BOND BY BLOOD AND CURSE

The tower had no door. Lira learned that when she was five years old. Her father, the king, had the entrance sealed with stone and magic. Food appeared through a slot in the wall. Water came from a pipe. She never saw a face. Never heard a voice. Eighteen years alone. She stopped counting the days after the first year. Then the years blurred together. Winter. Spring. Summer. Fall. Repeat. Her only companion was the curse. It lived in her blood. In her bones. In every breath she took. Sometimes it whispered to her. Sometimes it screamed. Mostly, it waited. Tonight, the moon was full. Lira sat by the window. The only window. Small. High. Too high to jump. Too small to climb through. Just big enough to see the stars. She heard him before she saw him. Scraping. Stone against stone. Metal against rock. Someone was climbing the tower. Lira stood up. Her heart pounded. No one had ever come. No one had ever tried. The scraping stopped at her window. A hand appeared. Fingers wrapped around the stone ledge. Then a face. A man. Young. Dark hair. Silver eyes that glowed in the moonlight. He pulled himself up. Sat on the window ledge. Looked at her. "Hello, Princess." Lira stepped back. Her back hit the wall. "Who are you?" "A man who doesn't die easily." He jumped down into the room. Landed silent. He was tall. Broad shoulders. A sword on his back. Blood on his hands. Not his blood. "Don't come closer," she said. "Why not?" "I'll kill you." He tilted his head. "How?" "Touch me and find out." He walked toward her. Slow. Easy. No fear. "Stop," she said. Her voice shook. He didn't stop. He reached out. His fingers touched her cheek. Lira closed her eyes. Waiting for him to fall. To scream. To die. Nothing happened. She opened her eyes. He was still standing. Still breathing. Still looking at her. "Who are you?" she whispered. "My name is Kaelen. I'm cursed too." He pulled his collar down. A mark on his neck. Black. Twisted. Alive. "Immortality," he said. "I can't die. You kill anyone who touches you." He smiled. No warmth. Just truth. "We're each other's only hope." ---