The cave was quiet, save for the soft crackling of the hearth fire and the faint hum of protective wards etched into the stone. Somewhere deeper within, the old witch was muttering to her herbs, speaking a language older than any empire. Outside, the wind whispered through the pine trees, carrying with it the scent of snow and smoke.
Aerin awoke before dawn.
Her dreams had been thick with blood and bramble, thorn-wrapped crowns and hands reaching out from fire. But it wasn't the nightmare that pulled her from sleep—it was the silence.
A kind of silence that didn't belong in the wild.
She slipped from her bedroll and padded to the entrance of the cave, boots barely making a sound against the stone. Outside, the sky was still dark, painted in pre-dawn purples and blues. Frost glittered on the leaves, and mist coiled around the trees like ghosts reluctant to leave.
And there, beneath the crooked outline of a dead tree, stood Cassius.
Barefoot.
Bare-chested.
Alone.
She frowned. "You'll freeze."
He didn't turn.
"Better cold than caged," he murmured.
She approached quietly, wrapping a thick cloak around his shoulders. "You're not caged anymore."
His expression said otherwise.
"You didn't sleep," she observed.
"I didn't dare."
He turned to face her fully then, eyes shadowed but alert.
"I dreamed of him," he said.
"Your father?"
"No," he said. "Worse. I dreamed of the man I might've become… if I hadn't met you."
Aerin swallowed the lump rising in her throat.
"You would've fought him eventually."
"I don't think I would have," he said. "Not without reason. Not without you."
They stood in silence, the bond between them pulsing with something raw and unnamed.
Cassius reached out and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, fingers lingering for just a moment too long.
"I can feel it, Aerin," he whispered. "The storm gathering. He's preparing something."
"Your father?" she asked again.
He nodded grimly. "He won't let this humiliation stand. He'll send shadows before soldiers—assassins, spies. And if that fails… he'll burn cities to catch me."
Aerin's jaw tightened. "Then we burn first."
He gave a low laugh, the sound hollow and sharp. "Do you have any idea how dangerous he is?"
"I don't care," she said, fire in her eyes. "He put a leash on you. Tried to shatter you. I won't let him win."
Cassius was silent for a moment.
Then he said softly, "You'll have to choose eventually."
She frowned. "Choose what?"
"Your fate. Your magic. What you are now, Aerin—it's not what you were before. The bond between us is changing you. Twisting the blood. Making you more…"
"Like you?"
He shook his head. "No. Not like me. Something new. Something not even I understand."
By midday, the witch summoned Aerin to the back chamber.
It smelled of sulfur and rain, the walls lined with ancient scrolls and bottles filled with liquids that shimmered in unnatural colors. The old woman sat cross-legged on a pile of cushions, her one good eye milky with power.
"You've awakened something, girl," she rasped.
"I know," Aerin replied, stepping inside. "It's… getting stronger."
The witch hummed. "Not stronger. Hungrier. Your bond to the prince—it's feeding on more than affection. It's feeding on fate."
Aerin stiffened. "Explain."
The witch reached for a rusted dagger and a bowl of black glass. "Give me your hand."
Aerin hesitated, then obeyed. The blade kissed her palm, and her blood dripped into the bowl. The moment it touched the glass, it hissed—like something alive.
The witch whispered a spell, and the surface of the blood began to swirl.
Within it, shapes emerged.
A crown of thorns.
A heart split in two.
A serpent devouring its own tail.
And beneath it all… fire.
"You're at the center," the witch said. "Of a prophecy older than this kingdom. You are the Fulcrum."
Aerin frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means the world will tilt toward ruin or rebirth depending on your choice. And your bond with the prince? It is the catalyst."
Aerin's blood went cold. "You said the bond is changing me."
"Yes," the witch whispered. "And when it is complete… you will no longer be mortal. You will belong to the blood. And to him."
Aerin stepped back.
"I didn't ask for this."
"No one ever does," the witch replied. "But now that it's begun, you cannot unmake it. Only choose how it ends."
That night, she didn't sleep.
Cassius found her on the ridge outside the cave, eyes fixed on the horizon.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," he said, settling beside her.
"Worse," she murmured. "I saw what I could become."
He studied her face. "What did she tell you?"
"That I'm a fulcrum. That I could end kingdoms or remake them."
He exhaled slowly. "She's not wrong."
She turned to him. "Why didn't you warn me?"
"Because I didn't know," he admitted. "Not truly. But I felt it. The bond—it's different with you. Wilder. It's alive."
Aerin ran a hand through her hair. "What happens when it completes?"
Cassius didn't answer right away.
Then, quietly: "You'll never be able to leave me."
She blinked. "Ever?"
"Not just in love. In spirit. In soul. You'll belong to the blood. My blood. And it will protect you—but it will bind you too."
Aerin stared into the dark.
"I'm not afraid of you, Cassius."
"You should be," he said. "Because I am afraid. Not of losing you—but of keeping you like this. Of you forgetting who you are just to stand at my side."
She turned, cupped his face in her hands.
"I would rather be cursed beside you than crowned without you."
He kissed her then.
Slow. Certain. Desperate.
And when the bond surged between them, glowing like fire beneath their skin, neither of them pulled away.
Far to the north, in the obsidian tower of the King, a different fire burned.
King Varek stood before a pool of black scrying water, hands folded behind his back. His golden armor gleamed even in the torchlight, and behind him, cloaked figures knelt.
"She has awakened," he said flatly. "The girl."
A voice hissed from the shadows. "Should we kill her?"
The King turned, eyes glowing with unnatural light. "No. Not yet. Let her bond with him fully. Let them both believe they're safe."
"And then?" another asked.
The King smiled.
"Then we break them. And take the power for ourselves."