**EPISODE 23 — "The Hunter in the Shadows"**
The forest fell into a chilling silence.
Not a leaf moved.
Not a bird chirped.
Not even the wind dared to touch the moment.
Lucian held Isha tightly against his chest, his body coiled like a predator ready to strike.
"Isha," he whispered, "stay behind me. Do not move."
"I'm not leaving you," she whispered back, fear shimmering in her voice.
Lucian's jaw tightened.
He didn't argue—he knew she wouldn't listen anyway.
Instead, he shifted slightly, keeping her shielded with one powerful arm.
A second branch snapped.
Then a voice drifted through the trees—smooth, cold, calculated.
"Well, well… the infamous Lucian protecting a fragile human. How disappointing."
A tall figure stepped out of the shadows, clad in dark hunter armor, silver runes glowing on his gloves. His eyes were empty. Unfeeling.
The Hunter.
Isha's breath hitched.
Lucian's fangs elongated.
"Leave," Lucian growled. "Or I'll make you regret breathing."
The hunter smirked.
"You've grown soft, Lucian. All because of a mortal girl?"
His gaze shifted cruelly to Isha.
"Step aside, and I might spare you, prince."
Lucian didn't move.
"If you touch her," he said quietly, "you will not leave this forest alive."
The hunter laughed.
"Then let's test that."
He moved.
Fast.
Too fast for human eyes.
But Lucian was faster.
Steel clashed with supernatural strength as Lucian's arm blocked the hunter's blade. The impact sent a shockwave tearing through the clearing.
Isha stumbled back, knees weak.
Lucian snarled.
"I told you. You won't touch her."
The hunter lunged again.
Lucian dodged, twisted, and slammed him into a tree with inhuman force.
But the hunter wasn't ordinary—he recovered instantly, slashing a rune-covered dagger across Lucian's side.
Blood sprayed.
"Lucian!" Isha screamed.
Lucian staggered but didn't fall.
His eyes blazed, fangs fully out now.
"Isha, stay back!"
The hunter turned his attention to her.
A mistake.
Lucian tackled him, rage erupting like wildfire. The two blurred into a violent storm—strikes, growls, the sound of metal tearing through flesh.
But the hunter kept moving toward one target.
Isha.
Lucian saw it.
"No!" he roared.
He lunged… but the hunter reached her first.
His hand shot out, gripping Isha by her throat—not enough to choke, but enough to control.
Lucian froze.
Something ancient and dangerous flickered inside him.
"Touch her again," Lucian warned, voice trembling with rage, "and I will rip out your heart."
The hunter smirked, lifting Isha slightly off the ground.
"Will you, prince? Even in your weakened state?"
Isha clawed at his arm, panic choking her.
Lucian stepped forward.
The hunter pressed a blade to her chest.
"Another step," he hissed, "and I'll—"
"ENOUGH!"
The forest exploded with light.
A force blasted outward from Isha's body—gold, fierce, uncontrolled.
The hunter was thrown across the clearing, slamming into a boulder with bone-cracking impact.
Lucian shielded his eyes, stunned.
Isha collapsed to her knees, the power flickering around her like a dying flame.
Lucian ran to her instantly.
"Isha—sweetheart—look at me," he said, kneeling before her, cupping her face gently.
She was shaking.
"I-I don't know what happened," she whispered, tears forming. "Lucian… what was that?"
He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.
"That," he said softly, "was the power you were destined to have."
She trembled in his embrace.
He stroked her hair.
"I'm so sorry you had to feel it like this."
But before he could say more—
The hunter rose.
Bleeding. Broken. Furious.
"You… should not exist…" he croaked, stumbling forward.
Lucian's grip on Isha tightened.
He set her gently behind him.
"Isha, don't move."
Lucian stepped forward, eyes glowing with lethal fury.
"You hurt her," he said, voice low and deadly.
"You touched her."
He vanished.
In a blink, Lucian was upon the hunter—fangs sinking into his throat, ripping, tearing, overpowering the assassin with savage, unstoppable rage.
The forest went silent.
The hunter collapsed.
Dead.
Lucian stood above him for a long moment, chest heaving, eyes still wild with protectiveness.
Then he turned toward Isha.
His expression softened instantly.
He rushed to her and dropped to his knees beside her.
"Isha, are you hurt?" His hands cupped her face, moved to her shoulders, her arms, desperately checking her.
"Lucian… I'm fine," she whispered.
"You're not," he said shakily. "You're shaking."
"So are you."
He froze.
She was right.
His hands trembled as they hovered over her.
Isha reached up slowly and brushed her thumb along the cut on his cheek.
Lucian's breath hitched.
"I should have kept you safer," he whispered.
"You saved me," she whispered back.
He swallowed hard.
"Not soon enough."
Isha leaned in closer, voice trembling.
"Lucian… you got hurt because of me."
His hand slid behind her neck.
"You are worth every wound."
Her heart clenched.
"Lucian…"
He pulled her gently into his lap, holding her like he was afraid she'd vanish.
The world faded until it was only the two of them.
"Isha," he whispered, his forehead pressing against hers, "when I saw him touch you… something inside me broke."
She touched his jaw softly, her fingers warm against his skin.
"I felt it too."
Lucian's breath brushed her lips.
"I can't lose you," he breathed. "I will not."
Her fingers curled into his shirt.
"You won't," she whispered.
Their lips hovered so close—warm breath, trembling closeness, the world spinning around them.
Lucian closed the distance first.
The kiss wasn't gentle.
It was desperate.
Consuming.
Full of every emotion they'd buried for weeks.
Isha's hands slid into his hair.
Lucian pulled her closer, deepening the kiss like he'd waited centuries for this moment.
When they finally broke apart, panting, Lucian rested his forehead against hers again.
"Isha," he whispered, voice full of longing, "I'm yours. Whether the world accepts it or not."
Her eyes softened.
"I'm yours too."
But their moment shattered when a burst of magic cracked the air.
Lucian's head snapped up.
A portal opened.
Three figures stepped out.
The Council.
Isha's pulse spiked.
Lucian rose slowly, pulling Isha behind him protectively.
The Council leader's voice echoed coldly:
"Lucian. You have broken the laws of the blood oath."
Lucian's grip tightened around Isha's hand.
He didn't back down.
"Then I'll break more," Lucian hissed.
"If it means keeping her alive."
**EPISODE 23 COMPLETE**