chapter 5
1045 Words
The air between them had changed.
It was no longer just tension.
It was something deeper.
Something dangerous.
Luna could feel it in the way her heart refused to calm down… in the way her body reacted every time Kael got too close.
And right now—
He was too close.
Her back was still against the cold stone wall, his hand resting lightly against her jaw, his thumb brushing slowly across her skin as if he was unaware of what it was doing to her.
Or maybe…
He knew exactly.
Her breath came out uneven.
“You should stop doing that…” she whispered.
His eyes didn’t leave hers.
“Doing what?”
Her heart skipped.
“This…” she swallowed, her voice softer now, “touching me like that.”
A pause.
Then his thumb moved again.
Slower this time.
Deliberate.
“And if I don’t?” he murmured.
A shiver ran down her spine.
She hated how her body reacted.
Hated how her pulse quickened instead of pulling away.
“You’re making it worse…”
His brows lowered slightly.
“Worse?”
She exhaled shakily.
“I don’t understand what’s happening to me.”
Silence.
Then—
His hand dropped from her face.
The sudden loss of contact left a strange emptiness behind.
Something she didn’t expect.
Something she didn’t like.
Kael stepped back slightly, creating space between them.
But his gaze…
It stayed locked on her.
“You’re reacting to the bond,” he said quietly.
Her chest tightened.
“That again…”
“It’s not going away.”
Her heart sank.
“I don’t want it.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
And the moment they did—
The air shifted.
Kael’s expression darkened.
Not violently.
But enough.
“You don’t get to choose that,” he said.
Her eyes flashed. “Why does everything have to be your decision?”
“It’s not.”
“Then whose is it?”
A pause.
Then—
“The curse.”
The word hung between them.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Luna looked away, wrapping her arms around herself as if trying to hold something inside.
“This isn’t fair…” she whispered.
No answer came.
Because there wasn’t one.
A long silence followed.
Then—
“Come with me.”
She looked up again.
“What?”
Kael turned slightly, already moving.
“You need to see something.”
Her brows furrowed. “I’m not going anywhere—”
He stopped.
Turned back.
And just looked at her.
No force.
No command.
Just that intense gaze.
And somehow…
That was worse.
Her heart betrayed her first.
Then her feet.
She followed him.
The corridor stretched deeper into darkness, lit only by faint torches along the walls. Every step echoed, every shadow seemed to move just a little too slowly.
Luna stayed close behind him.
Too close.
Close enough to feel the heat radiating from his body.
Close enough to notice the tension in his shoulders… the quiet control in the way he moved.
He stopped in front of a large door.
Old.
Marked.
Strange symbols carved deep into the wood.
Her breath caught.
“What is this…?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he pushed the door open.
It creaked slowly, revealing a dark room beyond.
Cold air rushed out.
Luna hesitated.
Something about it felt… wrong.
“You want answers,” Kael said without looking at her.
Her chest tightened.
“Yes…”
“Then come.”
She swallowed hard.
Then stepped inside.
The room was vast.
Empty—except for one thing.
At the center…
A mark.
Carved into the ground.
Glowing faintly.
Cracked.
Broken.
Her breath hitched instantly.
“What is that…?”
Kael stepped forward slowly, his gaze fixed on it.
“That,” he said quietly, “is where it started.”
A chill ran down her spine.
“Started… what?”
He stopped just before the mark.
Then—
Slowly—
He removed part of his shirt.
Luna’s breath caught.
Not because of his body—
But because of what she saw.
Marks.
Cracks.
Dark lines spreading across his skin like something alive beneath it.
Burned.
Twisted.
Wrong.
Her heart clenched painfully.
“That’s…”
“The curse.”
Her eyes widened.
“It’s… inside you?”
He nodded once.
“It never leaves.”
Her chest tightened even more.
“And now…”
He turned slightly toward her.
“It’s reacting to you.”
Her breath became uneven.
“Why me…?”
“I told you,” he said quietly. “I don’t know.”
Silence fell again.
But this time…
It was heavier.
More personal.
Luna took a slow step forward.
Then another.
Until she stood just a few feet away from him.
Her eyes were fixed on the marks.
On the cracks.
On the pain he didn’t show… but she could feel.
“It hurts… doesn’t it?” she whispered.
A pause.
Then—
“Yes.”
Her heart ached.
Without thinking—
She reached out.
Her fingers brushing lightly against the mark on his chest.
The moment she touched him—
Everything exploded.
A sharp pulse of energy shot through both of them.
Kael inhaled sharply.
Luna gasped.
The mark glowed brighter.
Cracks shifting.
Moving.
Alive.
“What—?!”
She tried to pull away—
But his hand caught hers.
Held it there.
Firm.
“Don’t.”
Her heart pounded violently.
“It’s reacting—Kael, something’s wrong—”
“I know.”
His voice was rough now.
Strained.
But he didn’t let go.
Didn’t look away.
The energy pulsed again.
Stronger.
Hotter.
And suddenly—
The cracks…
Began to fade.
Luna’s eyes widened.
“Wait…”
Her breath trembled.
“They’re… healing…”
Kael froze.
Completely.
For the first time…
Shock crossed his face.
Real shock.
“That’s not possible…”
But it was happening.
Right in front of them.
Her touch…
Was healing him.
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Unbelievable.
Then slowly—
His gaze lifted to hers.
Dark.
Intense.
Different.
“What are you…?” he whispered.
Her heart skipped.
“I don’t know…”
But one thing was certain now.
She wasn’t normal.
And whatever she was—
She had just changed everything.
- Writer
