May
Cold.
That's the first thing she feels — a cold so sharp it settles in her bones, wrapping around her ribs like chains. The Shadow Lord's presence swallows the room whole, drowning every corner in darkness.
Only one thing stands between her and him:
Nathel.
He glows now — literally — a soft gold spreading under his skin like light trying to escape. He looks taller, stronger, older. Like the magic in him finally recognized its purpose.
But he keeps one hand behind him, shielding her with his body.
"Stay behind me," he murmurs.
As if she could do anything else.
The Shadow Lord steps fully into view — long, elegant, inhuman. His form is humanoid, but wrong in every way. His face flickers like a half-finished painting. His eyes are empty pits filled with smoke.
He studies them the way a predator studies prey.
"Ah… the bond," he murmurs. "I felt it snap into place from across realms. How lovely. How tragic."
Nathel's jaw clenches.
"You're not touching her."
"Touch her?"
The Shadow Lord smiles.
"Oh, child… I don't need to touch her. She is touched already."
May flinches.
Nathel's light surges — a warning.
"Enough," he snarls. "Say what you want."
The Shadow Lord tilts his head slowly.
"I want what was mine."
Nathel's hand curls into a fist. "You lost your claim the day you fell."
The Shadow Lord laughs — an echoing, broken sound.
"I didn't fall, Nathel. I ascended. There is a difference."
He moves closer, and the lights in May's room flicker violently.
"But you… you disappointed me."
He nods toward May.
"You were supposed to bond with one of your own kind. A Sunline. Someone powerful. Someone worthy."
Nathel doesn't hesitate.
"She is worthy."
The Shadow Lord stops.
The room goes utterly still.
He looks from Nathel… to May… and back again.
"So," he says softly, "you've learned how to lie."
May feels something coil inside her chest — a burn.
A spark.
A pull.
The bond.
It's reacting to the Shadow Lord.
And he notices.
Slowly, he smiles like he's found a weakness.
"Ohhh… she feels me, does she? Good." His voice deepens, twisting like smoke. "The bond ties her to your fate. And your fate, darling boy, is to kneel before me."
Nathel steps forward.
And the floor cracks beneath his foot.
May gasps.
Idris, watching from the doorway, mutters, "Oh, that's not ideal."
The Shadow Lord spreads his shadowy arms.
"Come then, heir. Show me the Sunline's fire."
Nathel exhales — and the air warms, glowing gold around him.
"Gladly."
Nathel
For a moment, everything narrows to one clarity:
Protect May.
Destroy the Shadow Lord.
No matter the cost.
The bond pulses at his back, and he feels May's fear — sharp, trembling, but steady. She believes in him. It fills him with strength.
Nathel raises his hand.
Golden fire erupts from his palm.
But the Shadow Lord moves first.
A blast of darkness lashes across the room like a whip.
Nathel throws up a shield — a dome of gold — catching the blow, but the impact sends him staggering back a step.
May whimpers behind him.
He steadies himself.
"Stay with me," he calls over his shoulder.
"I'm here," she whispers.
The Shadow Lord laughs.
"Look how she steadies you. How fragile you are."
He lifts a single finger.
Darkness sharpens into a spear.
Nathel reacts instantly — summoning light into his hands, clashing against the spear midair. The explosion rocks the entire house.
May screams. Idris braces himself.
Dust rains from the ceiling.
Nathel's heart is pounding — his, and May's.
"Let me fight," the Shadow Lord croons. "Let me show you what real power looks like."
"You lost your right to call anything real," Nathel growls.
Light surges through him, burning hotter.
The Shadow Lord tilts his head.
"Ah… so the bond strengthens you."
Nathel lunges.
Golden fire erupts from his arms.
The Shadow Lord slides backward like smoke, dodging effortlessly.
"You fight well," he says. "But you forget something."
He vanishes.
Nathel freezes.
Where—
The answer comes too late.
A cold hand wraps around May's throat.
She gasps, body lifting into the air.
"NO!" Nathel roars, light flaring violently.
The Shadow Lord appears behind her, holding her effortlessly, almost gently — like she's a child.
"You complete the bond," the Shadow Lord murmurs into her ear, "and yet you do not understand what you've done."
Nathel takes one step forward.
"Let her go."
"Or what?" the Shadow Lord muses.
"You'll burn me alive? You'll fight me? You'll die for her?"
Nathel's voice breaks. "Yes."
May's eyes widen.
The Shadow Lord smiles.
"Oh, good. Then you'll enjoy this."
Darkness coils around May's chest — right where the bond is glowing.
She screams.
Nathel feels the pain rip through him too — a tear in his own heart.
"No—NO—STOP!"
The Shadow Lord tightens his grip.
"This is what happens," he whispers, "when destiny binds you to someone weak."
Nathel's vision blurs with fury.
Light explodes from him, blinding, golden, scorching the air.
The Shadow Lord hisses and drops May.
Nathel appears beneath her in an instant, arms catching her before she hits the ground.
She collapses into him, shaking violently, gasping for breath.
He holds her tight. Too tight.
"May—May—talk to me."
She presses her forehead into his shoulder.
"I'm… I'm okay."
But she isn't.
He feels how much it hurt.
His rage becomes a living thing.
He stands.
Golden fire swirling around him.
The Shadow Lord hovers in the air, watching.
"Look how brightly you burn," he says calmly. "How beautifully your bond awakens you."
Nathel's chest heaves.
The Shadow Lord smiles in the darkness.
"That is why I will break her first."
Nathel's voice drops into something terrifying.
"No."
He lifts a hand.
"You'll do nothing to her."
The light intensifies until the entire room shakes.
"Because if you touch her again—"
The Shadow Lord leans forward.
"What then?"
Nathel's eyes blaze full gold.
"—I'll kill you."
The Shadow Lord laughs softly.
"Oh, heir…"
His smile widens, cruel and patient.
"…I look forward to watching you try."
And with a sweep of his shadowed cloak—
he disappears.
Darkness collapses inward.
The cold lifts.
The house falls silent.
Nathel turns immediately to May, pulling her into his arms, holding her like she's the only solid thing in the world.
She clings to him, breathless, trembling.
"Nathel," she whispers, "he knew my name."
Nathel closes his eyes.
"He knows everything now," he says. "The bond… your heart… your connection to me."
May looks up at him, terrified.
"What does that mean?"
Nathel cups her face with both hands, voice shaking.
"It means he won't stop…"
He presses his forehead to hers.
"…until one of us is dead."