The palace slept beneath a veil of moonlight, silent except for the faint hum of the wind through marble arches.
But in the east wing, where the prince's chambers glowed dimly with candlelight, sleep was far from reach.
Kael Ardent sat alone, half-dressed in shadow and gold, staring into the fire. The flames flickered across his face, casting restless light in his silver eyes.
He had tried to close them, to will himself into silence — but every time he blinked, he saw her.
Liora.
Her voice. Her touch. The light that burst between them when she healed the cursed child.
It wasn't natural.
It wasn't new.
Something ancient stirred in his soul — a pain he couldn't name, a longing that didn't belong to this life.
He pressed a hand to the scar over his heart. It burned softly, as if whispering, Remember.
"Who are you, Elara?" he muttered. "And why do I feel like I've lost you before?"
🌙 The Healer's Quarters
Across the courtyard, Liora sat at her small wooden desk, ink-stained fingers trembling as she wrote in her journal — a habit she'd taken from her first life, one she couldn't quite abandon.
The Moon's curse grows stronger each night.
Every time I use my magic, the mark brightens. The prince remembers fragments. The Empress watches.
If he recalls everything… the curse will awaken fully. And one of us will die again.
Her quill paused. A single tear dropped onto the parchment, blurring the ink.
The candle beside her flickered — a warning of someone's presence.
She turned sharply.
Kael stood in the doorway, half in shadow, dressed in a loose dark robe. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes burned with intensity.
"You should knock," she said, her voice steadier than she felt.
"You wouldn't have answered," he replied quietly. "You never do."
She rose, closing her journal quickly, though she knew it was too late — his gaze had already caught the glimmer of silver script on its open page.
The Moon's mark pulsed faintly beneath her sleeve, betraying her tension.
"What brings His Highness here at midnight?" she asked, trying to sound indifferent.
"A dream," he said. "One that won't leave me."
He stepped forward, slow, deliberate. "I saw you again… standing beneath the Blood Moon. You were crying. And I was holding a goblet of wine—"
Her breath hitched.
"I watched you drink it," he continued, voice low. "And then you fell."
The air left her lungs. The quill in her hand snapped in two.
"Enough," she whispered. "It's just a dream."
"No," he said fiercely. "It's a memory."
She took a step back, heart pounding. "That's impossible."
"Then tell me why every time you touch me, my chest burns where that scar lies. Tell me why I know your eyes before I met you. Tell me why your name—Liora—haunts my sleep!"
Her name spilled from his lips like a prayer and a curse all at once.
She froze.
"You… remember," she breathed.
"Not everything," he said, his voice trembling with confusion and pain. "Just pieces. Enough to know I killed you."
Silence crashed between them.
The words hung heavy — guilt, grief, love, and madness intertwined.
"If you truly remember," she said softly, "then you know I cannot forgive you."
He closed the distance between them, his voice raw. "I don't need forgiveness. I need the truth."
"The truth?" Her laugh was hollow. "The truth is that you poisoned me on our wedding night. The truth is that the Empress made you do it. The truth is that I loved you and you chose your crown over me."
Kael flinched as if struck.
"I didn't choose the crown," he whispered. "I chose you. I killed you because the prophecy said if I didn't, you would destroy the empire."
"And you believed them?" she demanded. "You believed her?"
"I believed I could save you."
Her tears came unbidden. "You failed."
He reached out, fingers trembling, but she stepped back, shaking her head.
"Don't touch me."
"If I don't," he said quietly, "I'll forget again. And I can't bear that."
"Then forget," she whispered. "Forget me and live your life. I've already died once for you."
But the pain in his gaze broke her resolve.
He stepped closer until they stood inches apart — the air thick, electric, unbearably fragile.
The candle between them flickered, flame bowing to the weight of their history.
"Tell me," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "If I didn't kill you then… who did?"
Liora froze.
For years, she had believed it was Kael — but the Moon's whispers lately… they hinted otherwise. That her death had not been as simple as betrayal.
Her heart clenched. "I don't know anymore."
🌕 The Curse Awakens
Suddenly, the windows shuddered.
A gust of wind blew through the chamber, extinguishing the candle.
Moonlight flooded the room — bright, blinding, crimson.
Kael grabbed her hand instinctively. Their marks glowed in unison — her crescent, his scar.
A voice thundered through the silence — the same voice that haunted her dreams.
"The bond awakens. The second seal is breaking."
Liora cried out, clutching her wrist as pain seared through her veins. The mark spread across her skin like molten silver, crawling up her arm.
Kael's scar burned too; he fell to his knees.
"Liora!" he gasped.
"Don't— touch me!" she cried, but he held on, refusing to let go.
The light enveloped them both, and for a heartbeat, time itself shattered — visions flooding their minds:
The Empress chanting before the Moon Altar.
Chains of silver binding them both.
A blade dripping with blood.
And a promise whispered in the dark — "Only through death shall the Moon Bride be reborn."
When the light finally faded, Liora collapsed into Kael's arms, trembling.
He held her, breathing hard. "You saw it too, didn't you?"
She nodded weakly. "The second seal… it's real."
"Then what happens when the third breaks?" he asked.
She met his gaze, her eyes glowing faintly silver. "Then the curse ends. One of us will die again — permanently."
They sat in silence, two souls tangled in fate, the moon still burning above them like an unblinking eye.
Outside, unseen from their window, the Empress watched the sky from her tower, smiling faintly.
"The Moon Bride remembers," she murmured. "Soon, the Blood Moon will rise again."