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Autonote to Readers:
In the realm of Sylvanyra and Noctarian, love isn't a luxury—it's a weapon, a prophecy, and a curse. Arilyn Kaelin, the exiled heir of nature's light, and Kael Aerasia, the bloodbound prince of eternal night, are about to awaken a fate sealed centuries before their birth. But their first meeting is not soft—it is primal. Welcome to a world where desire and danger breathe as one.
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Moonlight seeped through the thick branches of the Ilyrian woods, casting dappled silver across the moss-covered ground. The silence was holy, broken only by the murmuring wind and the soft crunch of footsteps. Arilyn Kaelin moved like a phantom between trees, her long silver curls with hazel undertones catching faint light, shimmering like threads spun from magic itself.
She was not supposed to be here.
Exiled from Sylvanyra for speaking truths too wild for the High Council's polished ears, Arilyn had spent the past five years hiding from both beasts and burdens. But tonight, the earth called her home. Vines curled protectively around her ankles, succulents sprouting wherever she stepped. She could feel it in her soul—something ancient was stirring.
And she wasn't alone.
Across the glade, barely audible, came the shift of weight. She turned sharply, eyes narrowing, fingers glowing faintly green as magic pulsed beneath her skin. The whisper of earth-magic stirred the flowers around her wrist.
From the shadows stepped a man.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Skin pale like polished moonstone, yet glowing with life. One eye gold, the other blue—a harbinger of old blood, ancient blood. His buzz-cut black hair and sharp jawline framed a face that should not exist in this world. It was cruel how beautiful he was.
Her magic recoiled.
So did his.
Kael Aerasia, crowned heir of Noctarian and commander of the Blood Vanguard, had not expected company. His fangs hadn't retracted yet from his earlier kill—feral beasts corrupted by curse-magic. But this woman… she was no monster. And yet, something inside him howled at her presence.
She raised her chin, poised. "This is Sylvanyran soil. You do not belong here."
His lips parted in a smirk that didn't quite reach his eyes. "And you do, forest ghost?"
A flicker of pain danced in her chest. Forest ghost—that was what the Elven court whispered when they thought her gone. An exile with no name. A living myth.
The tension between them thickened. Neither moved.
"You smell like blood," she murmured.
"You smell like prophecy," he returned.
Silence.
And then, it happened.
Their gazes locked, and a sudden gust of air spiraled around them. Her succulents bloomed violently. His blood crystal dagger, sheathed at his hip, hummed with vibration. For a moment, it was as though time folded into itself.
A vision seized them both.
A golden moon. A crown of thorns. Two bodies entwined in a pool of violet fire. Screaming. Chains. A prophecy voice echoed:
"Bound in moonlight, they will break the world—or remake it in flame."
They gasped and stumbled apart. Kael pressed a hand against his temple. Arilyn fell to her knees, the earth cradling her like a lover.
"What… the hell was that?" he snarled, but his voice shook.
Arilyn's eyes blazed silver-purple. "You're part of it too…"
Kael stepped back, wary now. "What part?"
She rose slowly, lips bloodless. "The curse. The prophecy. The one I was exiled for."
He didn't know what chilled him more: her words… or the fact that part of him believed her.
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FLASHBACK: 5 Years Ago, Sylvanyra's Crystal Hall
The light from the crystal spires poured onto her skin as she stood before the council, voice calm but sure. "The moon speaks in riddles. There is a bloodline prophecy. It binds us to the Noctarian line—"
"Heretic," spat High Consul Virell. "You disgrace your lineage."
"I am the lineage," she hissed. "And if you ignore it, war will find us unprepared."
That day, they branded her a seer of doom. And stripped her name from the scrolls.
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Back in the woods, Kael paced like a caged animal.
"Stay away from Noctarian. If what you say is true, you've just made yourself a target."
Arilyn straightened. "Too late. I already am one."
She turned to leave, her long hair swaying behind her like silk in the wind. But before she vanished into the trees, she paused.
"My name is Arilyn Kaelin. And I'm not done running."
Kael Aerasia stood in the glade long after she was gone.
He said nothing.
But the blood beneath his skin knew what his mind did not—
They were bound.
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