ELARA
I found him in the war room, bent over maps like they held the secrets of the universe.
"You said you'd teach me to fight." My voice cut through the silence. "Start now."
Kaelix didn't look up. "You need rest."
"I need to stop being helpless. Big difference."
His hands stilled on the maps. Slowly, he straightened. When those silver eyes met mine, I saw exhaustion there. Dark circles. The mate mark on his wrist glowing faintly.
Three hours of sleep. That's all either of us had managed after discovering we were soul-bonded. True mates. Destined by magic itself to be together.
I was trying very hard not to think about that.
"Training takes time," he said. "Weeks. Months."
"Then we start now. Or do you want me to keep nearly dying every time assassins show up?"
"That's not..."
"It is. You know it is." I stepped closer. "You promised to teach me. Or was that a lie?"
His jaw tightened. "I don't lie."
"Then prove it."
We stared at each other. The bond pulsed between us, carrying his frustration and my determination in equal measure.
Finally, he moved. Not toward me. Toward the weapons rack on the wall.
He grabbed a knife. Turned. Threw it.
Straight at my face.
I didn't think. My hand shot up. Caught the blade by the handle. The motion was smooth. Instinctive.
Impossible.
We both stared at the knife in my hand.
"How did you..." Kaelix trailed off.
I didn't know. One second the blade was flying at me. The next, my palm held cold steel. Like my body knew what to do before my mind caught up.
"Wild magic," I breathed. "It reacted."
"Your reflexes." He crossed the distance between us. Took my hand. Examined it. "You shouldn't have been able to catch that. Not without training."
"But I did."
His thumb brushed my palm. "Your magic is protecting you. Instinctively."
The touch sent heat up my arm. I pulled away. "So train me. Teach me to do it on purpose."
He studied me for a long moment. Then nodded once. "The courtyard. Now."
The training yard was deserted this early. Dawn barely broke the horizon, painting everything in shades of gray and gold.
Kaelix stood in the center, arms crossed.
"Attack me."
"What?"
"You heard me. Attack."
"I don't know how..."
"Exactly. So learn." His smile was sharp.
"Come at me like you mean it, Elara. Pretend I'm an assassin. Pretend I'm about to kill you."
Anger flared. "You almost did kill me. Remember?"
"Then this should be easy."
I lunged.
He sidestepped. My momentum carried me past him. I stumbled, barely caught myself.
"Again."
I tried. He dodged. Again and again. Each time, he moved just enough to avoid me. Never far. Just out of reach.
Frustration built with every failed attempt.
"You're thinking too much," he said. "Stop planning. Just move."
"Easy for you to say!"
"Is it?" He caught my wrist mid-swing. Twisted. I gasped as he pulled me forward, off-balance. "You think three centuries of training came easy?"
"Let go."
"Make me."
I tried to wrench free. His grip was iron. Then I remembered, the knife throw. My instincts.
I stopped fighting his hold. Went with it instead. Used his pull to spin closer rather than away. My knee came up hard.
He blocked it. But barely.
"Better," he admitted.
Then he swept my legs.
I hit the ground hard. Air rushed from my lungs. Before I could recover, he was on top of me. Pinning me. One hand on each wrist. His weight pressing me into the dirt.
We were nose to nose.
His breathing was as ragged as mine. Silver eyes blazing. This close, I could see the black veins crawling up his neck. Could feel his heartbeat against my chest.
"Lesson one," he said quietly. "When you're pinned, you're dead."
"Then teach me not to get pinned."
"I'm trying."
Neither of us moved. The moment stretched. His weight wasn't crushing, just enough to keep me down. His face inches from mine. I could feel his breath.
The bond hummed. Carrying something I didn't want to name.
"Get off me," I whispered.
"Can't make me?"
Challenge. Always a challenge with him.
Fine.
I kneed him. Hard. Right between the legs.
He grunted. Rolled off. I scrambled up, breathing hard.
Kaelix stayed on the ground for a second. Then started laughing.
Actually laughing.
"What's so funny?" I demanded.
"You." He climbed to his feet, still grinning despite obvious pain. "Fighting dirty. I like it."
"You said fight like I mean it."
"I did." His smile was genuine. "Most people wouldn't have the guts to actually hit me there."
"Most people didn't get bought at auction and almost murdered."
The smile faded. "No. They didn't."
Awkward silence fell. I kicked at the dirt. "So. Did I pass?"
"You have good instincts. Your magic enhances your reflexes." He brushed dirt from his pants. "But you need technique. Strength. Training."
"Then train me."
"I am. Every morning. Starting tomorrow, you'll..."
"Why not now?"
"Because you're exhausted. Because I'm exhausted. Because..."
Vines erupted from the ground.
Thick, black, thorned vines that shouldn't exist. They shot up between us, wrapping around Kaelix's legs, his arms, his throat.
I screamed.
The vines tightened. Thorns digging into his skin. Drawing blood.
"Elara!" He choked. "Control it!"
"I don't know how!"
"Try!"
I reached for the magic. Felt it wild and panicked inside me. My fear was feeding it. Making it worse.
Kaelix's face was going red. The vines around his throat squeezed tighter.
No. No no no.
I grabbed the nearest vine with my bare hand. Thorns bit deep. My blood mixed with his.
"Stop," I commanded the magic. "Please.
STOP."
The vines froze.
Then, slowly, they retreated. Sliding back into the earth like they'd never been.
Kaelix collapsed to his knees, gasping.
I dropped beside him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean..."
"I know." He coughed. Blood trickled from cuts on his throat. "Your magic. Responded to adrenaline. To fear."
"I almost killed you."
"But you didn't." He looked at me. "You stopped it. That's what matters."
"What if I can't next time?"
"Then we train harder." His hand covered mine. "Your magic is tied to emotion. Wild Court magic always is. Fear, anger, love... they all trigger it."
"How do I control it?"
"You learn to control your emotions. Or..."
He hesitated. "You learn to trust your instincts. Your magic protects you. It won't hurt what you truly want safe."
"But it almost hurt you."
"Almost. It didn't." His thumb brushed my bloodied knuckles. "Because somewhere in there, your magic knows I'm not a threat."
"Aren't you?"
The question hung between us.
He didn't answer.
Footsteps on stone made us both look up.
Lysander approached, face grave. "My lord. Forgive the interruption, but..."
"What is it?" Kaelix stood, pulling me up with him.
Lysander's eyes flicked to our bloodied hands. Still joined. "We've intercepted a message. From the Light Court."
"And?"
"It's about your mother, Elara."
My heart stopped. "My mother is dead."
"No." Lysander's expression was pitying.
"She's not. She's alive. And Lady Seraphine has her."
The world tilted.
"You're lying," I heard myself say.
Kaelix caught me as my knees buckled. "Lysander doesn't lie."
"But she... my father said... "
"Your father lied to protect you." Lysander's voice was gentle. "I'm sorry."
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
My mother. Alive. Alive for seventeen years while I thought her dead.
And Seraphine had her.
Rage built inside me. Hot and terrible. The ground beneath our feet trembled. Flowers erupted from cracks in the stone, black roses with thorns like daggers.
"Elara." Kaelix's voice in my ear. "Breathe."
"She's been alive this whole time," I whispered. "Seventeen years. Prisoner. Suffering. And I never knew."
"You couldn't have known."
"I should have!" The roses grew taller. Thicker. "I should have felt it. Sensed it. Something!"
"You were five years old when she was taken. A child. This isn't your fault."
"Then whose is it?"
"Mine," a new voice said.
We all turned.
A woman stood at the courtyard entrance. Tall. Ancient. Beautiful in a terrifying way. Her skin looked like bark. Her hair moss-green. Her eyes held forests.
Queen Morwenna of the Wild Court.
My grandmother.
She looked at me with tears streaming down her face. "Mine. This is all my fault. And I'm here to make it right."
The throne room was crowded.
Queen Morwenna had arrived with an entire retinue. Wild Court warriors lined the walls. The air smelled like earth and growing things.
I stood between Kaelix and Lysander, trying to process everything.
My mother was alive.
Seraphine had her.
And my grandmother, my grandmother who I didn't know existed until five minutes ago, was here.
"Explain," Kaelix commanded. His voice was cold. Shadow Lord fully present.
"Explain how Elara's mother has been prisoner for seventeen years and the Wild Court did nothing."
Morwenna's eyes flashed. "We didn't know, Shadow Lord. We thought Aria died in the human realm. That both she and her child perished."
"Then how did Seraphine capture her?"
"Aria came back." Morwenna's voice broke.
"Seventeen years ago. She crossed the Veil. Said she needed to speak with me. About her daughter. About..." She looked at me. "About you, Elara."
"Why?" I asked. "Why did she come back?"
"Because she was dying. The human realm was killing her slowly. She'd lasted five years for you. But she couldn't last longer."
Morwenna's tears fell freely now. "She wanted to bring you home. To the Wild Court. To safety."
"But she never came back for me."
"Because Seraphine ambushed her at the Veil crossing. Took her. Sent me a message saying if I tried to rescue her, Aria would die screaming."
"Why would Seraphine want my mother?"
"Leverage. Against me. Against the Wild Court." Morwenna stepped closer. "And because even then, seventeen years ago, Seraphine knew about the prophecy."
"What prophecy?" Kaelix demanded.
Morwenna looked between us. At our joined hands. At the mate marks on our wrists.
"The prophecy that says a child born of Shadow and Wild will either unite the realms or burn them to ash." Her gaze settled on me. "That child must come from you, Elara. That's why everyone wants you. That's why Seraphine has been planning this for decades."
Ice flooded my veins. "Planning what?"
"Your birth. Your sale. Your bond with the Shadow Lord." Morwenna's smile was bitter. "She orchestrated everything. Including your parents meeting."
The room spun.
"No," I whispered.
"Yes." Morwenna's expression was anguished. "I'm so sorry, child. But you were designed. Created. Your entire existence is part of Seraphine's plan to create the prophesied child."
Kaelix's hand tightened on mine. "That's impossible."
"Is it? Tell me, Shadow Lord... how did you know to buy her at auction? What drew you to that specific girl?"
He went very still.
"The curse," Morwenna continued.
"Seraphine designed it to drive you to that auction. To that girl. To create the bond that would eventually produce the child she needs."
"Why?" I demanded. "Why does she want this child?"
"Because the prophecy says the child will have power over the Old Gods. Power to free them or bind them forever." Morwenna's eyes were ancient and sad. "And Seraphine wants them freed."
Silence fell.
Then Kaelix spoke, voice deadly soft: "Over my dead body."
"Then you'll die. We all will. Unless..." Morwenna turned to me. "Unless you come with me. Now. To the Wild Court. Let me train you. Teach you to control your magic. To fight."
"She's not going anywhere," Kaelix growled.
"She's my granddaughter!"
"She's my mate!"
"She's standing right here!" I shouted.
They both looked at me.
"I'm not a thing you can fight over," I said quietly. Dangerously. The ground trembled under my feet. "I'm not property to be claimed or bargained for. I'm a person. And I make my own choices."
"Then choose," Morwenna said. "Come with me. Or stay with the man who bought you to kill you."
"He saved me."
"After almost murdering you."
"Because he couldn't do it!" The words burst out. "Because somewhere between buying me and claiming me, he decided I was worth more than breaking his curse. So yes. I'll stay with him."
Kaelix's surprise rippled through the bond.
Morwenna's face hardened. "Even knowing everything was orchestrated? Even knowing your bond might be part of Seraphine's plan?"
"Especially knowing that." I stepped forward. "Because if Seraphine thinks she can control us, control this, she's wrong. We'll find our own path."
"And your mother?" Morwenna's voice cracked. "Will you leave Aria to suffer?"
The words hit like a blade.
"No," I whispered. "Never."
"Then help me rescue her. Please."
Morwenna knelt. Actually knelt. "I failed her once. I won't fail again. But I can't do it alone."
I looked at Kaelix. "Can we?"
He was quiet for a long moment. Then: "We can try."
"It's a trap," Lysander warned.
"Of course it's a trap." Kaelix's smile was sharp. "But we'll spring it anyway."
Morwenna stood. "Then we plan. Together. Shadow and Wild united."
"For now," Kaelix agreed. His eyes met mine. Through the bond, I felt his determination. His fear. His absolute refusal to lose me.
I squeezed his hand.
"For now," I echoed.
Morwenna smiled. Sad but hopeful. "That's all I ask."
She gestured to her warriors. Maps were brought. Plans discussed. The alliance forming felt fragile. Temporary.
But it was a start.
As the war council convened, Kaelix pulled me aside.
"You chose to stay," he said quietly.
"Did you doubt I would?"
"Yes."
His honesty shouldn't have surprised me. But it did.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I would have let you go. If you wanted." His hand cupped my face. "I'm not your cage, Elara. If you want freedom, I'll break the bond myself. Even if it kills us both."
Tears burned my eyes. "I don't want freedom from you."
"Then what do you want?"
I looked at this man. This monster. This broken, lonely king who'd chosen my life over his own salvation.
"I want my mother back. I want to stop Seraphine. I want to survive long enough to figure out what we are to each other." I met his gaze. "And then I want to choose you.
Not because magic says I should. But because I want to."
Something fierce and bright blazed in his eyes.
"Then we'll make sure you survive," he promised. "All of it. I swear it."
He kissed my forehead. Gentle. Reverent.
Through the bond, I felt truth in his words.
And for the first time since this nightmare began, I believed him.
We would survive this.
Together.