The abandoned barn behind the Hawthorne orchard had once sheltered horses, wagons, and the occasional runaway goat. Now it sheltered a secret that could cost Ariella her life.
Kael.
For two days, he drifted in and out of fevered sleep. Ariella tended his wounds with herbs her mother had taught her to mix. Comfrey for the gash along his ribs, feverfew for his burning temperature, willow bark for the pain he tried (and failed) to hide.
Each time he woke, his eyes found hers first.
By the third morning, he was strong enough to sit. The sunlight filtering through cracks in the wooden walls caught on his hair, dusting it in gold. His armor lay piled in the corner; he wore only a linen shirt she had taken from her father's old trunk.
He watched her as she prepared a new bandage.
You could have turned me in, he said quietly.
Ariella didn't look up. Yes.
Then why didn't you?
She paused, fingers stiffening around the strip of cloth. Because you were dying.
A mercy like that," he said, "is dangerous in wartime.
She finally met his gaze. Everything is dangerous in wartime.
A flicker of admiration crossed his face. And something softer, something she refused to name.
She reached for his side. May I?
He nodded, jaw tightening as she peeled away the old bandage. His breath hitched, but he remained still.
You're healing, she said. Slowly.
You heal well, he murmured.
Her cheeks warmed. I try.
Silence settled, thick and strange. The kind of silence that wasn't empty—but full of all the things neither dared say.
Then the barn door creaked.
Ariella stiffened. But it was only Old Mara—the village Seer—her hunched form framed by the doorway, gray eyes fixed on them.
Ariella's heart dropped. Mara, please—
The Seer lifted a gnarled hand. Hush, child. Secrets have a scent, and yours rises like mist.
Kael shifted, instinctively reaching for a weapon he didn't have.
Mara's gaze pierced him. Enemy soldier. Wounded. Hidden by a girl who should know better.
Ariella stepped between them. Don't tell anyone. I beg you.
Mara studied her face for a long, painful moment.
Then she spoke:
"The stars tremble above you, Ariella Hawthorne."
Ariella felt the words like cold water down her spine. What do you mean?
The Seer stepped inside, her fingers brushing the wooden beams as if listening to what the walls had witnessed.
Two paths have crossed that should never meet, she said. Fate snarls itself around you... and him.
Kael's jaw tensed. Speak plainly.
Mara turned her eyes to him, sharp, knowing, ancient.
You were meant to die in those woods, she said. By sparing you, this girl has tugged at a thread the heavens themselves spun tight.
Ariella's pulse hammered. Are you saying I should have let him die?
I'm saying, Mara replied, that some loves…She looked between them.…are not meant to bloom.
Ariella swallowed. We are not in love.
The Seer's thin mouth twitched. Not yet.
Heat flushed Ariella's face and Kael's expression flickered with something unreadable.
Mara turned to leave, but paused at the threshold.
If your hearts join, the heavens will tremble, she warned.And what trembles… may fall.
Then she was gone.
The door thudded shut.
Silence clung to the air like dust.
Ariella stared at the floor, breath unsteady.
Kael's voice broke the quiet first. Do you believe her?
Ariella shook her head too quickly. No. She speaks in riddles.
But she saw something, he said.
She always sees something.
Kael watched her, eyes narrowing with concern or was it curiosity? If my presence puts you in danger, Ariella… I should leave.
You can't even stand without help, she said, more sharply than intended.
And yet staying risks your life.
She stepped closer close enough to smell the faint scent of pine and sweat on him. Kael, I make my own choices.
Their eyes locked.
Something shifted between them.Something deep.Dangerous.Inevitable.
Kael exhaled slowly. Then tell me why you're doing this.
Ariella tried to answer.But the truth, raw, frightening, rose before she could stop it.
Because when I found you, she whispered, I felt as if I had known you before.
Kael's breath stilled.
A moment hung between them—a moment that would echo across centuries.
Then footsteps sounded in the orchard outside.
Ariella's eyes widened. Someone's coming.
She grabbed Kael's hand, pulling him deeper into the shadows just as the barn door began to open.
Outside, a voice called:
Ariella? Are you in there?
Her brother.
The world seemed to tilt.
And the prophecy whispered like a cold wind through her mind:
If your hearts join, the heavens will tremble.
The trembling had begun.