When I wake, the rain has stopped.
Silence lies heavy over Valemont City—too heavy, like the breath before a scream. My apartment smells faintly of smoke and iron, and for a moment, I can't tell if it's real or just clinging to my dreams.
My hands shake when I push myself up from the couch. My clothes are still damp from the storm. My phone lies cracked on the floor, screen shattered, like everything else tonight.
Valen Thorne.
Even his name feels like an echo in my veins.
The words he spoke—you are the Crown of Smoke and Bone reborn—won't leave my mind. They loop endlessly, chasing each other through the fog of disbelief. It should sound insane. It should sound impossible.
But the crack in my wall, the scorch marks on the floor, the faint shimmer pulsing beneath my collarbone—they make denial a luxury I can't afford.
I stumble toward the bathroom mirror. My reflection looks pale, exhausted. Haunted.
And then I see it.
A faint glow threads beneath my skin—silver veins, crawling up from my heart, faint as moonlight. When I touch them, the air trembles.
My pulse skitters.
"Oh, God…"
Except I already know this isn't divine. It's something older.
Something that remembers me.
The voice returns—soft, deep, familiar.
My flame.
I spin, heart hammering. The bathroom is empty. Only the drip of water and the faint hum of the city fill the silence. But I feel him—his presence, like static in the air, pressing close. Watching.
"Leave me alone," I whisper.
The lights flicker once, as if in answer.
I grab my jacket, shove a few things into a bag, and bolt for the door.
If I can just get out of the city, maybe I can breathe. Maybe I can pretend none of this is real.
But even as I run down the stairwell, I know the truth: you can't run from what's inside your blood.
The streets glisten under pale light. The storm has scrubbed the world clean, but everything still smells of ozone and secrets. I shove my hood low, avoiding the flickering lamps and the shadows that move where they shouldn't.
Halfway to the station, I pass an alley and freeze.
A man stands there.
Not Valen—but something like him. His eyes glow faintly red, veins blackened like ink under skin. His mouth curls into a grin that shows too-sharp teeth.
"Found you," he hisses.
I run.
My boots splash through puddles, lungs burning. Behind me, footsteps scrape, fast, inhuman. I cut through the narrow lanes, pulse racing—until I slam into something solid.
Someone.
Strong hands grip my arms. A familiar scent—smoke, iron, and something wild—wraps around me. I look up and meet silver eyes.
Valen.
"Still running?" His voice is low, dangerous. "You're lucky I got here first."
He releases me, but not entirely. His touch lingers, burning through the fabric of my sleeve. I jerk away, breath shaking. "You said you'd find me. Congratulations. Now go away."
"Not possible," he says evenly. "You bear the Crown's mark. Every Bloodborn in the city will scent you before dawn."
"Then tell them I'm not interested."
He almost smiles. "You think they'll listen? You think they care what you want?"
"I don't even know what I am!" I shout. "You show up, kill monsters in the street, call me cursed, and then vanish. Do you expect me to just—trust you?"
His gaze darkens. "I expect you to survive."
The words strike deeper than they should. I open my mouth to argue, but something in his expression silences me. For a moment, the air between us hums—heat, danger, something magnetic.
He steps closer, slow, deliberate. "You feel it, don't you? The bond waking up."
I back up until my spine hits the wall. "You're insane."
He leans in, voice low. "Then why are you trembling?"
I am trembling.
Not from fear—but from the way his presence steals my breath. His scent, his nearness, the way his voice seems to sink beneath my skin—it's like gravity has chosen a new center, and it's him.
I shove him away. "You're not real."
Valen laughs softly, humorless. "You said that once before. Before you burned my kingdom to ash."
The words slice through me. "What—?"
He tilts his head, studying me like he's searching for the woman he once knew behind my eyes. "Do you dream of fire, Aradia? Of a throne room in smoke? Of my hands on your throat and your lips calling my name?"
My breath catches. Images flash—silver crowns, blood on marble, a kiss that tasted like goodbye.
I step back. "No. No, that's not—"
He catches my wrist gently, holding me still. His touch is cool, electric. "You're remembering."
"I'm not!"
"Then why is your pulse singing my name?"
The silence stretches, heavy and unbearable. Then—his tone softens. "You don't have to be afraid of me."
"I'm not afraid," I lie.
He smirks faintly. "Then look at me."
I do.
And for one suspended moment, the city vanishes. The night folds around us like a curtain, and there's only him—his gaze burning into mine, his breath brushing my lips.
It would be so easy to fall.
But before I can answer whatever this is—whatever we are—shadows ripple across the street.
Valen stiffens. "They've found us."
A chorus of whispers rises, wrong and inhuman. The creatures from before—more of them, eyes burning red, crawling out of the darkness.
Valen moves fast, pulling me behind him. His voice drops to a growl. "Stay behind me. Do not run this time."
Lightning flashes. He steps forward, and I finally see him for what he is—armor of living shadow curling over his shoulders, fangs bared, eyes like molten silver.
The Blood Prince.
A storm wrapped in skin.
He raises a hand, and the air shatters. Power bursts from him—black and silver flame devouring the first wave of monsters. The scent of scorched air fills my lungs.
I can't look away.
He is beautiful in the way fire is beautiful—terrifying, consuming, impossible to touch.
But one of the creatures slips past him—silent and fast. It slashes at me. Pain blooms across my arm, searing hot. My scream breaks the night.
Valen's roar answers it. He's on the creature in a blink, tearing it apart, but it's too late.
The wound burns, veins darkening beneath my skin, spreading fast.
Valen's expression changes—fear, real and raw. "No."
He grabs my face, forcing my eyes to his. "Listen to me, Aradia. Don't fight it."
My knees buckle. Power surges through me, wild and violent. The air hums, vibrating with heat. The ground cracks beneath my hands.
"What's happening to me?"
He presses his forehead to mine, his voice breaking. "You're awakening. And if I don't stop it—"
He cuts off, eyes flicking toward the rising shadows behind us.
"Valen—!"
He wraps his arms around me, pulling me close, voice rough with desperation. "Forgive me."
Before I can ask why, darkness explodes—thick and blinding—and the world folds in on itself.
The last thing I feel is his lips brushing my temple and his whisper—
"I will find you again, even if it destroys me."
Then everything burns.
End of Chapter Two
Cliffhanger: Aradia loses consciousness as Valen unleashes forbidden power to save her—sending her somewhere neither of them understands, setting up Chapter Three: "The Awakening."