We didn't wait for nightfall.
If the Order was already moving, every hour we stayed in one place was an invitation to die.
The forest thinned as we traveled east, the trees giving way to rocky paths and broken ground. The air felt heavier here, like the land itself remembered too much blood. Luna walked beside me, quiet, her steps slower than they should have been.
She was hiding the pain.
I could tell by the way her fingers curled, by the way her breathing went shallow whenever the mark pulsed beneath her sleeve.
"Tell me when it gets worse," I said.
She gave a small, tired smile. "It's always worse."
That answer sat badly in my chest.
By midday, we reached the remnants of an old road—cracked stone half-swallowed by weeds. Trade routes once ran here, before the Order erased the cities that refused their doctrine.
We followed it anyway.
The mark began to react almost immediately.
Luna stumbled.
I caught her before she hit the ground. Her skin was hot—too hot—and when I pushed back her sleeve, the mark had changed again. The symbols were sharper now, more defined, black veins branching outward like roots seeking something deep beneath the skin.
"They're close," she whispered.
I scanned the horizon. Nothing moved. No sound.
"That's what scares me," I muttered.
We found shelter in the ruins of a watchtower by dusk. Half-collapsed stone walls, open to the sky, but defensible enough if we were careful. I set wards—old ones, unstable, drawn from the curse itself.
Luna watched me closely. "You're using it more."
"I have to," I said.
Her gaze softened. "It hurts you."
I didn't answer.
Night fell hard.
The mark flared.
Luna cried out, collapsing to her knees as shadows spilled from beneath her skin, writhing across the stone floor like living smoke. I rushed to her side, gripping her shoulders.
"Stay with me," I urged. "Fight it."
"I'm not losing control," she gasped. "I'm… hearing them."
The shadows twisted, forming shapes—faces, mouths, eyes.
Voices layered over one another, whispering truths and lies in equal measure.
Heir. Chosen. Crowned in blood.
"Enough," I snarled.
I pulled her into my arms, pressing her head against my chest, grounding her. The curse inside me surged in response, dark tendrils wrapping around hers, forcing the shadows back.
Pain exploded behind my eyes.
Luna screamed.
Then
Silence.
She sagged against me, shaking violently. I held her long after the mark dimmed, long after my own vision cleared.
"I'm scared," she whispered.
"So am I," I admitted.
She looked up at me then, really looked, as if seeing all the cracks I'd hidden for years. "You could leave."
The idea felt absurd. Offensive.
"I won't."
"You don't even know what I might become."
"I know who you are now," I said. "And that's enough."
Her lips parted. For a moment, I thought she might pull away.
Instead, she kissed me.
Slower than before. Deeper.
This time it wasn't desperation it was choice.
The mark pulsed once, softly, like a heartbeat syncing with ours.
That was when the wards shattered.
Steel rang against stone.
I was on my feet instantly, blade in hand.
They emerged from the darkness like ghosts five figures in ash-colored cloaks, faces hidden behind bone masks etched with runes. Order scouts.
Hunters.
"Run," I told Luna.
She didn't.
"I can help," she said, standing beside me.
One of the hunters laughed. "She speaks already."
The shadows answered her anger.
They surged forward, slamming into the first hunter and tearing him apart in a spray of blackened blood. The others reacted instantly, sigils flaring as chains of light snapped toward Luna.
I intercepted them, blade screaming as it cut through magic and flesh alike. One hunter fell. Then another.
But there were too many.
A spear of light pierced my side.
I roared, ripping it free, blood soaking my shirt.
Luna screamed my name and the world broke.
Darkness exploded outward, obliterating the remaining hunters in a storm of shadow and bone. When it cleared, nothing remained but ash and scorched stone.
Luna stood at the center of it.
Unhurt.
Terrified.
"What did I do?" she whispered.
I reached her, pulling her into my arms despite the pain. "You survived."
That wasn't an answer.
We didn't stay.
By dawn, the road behind us was marked with blood and shadow. Ahead lay the Black Divide the last barrier before Order territory.
Luna walked closer to me now, fingers intertwined with mine.
"They won't stop," she said.
"No," I agreed. "They'll escalate."
She looked up at me, eyes fierce despite the fear. "Then teach me."
I stilled. "Teach you what?"
"How to fight what I'm becoming," she said. "Before they decide for me."
The request carried weight.
Dangerous weight.
I squeezed her hand. "Then listen carefully."
Her eyes locked onto mine.
"Because once you start walking this path," I said, "there's no turning back."
And somewhere beyond the Divide, the Order felt the deaths of their scouts and began preparing something far worse.