The air hung heavy with the threat of impending danger, my heart pounding with a mixture of fear and desperation. The forest was cloaked in a thick veil of darkness, the moonlight casting eerie shadows across the tangled undergrowth as I stumbled through the dense foliage.
My heedless flight was loud and Voren found me easily, changing direction to chase me again.
I could feel the weight of Voren’s gaze burning into my back, his footsteps echoing ominously behind me as he pursued me through the labyrinth of trees.
“Stop running, Seranni,” he called out, his voice a twisted echo in the stillness of the night. “You have to come to me in the end, anyway. You can’t hide from me forever.”
I quickened my pace, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I darted between the gnarled trunks, the branches clawing at my skin like ghostly fingers. I knew that I couldn’t outrun Voren, that he would catch me eventually, but I refused to give up without a fight.
“You can’t force me to marry you, Voren,” I shouted back, my voice trembling with anger and defiance. “I'll never love you, no matter what you do.”
But my words fell on deaf ears, swallowed by the oppressive silence of the forest. Voren was relentless in his pursuit, his footsteps growing louder with each passing moment as he closed in on me with unnerving determination.
I quickened my pace, trying to keep my footsteps from echoing through the silent forest as I desperately sought a way to escape Voren’s clutches.
And then, just as I was thinking that maybe I could actually outrun him, Voren was upon me, his hand closing around my neck like a vice as he dragged me to a halt. He swung me around to face him, and I cried out in pain. I tried to scream, to call out for help, but he silenced me by tightening his hold on me.
“Shut up, Seranni,” he hissed, his eyes blazing with a dangerous fervor. “You’re coming with me, whether you like it or not.”
I struggled against him, my heart pounding with terror as I fought to break free from his iron grip. But Voren was too strong, his fingers digging into my skin with a cruel intensity that left me gasping for breath. When he let his hand drop an inch, I sucked in a breath of cool air, the relief making my eyes sting.
“Please don’t do this, Voren,” I pleaded hoarsely through my sore throat, tears streaming down my cheeks as I stared into his cold, merciless eyes. “You can’t force me to accept you.”
But he only laughed, a hollow, mocking sound that sent a shiver down my spine. “You don’t have a choice, Seranni,” he sneered, his grip tightening around my neck until I thought it might snap in two. “Either you marry me, or I’ll reveal your secret to the authorities and collect the bounty on your head.”
My blood ran cold at his words, the implications sinking in with a sickening weight that threatened to crush me where I stood. The army was forever on the hunt for witches and mages, offering large rewards to anyone who helped increase the number of magic users in the army.
Most mages and witches volunteered for the army and collected the reward that followed, but some chose to hide, like me. Andso, the army offered bounties to those who turned in magic users.
If Voren exposed me, there would be nowhere left for me to hide.
Desperation clawed at my chest as I searched for a way out of this nightmare, a glimmer of hope in the darkness. But try as I might, I could see no escape. I scratched my nails down Voren’s hand, but he clung on, and I was losing air…
And then, just as I was beginning to lose hope, I heard it—a low growl echoing through the trees, a sound that sent shivers down my spine. A figure leaped to the ground before us, and I was startled to see his eyes blazing with an otherworldly light.
It was Kael.
Chapter 5: Kael
The forest held its breath.
I could hear the faint rush of the wind through the branches overhead, the snow crunching faintly beneath my boots. The sharp tang of pine and the metallic edge of fear lingered in the cold night air. It was the scent of her fear that enraged me the most, making my vision haze red.
“Get your hands off her.”
The man jumped, swinging Seranni behind him, his grip on Seranni loosening for a split second. She took the opportunity, scrambling free of his grasp and stumbling backward, coughing as she tried to catch her breath.
“Who are you?” the man asked. He looked like a rich man, the kind of man I would’ve hated in my past life. Shiny blond hair, combed back meticulously, blue eyes that shone with health, expensive boots that had never seen real work, and a fine woolen coat trimmed with fur. His presence screamed privilege, the kind of life where everything was handed to you, where you never had to scrape, bleed, or beg to survive.
He looked like the kind of man who had had his life handed to him on a platter, and so had never developed empathy, compassion, or kindness.
My claws unsheathed themselves involuntarily, the tips biting into my palms as I clenched my fists. I could feel the beast stirring beneath my skin, the dragon blood in my veins roaring to be unleashed. I was sure my eyes were glowing. It was all I could do not to growl like an animal. He flinched.
The man flinched but quickly covered it with a sneer. “Stay back, Seranni,” he said, his voice full of false bravado.
She ignored him. From the corner of my eye, I saw her edging around him, slowly making her way toward me.
He seemed to the notice it at the same time as I did, because he narrowed his eyes at her. “Seranni!”
