the bloom of light and shadow

The dawn came too fast and without realizing, they started their journey to the unknown.Only two people, riding against a force large enough to swallow a kingdom whole.

They weren't afraid — not yet.But they knew this mission would be different.Strange letters, missing royalty, and a fear even the Empire dared not name.

As they crossed the border into Solvenya, the skies darkened unnaturally fast. Clouds hung low like heavy thoughts and the wind howled low, circling their carriage like a warning.

Seraphina shifted in her seat. Her fingers curled around the fabric of her dress.

"Kael, I…"Her voice faltered.

Kael turned immediately. His golden eyes scanned her face, noticing the way her skin had paled, the way her hands trembled."Seraphina? What's wrong?"

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Her powers — the warmth, the flicker in her veins — gone. The phoenix that had always burned in her soul, quiet. Absent.

It was as if something had pulled a veil over her magic, snuffed out the fire that defined her.

Her heart beat faster. She tried again to speak, but the fear had stolen her voice.

Kael reached across the carriage, his hand brushing her shoulder. "Seraphina?"

She managed to meet his gaze — just for a second — and in that moment, he understood. She didn't need to explain.

"I… I don't feel it," she said, voice barely a whisper. "The phoenix. My powers. It's like—like something just reached into me and shut everything off."

Kael's gaze sharpened. He reached across and gently took her wrist, grounding her with the warmth of his touch. "Look at me."

She did, trembling.

"Whatever it is, we'll get through it. But you're not alone. Do you understand?"

She nodded faintly. But the fear didn't leave her eyes.

Moments later, the carriage wheels skidded sharply — and the world around them erupted.

Beasts — black and horned, with too many limbs and glowing violet eyes — burst from the treeline with inhuman screeches. The horses screamed, bolting. The driver was thrown aside. The sky darkened without warning, thunder cracking through the clouds though no storm had formed.

Kael leapt out first, shadows bursting from his palms like a command. With a flick of his wrist, the beasts near the carriage collapsed, snarling as tendrils of darkness bound their throats.

"Seraphina, stay back!"

But she was already out of the carriage — instinct moving faster than reason.

She raised her hand—

But nothing happened.

No fire.

No warmth.

No voice.

The phoenix was gone.

A beast lunged toward her — she ducked, rolled, tried again to summon anything, even a spark.

Still nothing.

She barely had time to scream as another creature charged, claws aimed at her throat—

And then Kael was there.

He moved like lightning — faster than she'd ever seen him. One shadow-spear after another burst from the earth, impaling the beasts. His eyes — dark blue and deadly — flared with fury.

He didn't hold back.

He couldn't.

One beast slipped past him — slashing downward — and blood followed.

Her blood.

"SERAPHINA!"

She fell hard, breath knocked from her lungs, crimson soaking her side.

Kael caught her before she hit the ground.

"No. No—Seraphina—" His voice broke. "Stay with me—"

Her eyes fluttered. Her lips moved. But no sound came.

Kael pressed his hand to the wound, shadows curling around it uselessly. "Don't do this," he whispered. "Don't leave me."

His vision blurred. He was trembling.

He was the Crown Prince of Eldoria, the Shadowbearer, the unshaken blade.

And yet here she was — broken in his arms.

Kael knelt in the mud, Seraphina cradled in his arms, her blood soaking into his sleeves. The world around them was quiet now, but only because he had already torn it apart.

His shadows still twitched restlessly, the air heavy with smoke and burnt fur.

But none of it mattered.

He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't think.

All he could see was her face — pale, too still — her lashes trembling like a breath on the edge of leaving.

His hands pressed against her wound, but the blood still came.

His heart… split. It felt like something inside him had been ripped wide open.

Why?

Why did it hurt so much?

He'd faced worse wounds. He'd seen soldiers fall, seen cities burn, stood untouched in the eye of chaos.

But this—

This was Seraphina.

Her warmth was fading.

And something inside him — something he had spent years forging into steel — was shattering like glass.

He lowered his forehead to hers, his breath shaking. "You're going to be fine," he said, voice cracking. "You have to be. You're stronger than this. You survived fire. You mastered it. You—" His voice caught.

"You can't leave now."

But she didn't answer.

Her hand, once so steady, hung limp in his grip.

He hated this.

This feeling.

This helplessness.

He was Kael Asterion — born with power that could bend shadows, command storms, crush armies.

But none of it mattered if he couldn't protect her.

Tears slid down his cheek, hot and silent. He didn't wipe them away.

He didn't care who would see.

He didn't care if the gods themselves were watching.

He would give anything to take her pain. To take her place. To see her smile again — even if it wasn't meant for him.

A growl rose in his throat — not rage. Not sorrow.

Something older. Rawer. A primal ache that had no name.

"I should have known," he whispered. "The silence. The fog. The beasts. I should've known."

He looked at her again.

Her eyes, barely open, were still trying to find him.

That broke him.

His voice cracked, lower now. "Don't go. Just… stay. That's all I want. Stay."

The shadows around him twitched again — not with violence, but with despair. Like they, too, were grieving.

He bent lower over her, forehead pressing to hers once more.

She was cold.

And Kael — for the first time in his life — felt small.

Felt like a boy with too much power and not enough understanding.

Felt like someone who could command armies and still lose the only thing that ever truly mattered.

He didn't say I love you.

Because he didn't know that's what it was.

But his soul did.

Kael raced through the forest path, Seraphina in his arms — limp, blood staining her side, her skin pale.

He didn't speak. He didn't cry. He just ran.

Ahead, a village flickered into view — quiet, isolated, hidden between the ridges of the northern wilds. No smoke from chimneys. No children laughing in the lanes. Only shuttered windows and doors bolted tight.

As if the world itself had turned its back on them.

He didn't stop.

The first door he reached, he pounded on it hard.

"Open this door! I am Kael Asterion — Crown Prince of Eldoria! I have an injured noblewoman with me. She needs aid. Now!"

No response.

He moved to the next door. Slammed his fist against the wood. "This is not a request," he said, his voice low and commanding. "A life is in danger. If you do nothing — know that Eldoria will not return to protect those who turned away from its heir."

That was not a threat.

It was a truth.

Still, no answer.

He turned his gaze upward — and a flicker behind a curtain caught his eye. Someone was watching.

"I came here to help your kingdom," he called, strong and clear. "But if this is how you treat those who come to your aid — then know this: I'll return to Eldoria. And I will not come back."

Silence.

Then — the sound of a latch.

A door creaked open. An old man stepped out, his face creased with fear and weariness. Behind him, a woman clutched a child to her chest, eyes wide with dread.

"You said you're… the Crown Prince?"

Kael didn't waste time. "She needs a healer. Now."

They saw the girl in his arms — saw the blood, the wound, the way her fingers curled faintly in pain. The old man's expression shifted.

"Bring her in."

They cleared a table. Laid her gently on clean linens. The village healer emerged, drawn by urgency and duty, his hands moving quickly despite the tremble in them. Clean water. Bandages. Salves. Spells whispered beneath breath.

Kael stood close — silent, watchful. His shadow magic stirred faintly around his boots, as if ready to strike again if anyone dared do less than their best.

After what felt like hours, the healer pulled back, breathless. "The wound's closed. She's resting. But…"

Kael looked up sharply. "But what?"

The man shook his head. "Her body's not responding to healing magic. Her pulse is steady, but something is… suppressing her. Not killing her. Just… holding her still."

Kael said nothing at first. His gaze drifted to Seraphina's face.

Even now, unconscious, she looked strong.

Fierce.

Like fire that refused to go out.

He brushed a loose strand of hair from her cheek. His voice was quiet but clear.

"She'll fight it. Just give her time."