“I was the cure to his curse?” I asked myself.

When I looked up, the mark on his arm was glowing again, but this time, it was cracking, like something bound too tightly was beginning to break. Then if stopped glowing.

Elder Mara exited the room with haste but Kael still stood there.

“What is the curse, Rhydian?” I asked him but I saw his distaste with my question, he didn't want me knowing.

“You don't need to know that” he said firmly, helping up from the ground and scanning my body to see if I was injured elsewhere.

“I need to know, for God’s sake. How am I supposed to help if I don’g know what is going on here??” I said obviously frustrated with how difficult he is.

“I don’t need you to help me, I can figure it out myself” he said and I snapped, pulling myself aways from where he held my hand.

I could see the disappointment flash through his eyes for a second but I didn't care.

“What is the curse Rhydian?” I asked him again, this time with a stronger resolve.

“You need to calm down, Ayla. This is a sensitive matter” I heard Kael say.

“Leave us, Kael. Leave us now” Rhydian said with a stern voice and Kael exited the room.

“Ayla.. I” he didn't complete his sentence instead he stared at me.

“Rhydian, I demand an answer” I said and he finally spoke.

“One man, two souls, three bloodlines” he said and I knew that I was about to hear the most soul-shattering tale I had ever heard all my life.