Mark didn't step out of the shadows.
He unfolded from them.
The darkness behind the trees peeled away like rotting skin, and there he stood tall, composed, dressed in black as if the night itself had tailored him. His smile was calm, indulgent.
Certain.
My blood ran cold.
"Still breathing," he said pleasantly. "You've always been stubborn."
I pulled Luna behind me without looking. My blade was already in my hand, shadow still clinging to its edge like smoke that refused to disperse.
"You should've stayed dead," I growled.
Mark's gaze slid past me, landing on Luna.
The smile sharpened.
"There you are."
Luna stiffened.
The mark on her arm pulsed once hard.
"You feel it now, don't you?" Mark continued, voice smooth. "The call. The inheritance. I wondered when it would finally wake."
"I'm not yours," Luna said, her voice shaking but steadying with every word. "Whatever you did to my father whatever you carved into me it ends here."
Mark chuckled. "Ah. He never told you, did he?"
I tensed. "Tell her what."
"That he begged."
The words landed like a blade between ribs.
Mark circled slowly, boots crunching softly against the forest floor. "Your father wasn't brave. He wasn't noble. He was desperate. He wanted power badly enough to carve it into his own bloodline."
Luna's breath hitched.
"No," she whispered. "He wouldn't "
"He did," Mark said gently. "And you are the proof."
The mark flared violently.
Luna screamed.
I moved instantly but Mark was faster.
Shadows erupted from the ground, wrapping around my legs, my torso, crushing, freezing. I roared and fought them, the curse inside me thrashing in response, but Mark raised a single finger and the pressure doubled.
"You," he said, looking at me at last, "were never part of the plan. Just collateral that refused to die."
Luna dropped to her knees, clutching her arm as the mark spread further, crawling up her shoulder, burning symbols into her skin.
"Stop," she cried. "Please..."
Mark crouched before her. "I can. But why would I?"
Something snapped inside me.
The curse roared.
Shadows burst outward from my body, shredding Mark's bindings like paper. I surged forward, blade slashing Mark barely twisted aside, blood blooming across his coat.
He laughed.
"Good," he said, eyes gleaming. "Show me how much you've grown."
We collided like storms.
Steel rang against shadow-forged blades as Mark summoned weapons from darkness itself. Each strike shook my bones, each block tearing muscle and skin. Blood sprayed mine and his staining the forest floor black.
He was strong.
Too strong.
A kick sent me flying into a tree. My vision blurred as pain ripped through my side.
Mark turned back to Luna.
"Watch carefully," he told her. "This is what loving him costs."
"No!" she screamed.
Something answered her.
The shadows moved not toward Mark.
Toward her.
They wrapped around her arms, her back, lifting her slowly to her feet. The mark burned white-hot, and when Luna raised her head
Her eyes were pure shadow.
"Don't touch him," she said.
The forest went still.
Mark froze.
Slowly, disbelief creeping across his face, he whispered, "Impossible…"
Luna stepped forward.
The shadows parted for her like servants.
"I hear them," she continued, voice layered, deeper. "Every promise you broke. Every life you fed to them. You didn't give me this power."
She lifted her glowing arm.
"You stole it."
The shadows turned on Mark.
They struck like beasts unleashed claws tearing, fangs sinking, darkness crushing him from every side. He screamed, staggering, blood soaking the earth.
I forced myself up, ignoring the agony, moving to her side.
"Luna," I said softly. "Look at me."
She turned.
For a terrifying second, she didn't recognize me.
Then her eyes softened.
The shadows loosened.
Mark collapsed to one knee, gasping, wounded but smiling.
"Oh, little heir," he coughed. "You don't even realize what you've just done."
I pressed my blade to his throat. "Say another word and I'll finish it."
"You can't," Mark whispered. "Because if I die so does the truth."
I hesitated.
Damn him.
Mark laughed weakly. "You see? Still predictable."
He snapped his fingers.
The shadows exploded outward in a blinding wave.
When my vision cleared Mark was gone.
Only blood remained.
Silence returned.
Real silence this time.
Luna collapsed.
I caught her.
She shook violently in my arms, the mark dimming at last, leaving raw, scorched skin behind. I held her tightly, pressing my face into her hair.
"It's over," I whispered. "I've got you."
She looked up at me, eyes wet, terrified. "What if I lose control again?"
"Then I'll be there," I said without hesitation. "Every time."
Her fingers curled into my chest. "You should be afraid of me."
I leaned down, forehead touching hers. "I am."
Then, softer: "And I choose you anyway."
She kissed me first this time.
Slower.
Deeper.
A promise written in blood and shadow.
When we finally pulled apart, dawn had broken fully, pale light filtering through the trees.
But neither of us felt clean.
Or safe.
Because far away, in the ruins of an old city, Mark smiled
And began preparing the war.