Morning came quietly.
Too quietly.
Sunlight filtered through the trees in thin, pale beams, touching the forest floor as if nothing violent had happened here hours ago. Birds dared to sing again. The wind stirred the leaves gently.
But the ground was still scarred.
Blackened earth marked where shadows had torn themselves free. Dark stains soaked too deeply into the soil to be washed away. Blood some human, some not had been absorbed by the roots like an offering.
I didn't trust peace that arrived this easily.
Luna sat on a fallen log a few steps away, wrapped in my coat. It hung loosely on her, swallowing her frame. She stared at her hands as if they belonged to someone else, fingers slowly curling and uncurling.
She hadn't spoken in a long time.
Neither had I.
Every time she shifted, my muscles tensed. Every shallow breath she took made my chest tighten. The mark on her arm was quieter now, its glow faded to a dull, angry scar but I knew better than to believe it was dormant.
Curses didn't sleep.
They waited.
"You're staring," she said softly, without looking up.
"Making sure you're still here," I replied.
She finally lifted her head. Her eyes were tired. Not just exhausted older. Like she'd crossed a line she could never step back over.
"I don't feel the same," she admitted.
My jaw tightened. "Different how?"
She hesitated, then placed a hand against her chest. "Like something is listening. Like the shadows didn't leave when he did."
The curse beneath my skin stirred uneasily, as if it recognized the truth in her words.
Before I could respond, a ripple passed through the forest.
Subtle. Sharp.
A presence brushed against my senses, familiar enough to make my stomach drop.
I was on my feet instantly, blade sliding free.
"Come out," I said coldly.
Footsteps crunched through the undergrowth.
A figure emerged between the trees, hands raised in a gesture of peace.
Rhea.
Luna's breath hitched. "Rhea… thank the gods. We thought you "
"You shouldn't have run," Rhea said calmly.
Her voice was steady. Controlled.
Wrong.
I didn't lower my blade.
Rhea's gaze flicked to it briefly before settling back on Luna. "You felt it awaken, didn't you?"
Luna stiffened. "How do you know about that?"
Rhea exhaled slowly. "Because I was sent to watch for it."
Silence crashed down between us.
The forest seemed to lean in, listening.
I took a step forward, the edge of my blade catching the light. "Say that again."
Rhea's shoulders sagged, just a fraction. "I was assigned to observe the bloodline. To report signs of activation."
Luna rose slowly to her feet. "You lied to me."
"Yes," Rhea said without flinching. "And I protected you."
Luna shook her head, disbelief flooding her features. "You knew this could happen. You knew what he wanted."
"I knew what they wanted," Rhea corrected.
My grip tightened. "Who?"
Rhea met my eyes. "The Order."
The word landed like a death sentence.
The Order was older than kingdoms, older than recorded history. Fanatics dressed in righteousness, obsessed with balance and control. They didn't destroy curses.
They used them.
"They're coming," Rhea continued. "Not to kill her."
Luna swallowed. "Then what?"
"To crown her."
The shadows around Luna shifted.
Instinctively, I stepped in front of her. "She's not a weapon."
Rhea's gaze hardened. "Neither were you."
The words struck deeper than she knew.
"They'll call her the Heir," Rhea went on. "They'll say the shadows chose her. That her suffering was destiny."
Luna's voice trembled. "And if I refuse?"
Rhea's jaw tightened. "Then they'll cleanse the region until there's nothing left to threaten their control."
"Innocents?" Luna asked.
"Yes."
The answer was immediate. Merciless.
Rhea reached into her cloak and tossed a small stone onto the ground between us. It was etched with symbols that burned faintly red, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"A summons," she said. "Seven nights. If you don't appear, they will come for you instead."
I crushed it under my boot without hesitation.
The stone shattered, releasing a sharp burst of heat before fading into ash.
Luna grabbed my arm. "You don't know what that could do!"
"I don't care," I snapped then softened at the look on her face. "I won't let them take you."
Rhea watched us carefully. "You don't get to choose anymore. None of us do."
She turned to leave.
"Rhea," Luna called.
Rhea paused, her back still turned.
"Did you ever care about me?" Luna asked quietly.
For a long moment, Rhea didn't move.
"Yes," she said at last. "That's why I'm giving you a head start."
Then she vanished into the trees, swallowed by shadow.
The forest felt colder after she left.
Luna sank back onto the log, pressing her palms to her face. "They're going to hunt us."
"Yes," I said. "And they'll regret it."
She looked up at me, eyes shining with fear and something else resolve. "What if the shadows choose me over you?"
The question hollowed me out.
I knelt in front of her, gripping her hands tightly. "Then I'll fight the shadows too."
She laughed weakly. "You can't fight everything."
"I can try."
She leaned forward, resting her forehead against mine. For a moment, the mark dimmed further, reacting to the closeness, the warmth.
That scared me more than anything else.
Because it meant Mark had been right.
Love was stabilizing the curse.
And feeding it.
Far away, beneath a city carved from black stone, candles flared to life around a throne made of bone and shadow. Hooded figures gathered in silence.
Blood was poured.
A voice echoed through the chamber.
"The Heir has awakened."
A pause.
"Prepare the coronation."
Another pause, colder.
"Or the cleansing."
The war had begun.