Shadows swallowed everything. Aria floated in a place that wasn't real—but wasn't a dream either. She couldn't move. unable to speak. The world flickered and splintered around her, like oil on water. Unnatural-sounding sounds murmured through the darkness.
"She's the vessel…"
"…marked by the forbidden tongue…"
"…it awakens… again…"
Then, silence.
The dream shattered.
Then her eyes opened. The smell of damp mud and pine filled her nostrils as the cold air struck her lungs. Everything was strange, too heavy, too still, even after the world had returned. Rain tapped softly against the canvas overhead. Nearby, a fire hissed and cracked, fighting to remain lit in the humid conditions.
Her clothing clung to her body as she laid on a makeshift bedroll under a canvas tarp. Her entire body hurt. Her fingers trembled as she sat up, slow and cautious.
With a blade in hand, Kael knelt next to the fire opposite her and gently dragged a whetstone down its curved edge. Silver shadows were formed on his face by the moonlight that penetrated through the canopy and clung to his drenched clothes.
"You fainted," he said quietly, eyes still on the blade. "Scared me half to death."
Aria rubbed her temples. Her head throbbed like it had been split open. "I heard things," she whispered. "Felt things."
Kael paused mid-sharpen.
"The mark is reacting," he said after a beat. "That happens when something's nearby—something tied to it. Or when the power inside you stirs."
Aria's forearm was where her fingers strayed. As though it had its own heartbeat, the mark under her skin pulsed softly.
"Why me?" she asked. "Why now?"
Kael finally looked at her. Even though he was exhausted, he couldn't deny the seriousness in his eyes.
He acknowledged that he was unsure. "But something ancient has chosen you. And now every twisted thing that remembers the old ways is going to come crawling out to take what's inside you."
Cold dread settled in her chest.
"Can you protect me?" she asked.
He didn't hesitate. "With my life."
They fell into silence. Aria watched him as the fire burned and distant thunder rang through the trees, her mind buzzing with questions she had yet to answer.
There was more to Kael than just his edge as a fighter and the way he moved like a man who was always willing to bleed. There was pain behind his calm. And weight behind every word he spoke.
She inquired gently, "What happened to you?"
Kael didn't flinch, didn't speak right away. His eyes fixed on the fire.
"I failed someone," he said finally. "A long time ago. Someone I should've protected."
"And now you think protecting me will fix it?"
His gaze lifted to hers—steady, sharp.
"No. But it might give it meaning."
Before Aria could respond, a sharp crack echoed from deeper in the woods. A branch—snapped.
Kael shot up instantly, motioning for silence. Then his hand went to his belt. He threw a little blade at her without saying anything. Aria caught it clumsily, her fingers still trembling.
More snaps followed. Measured. Steady. Moving closer.
Kael vanished into the dark without a sound.
The rain had subsided to a drizzle, the forest seemed to be holding its breath, and Aria hunkered down next to the fire, heart racing, every instinct screaming to go, but there was nowhere to go.
A figure then entered the clearing.
Not a monster. Not a shadow-thing.
A girl.
She couldn't have been older than sixteen. Soaked through. Pale as bone. Her clothes were torn and her feet bare. She stumbled toward the fire, arms shaking.
"Help," she gasped. "Please… they're coming."
Kael emerged silently behind her, blade drawn, expression unreadable.
"Who's coming?" he demanded.
The girl collapsed to her knees. Her lips were blue. Her eyes wide with something that looked like pure terror.
"I escaped… from the Black Hollow," she rasped. "They were keeping us. Using us for something. Said one of us was marked. I thought it was me, but then…" Her eyes locked on Aria. "I saw you."
Kael stepped in front of Aria. His stance shifted. Guarded.
He inquired, "How did you locate us?"
The girl trembled. "I followed the voice," she said. "It whispered where to go. It told me… find the one who burns."
At once, Aria's mark flared to life, searing against her skin.
Kael's expression darkened. "She's lying," he muttered. "No one just stumbles on us out here."
"But she looks terrified," Aria said.
"So do hunters," Kael replied.
Before Aria could argue, the girl's posture shifted. She stood straighter. The fear vanished. Her tears stopped.
Her voice changed.
"I was sent to deliver a message."
The hairs on Aria's neck rose.
Kael lunged—but too late.
The girl's eyes turned black. Not just dark—empty, as if something else peered through them. Her mouth opened wide, and a voice—deep, echoing, not hers—poured out.
"Return the vessel," it said, "or the fire will consume you all."
The girl's body twisted violently. Bones cracked. Her back arched unnaturally—then collapsed. She fell like a puppet with its strings cut.
Aria clutched her blade, frozen. Her mark burned hotter than ever.
Kael rushed to the girl and checked for signs of life. Nothing. She was already gone.
"She was a conduit," he said grimly. "They're using hosts now. Possessing the weak to speak."
"Why now?" Aria asked, trying to steady her voice. "What does it mean?"
Kael stared into the trees, then back at her. His jaw tightened.
"It means they're getting close. If they've found a way to send messages through the veil, then they're closer to unlocking the seal."
Aria's breath caught. "What happens if they do?"
Kael met her gaze. His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Then the thing inside you won't be yours anymore."