SCARLETT
Not the kind that follows a loud sound, but a silence so complete it felt alive like the universe itself had forgotten how to breathe.
I floated weightless in the dark. No cold. No heat. Just an endless, velvet void.
Then a voice mine, but not mine whispered through the black:
Child of moon and void… will you bind or break?
The question pulsed like a second heartbeat. My mark burned, molten and bright, and suddenly memories flooded me: every battle, every stolen moment with Kael’s fire, every lightning-lit kiss from Darius, every shadowed promise from Lucien. They spun around me like constellation.
A flare of red light pierced the void.
Kael’s flame wild, defiant cut through the black. His silhouette formed first, swords drawn, eyes blazing.
“Scarlett!” His voice was raw.
