Chapter Three: Bound by Blood and Magic
Elara stayed inside the next day.
She told her mom she had a stomach bug. In truth, she couldn't face school. Couldn't face Rina's questions, or the usual routine, not when a glowing-eyed horned boy had appeared out of the woods claiming to be bound to her by magic.
She kept the curtains closed and the grimoire hidden under her bed. It whispered sometimes—faint words in languages she didn't know, like distant echoes through a tunnel.
Once, when she passed her mirror, she saw a flicker of violet in her reflection's eyes. But when she looked again, it was gone.
By nightfall, the house felt like it was shrinking.
Her mom was asleep early—her illness making her more fragile each day. Her brother was at a friend's place. The silence wrapped around Elara like a blanket dipped in frost.
So she left.
It wasn't bravery, not really. It was desperation.
She took her bike and rode into the night, head down, heart pounding. The wind stung her eyes, and the sky above looked bruised again—purple, gold, and silver streaks painting the moon in unnatural hues.
By the time she reached the old orchard behind Briarwood, she didn't know what she was looking for.
She only knew who she would find.
Kairo stood at the base of a withered apple tree, back turned, shirtless again like he didn't notice the cold. His horns glinted in the moonlight. Elara stopped several feet away, unsure of what to say.
He spoke first. "I didn't follow you yesterday. I wanted to, but… I thought it might scare you."
"You think?" she said, voice sharp from fear she hadn't fully processed.
He turned to face her. "You're scared of me."
Elara hesitated. "I don't know what you are."
Kairo stepped forward, slow, cautious. "I'm not human anymore. I was, once. Until the spell. Until the curse."
"What kind of curse?"
He looked up at the stars, expression unreadable. "Love. Or the illusion of it. The spell that made me into this—it was cast by someone who said they loved me. Who wanted to keep me. Forever."
Elara's stomach twisted. "So you were… trapped?"
He nodded. "For hundreds of years, I slept in the earth. My soul scattered, bound by magic. Until you woke me."
"I didn't know," she whispered. "I didn't mean to—"
"I know." His gaze softened. "But it doesn't change what's been set in motion. You used the words. My essence answered. Now, our fates are linked."
"Linked how?"
Kairo reached out, and she instinctively flinched—but he didn't touch her. Instead, he lifted his hand and showed her his wrist. A faint crescent moon glowed there, etched like silver fire into his skin.
Elara looked down at her own wrist.
There it was. The same mark, pulsing with soft violet light.
Panic clawed at her throat. "What does this mean?"
"That your magic called me. And now, it binds us."
"I don't have magic."
He smiled, sad and knowing. "You do. It's raw and wild. And now that it's awakened… others will feel it."
"Others?"
Kairo's eyes darkened. "There are creatures older than you can imagine. Some slumbering. Some waiting. They'll feel your presence like a heartbeat in the dark. And they'll come."
Elara took a step back, heart hammering.
Kairo didn't follow.
"You should go home," he said gently. "Stay inside tonight. And don't trust your mirrors. Not tonight."
"Why?"
"Because the first one that finds you," he whispered, "won't be as kind as I am."
Then, like mist, he vanished into the trees.