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LIORA

T he cave is dark, damp, and eerily silent except for the faint crackle of firelight licking the stone walls. The scent of rain lingers, soaked into the earth from the storm outside. My body aches in places I can’t even begin to count, a dull, throbbing pain reminding me that I survived… but just barely.

I shift slightly, the cold stone biting against my skin as I force myself to sit up. My limbs feel wrong, like they aren’t entirely my own. A deep exhaustion lingers in my bones, heavier than anything I’ve ever felt. My pulse beats harder, and for a second, I struggle to remember where I am. Then, it all comes rushing back—the presence, the magic, the name whispered in the dark.

Dain.

My gaze lands on him instantly. He’s there, on the other side of the fire, his massive form half-shrouded in shadow. He’s watching me, still, unmoving, like a predator assessing whether his prey is still worth the chase.

Something about him is different.

I feel it—this strange, unbearable pull that wasn’t there before. The bond has deepened. It’s no longer just a tether between us; it’s something more, something that shouldn’t exist. I sense his emotions flickering beneath his guarded exterior—anger, conflict, restraint.

But he won’t touch me.

I swallow, feeling my throat burn. He doesn’t say anything. He just stares.

“Say something.” My voice is hoarse, weaker than I intended.

His jaw tenses. He doesn’t answer.

I try again, pushing myself up further. “Dain.”

Nothing.

The silence stretches thick between us, pressing down on my chest like a weight I can’t shake off. I don’t understand. Why is he acting like this? He saved me. He stopped me from falling. He fought for me.

Now, he gazes at me like he wishes he hadn’t.

I push through the soreness to stand, gritting my teeth. My legs tremble beneath me, but I force them to hold steady. There’s a humming, a strange warmth curling inside me. My magic. It feels wrong. Stronger. Pulsing like a living thing beneath my veins.

I stretch out my hand and let it flicker to life, a faint glow of blue-white energy, curling like mist around my fingers.

The moment it appears, Dain moves.

Faster than I can react, he slams my wrist against the wall. His grip is iron, pressing against my bones, forcing my magic to flicker out. His breathing is uneven, but his eyes, those golden, fire-lit eyes, burn with something cold.

“What the hell are you doing?” he growls, his voice low and razor-sharp.

I flinch but glare up at him, my breath shaky. “I was just?—"

“You were being reckless. Stupid.” His fingers tighten for a moment before he releases me like I burned him. “You think you can just use that magic freely? It’s evil. It will consume you.”

I stare at him, stunned. The words cut deeper than I expect. “You—” I shake my head. “You don’t understand.”

“No. You don’t.” His voice hardens, his eyes blazing with fury. “You don’t get to play with magic you don’t comprehend. That thing inside you, it’s not yours. It never was.”

A sharp sting settles in my chest. “Is that what you think?” My voice wavers despite my attempt to sound strong. “That I’m just some… some thing?”

Dain exhales sharply, stepping back, raking a hand through his damp hair. He won’t meet my eyes. And that tells me everything.

My throat tightens. I step away from him before the ache in my chest worsens. “I need air.”

I don’t wait for his response. I turn on my heel and walk out of the cave, the cold night air hitting me like a slap.

The rain has stopped, but the sky is still heavy, the clouds casting everything in an eerie gray glow. The forest around me is too still. No birds. No insects. Just silence.

I close my eyes, trying to breathe through the chaos inside me.

The bond. The magic. Dain’s hatred.

None of it makes sense. I feel wrong. Like I don’t belong in my own skin.

A whisper.

Soft. Familiar.

I open my eyes and she’s there.

A woman stands a few feet ahead, bathed in silver light. She is beautiful, her dark curls cascading down her back, her eyes endless pools of blue. She looks like me. No, I look like her.

Amara.

The name sits on my tongue like a foreign thing. I don’t want to say it.

She smiles, soft, sad. “You’re afraid.”

I step back. “You’re not real.”

“Aren’t I?” Amara tilts her head. “Or is it that you don’t want me to be?”

Her voice is kind. Gentle. Nothing like the monster Dain described.

But she ruined him, didn’t she? She betrayed him.

“Dain hates you,” I whisper.

Amara’s expression doesn’t change. She nods as if she already knew that. “He did. He still does.”

I swallow hard, my pulse roaring in my ears. “What did you do to him?”

Her eyes darken just slightly, but the sorrow in them remains. “I did what I had to.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Amara reaches for me. I can’t move. I should step back, but my feet won’t obey.

Her fingers brush against my cheek. She’s warm. Real.

“You will understand soon,” she murmurs, her lips curling into a faint, wistful smile. “You don’t have much time.”

I jolt.

The forest flickers and she’s gone.

Vanished like smoke.

I stand there, trembling, my breathing uneven.

What the hell is happening to me?

I stumble back into the cave, feeling as if I’ve just walked out of a nightmare. My limbs shake, my mind spinning.

Dain’s gaze snaps to me the moment I enter. His expression darkens, his eyes flickering with suspicion. “What happened?”

I hesitate.

I don’t tell him.

I can’t.

If I do, he’ll look at me even worse than now.