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T he explosion of magic sent me staggering backwards. A deafening crack split the air as molten veins ruptured, sending fire and ash spiralling into the sky. The crimson tome pulsed wildly on the stone slab, its energy surging like a storm barely contained.

Azrael moved instantly, stepping in front of me with his sword raised in a defensive stance. Darius had his weapon drawn, but his usual bravado had vanished, his expression was taut with wariness.

The man, the messenger, stood unfazed, observing us with an unsettling calm.

“You ought not to have come here,” he reiterated, his voice smooth as glass, yet tinged with something ancient, something unfeeling.

Azrael did not lower his blade. “Who sent you?”

The man’s lips curled into a faint smirk. “The same ones who sent him.” His gaze flickered towards the crimson tome, then back to me. “You’ve seen it now, haven’t you? The truth the council buried. The weapon they forged.”

Kaelen.

I swallowed hard, forcing my voice to stay steady. “We know what they did. We know they turned him into something unnatural.”

The man chuckled softly, devoid of humour. “Oh, child, you

know nothing.”

The words sent a shiver down my spine.

Azrael stepped closer, tightening his grip on the sword.

“Then enlighten us.”

The messenger’s glowing eyes flickered with something

unreadable. “Your friend, the one you seek, is lost.”

A sharp, bitter taste filled my mouth. “No,” I said immedi-

ately. “He’s still in there. I saw him.”

“You saw a memory .” The man tilted his head. “That does

not mean he remains.”

I clenched my fists, determined not to let doubt creep in. “If

the council believes he can still be controlled, he’s not gone.” The messenger’s smile was sharp and knowing. “And what will you do if you find him?” He stepped forward slowly. “Do you think he will remember you? Do you think he will wish

to be saved?”

There was something in his tone that made my stomach

churn.

Azrael shifted slightly, positioning himself more resolutely

between me and the stranger. “What do you know?”

The man exhaled, almost in disappointment. “That you are

stepping into something far beyond your comprehension.” Darius scoffed, although there was no humour in it. “Yes,

well, we worked that bit out ourselves.”

The messenger ignored him, his gaze locking onto mine.

“Kaelen is not the same as he was many years ago,” he said. “His soul has been weakening for years, and with every fracture, the Council has reached into his mind. Twisting what little remains of the man you know.”

I felt a slow, creeping horror settle over me.

“You’re saying the Council has been... breaking him?” My voice came out quieter than I intended. Was the Council lying about me having to marry him for the safety of the land? Was it all a facade?

The messenger nods. “Piece by piece. Until nothing is left but the beast.”

I shook my head. “No. If even a part of him is still in there, we can reach him.”

His expression darkened. “If you find him before they do, perhaps.” His gaze flickered towards the horizon, his voice dropping. “But if you wait too long... You may only encounter a monster.”

The words sent a chill through me, but the ground trembled once more before I could respond. The crimson tome flared violently, its pages flickering open by themselves. The runes burned brightly, and I felt the magic tugging at me again, demanding something I could not yet comprehend.

The messenger’s expression shifted slightly, almost... amused. “It appears the book has decided for you.”

Intense and unnatural, a sudden wind picked up, whipping my hair about my face. The tome’s pages settled, revealing new scripts that had not been present.

Azrael tensed. “What does it mean?”

I swallowed hard and stepped forward, eyes scanning the words as they etched into my mind.

The soul is bound in chains unseen.

Follow the path of fire and shadow.

The beast awakens beneath the crimson moon. My breath caught. “It’s guiding us to him.” The messenger chuckled softly. “Indeed, it is.”

I turn towards the messenger. “What do you want from us?” He smiles. “Nothing. I am merely here to deliver a message.” “Then why help us at all?” Azrael asked, suspicion lacing his

tone.

The messenger’s golden eyes glinted with something per-

ilous. “Because I have witnessed what transpires when men consider themselves gods. And because the council does not merit what they desire.”

His gaze fixed on mine one last time.

“But be warned, Elara. If you arrive too late... You may not recognise what you uncover.”

The words slipped from my lips before I could prevent them. “Wait! I have a question?”

The messenger, who had begun to turn away, paused mid- step. His glowing golden eyes flickered with something inscrutable as he slowly turned his gaze back to me.

I took a breath, steadying myself. “The Council has always claimed that my marriage to Kaelen was necessary for the realm’s safety. That our union would prevent a catastrophe. But was that ever true?” My voice hardened. “Or was it just another one of their lies?”

For the first time, the messenger hesitated. A beat of heavy and tense silence passed before he finally spoke.

“It was not a lie.”

My breath hitched.

Azrael stiffened beside me. Darius, who had been shifting

impatiently, suddenly seemed more alert, his focus locked onto the messenger with a rare seriousness.

I swallowed hard. “Then what was it for? What did they need from me?”

The messenger tilted his head slightly, considering me. “You already know the answer.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t.”

A slow, knowing smile spread across his lips. “Yes, you do.” I clenched my fists. “Tell me.”

The wind around us intensified, swirling ash into the

air. The runes in the tome pulsed violently, as if they, too, anticipated the answer.

The messenger’s voice was softer when he next spoke, yet still retained its power.

“The Blood-Bound Curse. ”

I felt the ground beneath me give way.

Darius muttered a curse under his breath. Azrael remained

still, yet I could sense the tension emanating from him.

I swallowed against the sudden dryness in my throat. “The Blood-Bound Curse is merely a myth. Otherwise, the Council

would have married us on the day of finding out.”

The messenger emitted a soft, dark chuckle. “Is it?”

I shook my head. “No. That can’t be right. I was never bound

to Kaelen. I never...” My voice trailed off as my mind raced, the weight of the revelation bearing down on me.

The messenger studied me intently. “Have you ever won- dered why you were chosen? Why did it have to be you and no one else?”

A cold shiver passed over me. I had thought about that myself.

The council had always asserted that it was for stability and peace; our marriage would unite the land and prevent war. Yet, it had never made sense.

Not until now.

I forced the words from my lips. “Kaelen and I... were bound?”

The messenger’s golden eyes gleamed. “Not merely bound. Created to be bound.” A sharp pain stabbed through my chest.

Created?

The air around me felt too thin; my thoughts were tangled and chaotic. I searched for something, anything, that could prove him wrong.

“Kaelen and I hardly knew one another,” I whispered. “We were strangers. How could we be Blood-Bound?”

The messenger exhaled softly. “Blood-Bound magic is not formed through love, Elara. It is formed through purpose.”

I shook my head again, more forcefully this time. “But why? Why would they do this?”

The messenger’s voice deepened, a shadow of something ancient lacing his tone. “Because Kaelen was never meant to survive alone.”

The weight of those words settled in my chest like a stone. My thoughts reeled.

Kaelen had been created as a weapon , a tool forged by the council to reshape the world in their image. He is a direct descendant of Lord Garth. But if that were true, if the Blood- Bound Curse was real, then that meant...

He had always relied on me to survive it.

I suddenly felt sick.

“Their experiment failed,” the messenger continued, his

voice low. “Kaelen broke free of their control. And you, the one meant to tether him, were kept in the dark.”

My heart pounded wildly. “And now?”

The messenger’s expression darkened. “Now, the bond fractures. And when it breaks completely, you will lose him.”

My stomach twisted violently. Lose him?

The thought sent terror through me, raw and honest.

Azrael’s voice cut through the silence, steady and sharp. “How do we stop it?”

The messenger turned his gaze to him, something flickering behind his golden eyes, approval, perhaps. “You can’t.”

The words hit like a physical blow.

I clenched my jaw, my hands curling into fists at my sides. “There has to be a way.”

The messenger studied me for a long moment before he finally spoke.

“The Blood-Bound Curse was meant to keep him stable and human even when the beast inside him clawed to take control. If you wish to reach and save him, you must restore what has already begun to break.”

I forced my breathing to steady. “How?”

The messenger’s gaze locked onto mine, piercing and unre- lenting .

“Find him before the crimson moon, within Ebonshade Keep,” he said. “Or lose him forever.”

A cold weight settled in my chest.

The crimson moon . The last line in the tome’s prophecy.

I swallowed hard, nodding. “Then we don’t waste any more

time.”

The messenger smiled, something eerie, something knowing.

“Good.”

And then, just like that, he stepped back into the swirling

shadows,

And vanished.

I stood there, breathing hard, my heart hammering against

my ribs.

Darius let out a low whistle. “Well. That was horrifying.”

Azrael exhaled sharply, his fingers curling into fists. “We have our answer.” He turned to me, his dark eyes burning with something fierce. “We need to move.”

I nodded, gripping the tome so tightly my knuckles ached. The countdown had begun.

Kaelen’s soul hung by a thread.

And we had until the crimson moon to save him.