The immortal's bride

The scream rang through the stone halls like a blade drawn across glass. It wasn't human — not entirely — but it carried something painfully familiar: fear.

Aelia didn't hesitate. Her bare feet slapped against the cold floors as she ran deeper into the palace, past winding corridors and shuttered windows that seemed to whisper as she passed.

Thorian followed, his footsteps fast behind her. "Slow down, Aelia! We don't know what we're running toward!"

"That's exactly why I can't stop," she threw over her shoulder. "Someone's in danger!"

They turned a corner and came to the western corridor — older, half-abandoned. The shadows were thicker here, clinging to the walls like mold. And then she saw it: the faint trail of something dark smeared along the marble floor. Blood — but black as ink, and steaming.

Aelia slowed, heart thudding. She placed her hand on the nearest wall for balance. "This… this isn't human blood."

Thorian knelt beside it. "It's from a Shade. But why would—"

Before he could finish, a second cry tore through the air. Closer. Angrier.

Aelia ran again, following the sound down the curling stairwell that led to the underhalls. The air grew colder. The scent of sulfur laced the stone. And then—

She found her.

A young servant girl, no older than thirteen, crouched against the wall, tears streaking her face, hands covered in the same black blood. Before her, a body lay sprawled—another Shade, armored and masked, now dead with its throat ripped open.

"What happened?" Aelia asked, kneeling.

The girl flinched. "I-I don't know. He tried to drag me away. Said something about 'the mark'—that I had the mark. Then a light… came out of me. It burned him."

Aelia looked at Thorian, whose face had gone pale.

"The mark?" she asked the girl gently. "What kind of mark?"

But before the child could speak again, heavy footsteps echoed behind them.

Kael.

He stood in the archway, his eyes storm-dark, his cloak fluttering behind him like a shadow with wings. And when he saw Aelia—disheveled, breathless, standing beside Thorian—the air around him thickened.

"Leave," he said, eyes locked on Thorian.

Thorian didn't move. "We found her like this. She's not hurt."

"I said leave."

Thorian hesitated. Aelia placed a hand on his arm, nodding softly. "Go."

Thorian gave her a long look — not possessive, but protective — before he turned and walked away.

As soon as they were alone, Kael stepped forward.

"You disobeyed me," he said quietly. "You left your chamber."

"Because someone screamed," she snapped. "A child was nearly taken, and you want me to just sit in a room like some wilting flower?"

"You shouldn't have been with him," he growled, voice low and dangerous.

"With who? Thorian? At least he tells me the truth!"

Kael's jaw clenched. "You think he cares about you?"

"I think he doesn't hide behind duty and lies," she said.

His hands curled at his sides, but he didn't speak. The silence stretched.

Then, softly: "He wants what he can never have."

Aelia stepped closer. "And what is it I'm supposed to want, Kael? A crown? A throne beside a man who keeps tearing me apart?"

"You're the one who came apart," he muttered.

She flinched.

He continued, voice growing colder. "And besides… I never told you I loved you."

Her breath caught.

"You were brought here for one reason," Kael said, each word like a knife. "To save this realm. Nothing more."

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "Then you should have left me dead."

Kael turned away, but not before she saw it — the flicker of pain, of something buried deeper than hate. She took one step back, then two, shaking.

"I'm not going back to that palace," she whispered.

"You don't have a choice."

"I do."

He looked over his shoulder. "Then run, Aelia. But know this — every time you leave, this realm rots faster. You may hate me, but your power is tied to this place. And the more you fight it, the more we all fall."

And with that, he turned and walked past her. His cloak brushed her shoulder — cold silk, like the chill he left in his wake.

Aelia stood still for a long time.

Behind her, the young girl trembled silently.

Ahead of her, Kael disappeared into the dark.

And inside her, something began to break — and rebuild.

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