The castle loomed like a wound against the crimson dawn, black stone walls twisted with spires that clawed at the sky. Elara's palms itched, magic still coiling faintly within her, and the curse thread hummed like a heartbeat she could feel in her chest. Every step closer to Kael's stronghold made her pulse race—fear, defiance, and something darker she didn't dare name.
The guards didn't touch her, only bowed their heads as she passed. The Dark Prince's soldiers were silent, disciplined, and deadly. Even as they escorted her through winding corridors and shadowed halls, Elara felt the pull of Kael's presence, tugging her toward him with invisible chains.
Finally, they stopped before a massive door etched with runes that pulsed faintly red. Two guards bowed, then disappeared. The door swung open without a sound, revealing a throne room that seemed alive with darkness. Shadows pooled like liquid along the floor, curling around tall pillars and stretching toward the high vaulted ceiling. And there, at the center, sat Kael.
He didn't rise. He didn't move. But the aura radiating from him was suffocating and magnetic all at once. Crimson eyes glinted beneath his hood, locking onto her as if measuring her very soul.
"You've arrived," he said softly, voice low and dangerous, carrying over the cavernous hall. "Do you understand where you are, little moon?"
Elara's jaw tightened. "I… I don't belong here."
"No," he agreed, his smirk almost imperceptible. "Not yet. But you will. The thread binds us, and there is no undoing it."
Her palms itched uncontrollably. The magic inside her pulsed, golden light coiling in anticipation, responding to him whether she liked it or not. "I don't belong to you," she whispered, voice trembling but defiant. "And I won't be claimed."
Kael rose slowly, gliding forward like a shadow taking human form. "Claimed?" he repeated. "Do you think this is about possession? No, little moon. This is about control. Survival. And understanding the curse that flows through your blood."
She tried to keep her gaze steady, but the pull of the thread made her stomach twist. Every step he took was deliberate, controlled, dangerous. She wanted to run, wanted to strike, wanted to scream, yet her body betrayed her, responding to the invisible connection that hummed like fire through her veins.
"You fear me," he murmured, stopping a mere foot from her. "And yet… the curse calls. You can feel it, can't you?"
Elara's hands glowed faintly, golden light leaping in protest. "I—I don't want this," she said, voice breaking.
Kael's smirk deepened. "And yet, it's already begun. The moment you stepped into my shadow, the bond formed. Do you feel it now? Every pulse, every heartbeat?"
She could. The thread throbbed violently, pulling her toward him despite her defiance. Part of her wanted to fight it, to resist it entirely. But another part… shivered, responding in a way that terrified her.
Kael circled her slowly, like a predator studying prey. "You are stronger than you realize," he said softly, almost approvingly. "But untrained, uncontrolled… your magic could destroy you, or worse, someone else. That is why you are here."
Elara's chest tightened. "What… what do you want from me?"
"I want you to survive," he said simply. "To understand what the curse is, what it demands, and why it chose you. And perhaps… to understand me."
Her pulse spiked. "You? I don't need to understand you. I just need to get out of here."
Kael's eyes flickered, dark amusement glinting in the crimson light. "You won't leave," he said softly. "Not now. Not ever."
The thread of the curse pulsed violently, responding to his words, as if her very magic agreed with him. Elara's knees weakened, and she clutched her staff tighter, trying to anchor herself. "I will survive," she whispered, defiance shaking her voice.
"And you will," Kael replied, leaning closer. The shadows around him shifted like living tendrils, brushing the edges of her cloak. "But survival comes at a price. And the first lesson begins now."
A wave of dark energy rippled from him, pushing her back against the stone floor. She scrambled, magic flaring in her hands, but the thread pulled her inexorably toward him. Every instinct screamed to resist, yet the curse intertwined with her power, making her fight a losing battle.
"You cannot control it yet," he murmured, crouching just a breath away. "But I can help you… if you listen. If you obey. If you survive."
Elara swallowed, chest heaving. The pull was maddening, and for the first time, she understood the dangerous weight of the curse. It wasn't just a power. It was a living thing, alive inside her, tied to him, demanding obedience, connection, survival.
Kael's crimson eyes locked onto hers, and in that gaze she saw both promise and threat, darkness and… something else she couldn't name. His fingers hovered near her face again, the invisible heat of his presence brushing against her skin. "The bond is real," he said softly. "And through it, you and I are bound. Your magic, your life… your survival is tied to me."
She trembled, both fear and something else she refused to acknowledge making her knees weak. "I… I don't belong here," she whispered again.
"No," he agreed, voice low, dangerous. "But the curse doesn't care. The thread doesn't care. It will pull you to me whether you wish it or not. And you… will learn to survive under it. Or you will die."
The shadows around them stirred, reacting to the invisible tether between them. The castle seemed alive, breathing with anticipation, the very air charged with magic and dark energy. Elara pressed her palms to the stone floor, summoning a flicker of golden light, but the pull of the thread made it waver, coil, almost respond to him instead of her.
Kael extended a hand, black as midnight. "Stand," he said softly. "It is time you see the strength that awaits you. And the cost of disobedience."
Elara struggled to rise, golden light flaring from her palms as the thread thrummed violently. She wanted to resist, to flee, to fight… yet a small, stubborn part of her knew that she couldn't escape. Not now. Not ever. The curse had chosen her, and through it, Kael had chosen her too.
Her hands burned with magic, pulse racing, heart hammering. She swallowed hard, lifting her chin despite the weight of the shadows pressing down. "I will survive," she whispered.
Kael's smirk was faint, but unmistakable, dark approval in the curve of his lips. "Good," he murmured. "Because your survival… will belong to me. And the first lesson begins tonight."
Elara's chest tightened. Fear, defiance, and the pull of the curse collided inside her, a storm she couldn't control. She understood then—the Dark Prince was more than a hunter, more than a ruler, more than a shadow in her nightmares. He was the thread itself, binding her, shaping her fate, and claiming her survival as his own.
The throne room seemed to close in around them, shadows curling like living fingers, golden light flickering against the stone, and the thread pulsing like a heartbeat too loud to ignore. Elara knew, deep inside, that the story had only just begun. And that no matter what she did, the Prince of Darkness was not a force to fight… but one to survive.