The pain hit her before the scream.
Luna's body arched violently, fingers clutching at her wrist as the mark flared no longer just glowing, but bleeding light, veins branching outward like cracks in glass.
"Ah—!" she cried.
I caught her before she fell, her weight light but trembling in my arms. The heat from the mark burned through my skin, searing straight into my bones. My vision darkened at the edges as the curse inside me reacted, snarling awake.
"They've found us," I whispered.
The shadows answered.
They peeled away from the walls like living things, dripping and stretching until the room felt crowded with darkness. The air grew thick, suffocating. Luna whimpered, her face pressing instinctively into my chest.
"Don't look," I murmured, tightening my hold on her. "I've got you."
The monster emerged fully this time.
Taller. Heavier. Its body stitched together from shadow and bone, claws scraping against the floor as it crawled forward. Its hollow gaze locked not on me, but on her.
Rage detonated in my chest.
I gently lowered Luna behind me, brushing my thumb across her cheek. "No matter what happens," I said quietly, "don't let go of me."
Her fingers grabbed my sleeve, desperate. "Please… don't leave me."
I turned back just as the creature lunged.
It moved faster than before.
Its claws tore across my side, ripping flesh. Blood sprayed warm and bright against the wall. Pain exploded but I welcomed it. The curse roared, flooding my limbs with savage strength.
I grabbed the creature's arm and ripped it clean off.
Black ichor sprayed, sizzling where it hit the floor. The monster shrieked, staggering back.
"You picked the wrong prey," I growled.
It lashed out again, claws slicing my shoulder, my back deep, vicious wounds. I felt skin tear, muscle scream, but I didn't slow. I drove my fist straight through its chest.
The impact cracked the air.
Shadow wrapped around my arm, burning cold, trying to consume me. I roared and ripped downward, tearing the creature open from throat to core.
It collapsed but didn't die.
It crawled.
Toward Luna.
"No!" she screamed.
Something in me snapped.
I crossed the room in a heartbeat, slamming my boot down on the monster's head. The floor cracked. I grabbed its skull with both hands and tore it apart, shadow and bone dissolving into ash and blood.
The room fell silent except for my ragged breathing.
I turned.
Luna was shaking uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face. The mark on her wrist pulsed violently again, responding to my blood, my power.
I staggered to her and dropped to my knees, pulling her into me. She clung to me like I was the only thing keeping her alive.
"You're bleeding," she sobbed, hands hovering helplessly over my wounds.
I cupped her face, pressing my forehead to hers. "I don't care."
Her breath hitched at the closeness. Our noses brushed. Her tears soaked into my skin, warm and real.
"I felt it," she whispered. "Every time you were hurt… I felt it too."
My heart stuttered.
Slowly, I took her wrist, ignoring the burn, and pressed my palm over the mark. Power surged between us, painful, intimate, undeniable. She cried out softly, but didn't pull away.
"I won't let him take you," I said, my voice rough. "Not Mark. Not anyone."
Her lips trembled. "Why are you risking yourself for me?"
Because you're my weakness.
Because you feel like my salvation.
"I don't know how to walk away anymore," I answered.
The mark dimmed, fading to a dull scar—temporarily bound.
Luna sagged against me, exhausted. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her like she might disappear if I loosened my grip.
"He killed my father," she whispered.
My jaw clenched. "He killed my mother."
Her eyes widened as she looked up at me, realization dawning.
The same enemy.
The same nightmare.
The shadows stirred again not forming, not attacking.
Watching.
I felt it in my bones.
"He sent that thing to test us," I murmured. "Next time… he'll come himself."
Luna tightened her hold on me. "Then don't let me go."
I pressed a kiss to her hair, gentle despite the blood and ruin around us. "I won't."
But as the mark pulsed faintly beneath my hand, one truth burned clear
We were bound now.
By blood.
By curse.
By a love born in shadow.
And Mark would come for it.