The moment I saw him, everything else—time, pain, doubt—faded.
Kai stood in the middle of a battlefield torn from some nightmare, his magic flickering, his shoulders trembling from exhaustion… but his eyes still burning with that same defiance I fell for.
And gods, he looked broken.
And beautiful.
And mine.
The shadow creature—no longer pretending to be anything human—towered above him, seething with hate. Sigils of dark magic bled across its shifting form like open wounds, each one pulsing with stolen power. It reeked of fear, and twisted love, and all the lies we had been forced to believe.
But I wasn't afraid.
Not anymore.
He's here. He's still fighting. And I won't let him fall again.
When I struck it, I didn't care what magic I used. I just needed it away from him. The light from my spell scorched the creature's side, and for one glorious second, it recoiled like I had touched its core.
Then Kai looked at me.
Those storm-colored eyes met mine, wide and disbelieving. And I saw it—the pain, the relief, the hope.
"Anna?"
Say something, anything—remind him you're real. That we're not broken. That this isn't the end.
I stepped toward him, voice steadier than I felt."You didn't think I'd let you fight this alone, did you?"
His expression shifted—hope softening the fear that had started to settle in."You always did have terrible timing."
Gods, his smile. Even now.
I almost broke.
But I didn't.
Instead, I smiled back and whispered, "Or perfect."
Our fingers brushed—barely a second—and the pendant flared with warm, golden light. It surged through me, through him, knitting the shattered bond between us stronger than it had ever been.
We're stronger together. That's what it was always meant to be.
I turned my gaze back to the shadow, heart steady now.
"You thought breaking us would make us weak. You were wrong."
Kai stepped beside me, shoulder to shoulder, and for the first time in a long time, I felt whole.
We would end this. Together.
The air between us crackled—not just with magic, but with everything unspoken: the fear, the faith, the fire we refused to let die.
Kai stepped forward, eyes locked on mine. The flickering light of the pendant danced across his face, illuminating the pain he'd carried… and the love still burning beneath it.
Without a word, he reached for me—his hand sliding behind my neck with a sudden urgency—and pulled me toward him.
And then he kissed me.
Fierce. Desperate. Real.
Time stilled.
The storm, the shadow, the shattered world around us—it all fell away for that heartbeat of a moment. His lips on mine were a promise, an apology, a plea not to disappear again. And I kissed him back with everything I had. All the hurt. All the hope. All the love I had held onto across time itself.
When we finally broke apart, his forehead rested against mine.
"I thought I lost you," he whispered, breath warm and shaking. "And I couldn't breathe without you."
"You didn't lose me," I whispered back. "I came back—for us."
Behind us, the shadow shrieked in fury, its form writhing, destabilized by the very thing it had tried to destroy: our bond.
Kai turned to face it again, magic humming at his fingertips.
"So let's finish this," I said, fire rising in my blood. "Together."
Kai touched my pendant gently and said, "I have to thank you for sending a message to me through this." He pressed a kiss to my forehead, then pulled me close, his breath warm against my ear.
"You need to trust me more," he whispered, "even if it means we end up fighting each other."
His teeth grazed my ear with a playful bite, and I couldn't help the small moan that escaped my lips. Kai chuckled softly, the sound vibrating between us—intimate, familiar.
But the moment shattered.
The shadow figure lunged from the darkness—and as Kai turned, his eyes ignited with flame, burning with power and fury.
The moment the shadow struck, Kai moved like lightning.
The flames in his eyes erupted outward, spiraling down his arms as raw magic crackled at his fingertips. With a roar that echoed through the fractured realm, he raised his hand—and the earth trembled beneath us.
A wall of fire burst from the ground, slamming into the shadow creature and halting its charge. The force of the impact sent smoke and ash spiraling through the air, but Kai wasn't done.
He stepped forward, each stride laced with purpose, power rising in waves off his body. His voice rang out—clear, ancient, and laced with fury—as he began to chant a spell older than the blade itself.
"You won't touch her again. You won't twist what's real into something broken."
The air around him shimmered, bending under the sheer force of his will. With a final shout, Kai hurled a searing bolt of flame and time-warped light straight into the creature's chest.
The shadow screamed, its form fracturing, the stolen sigils along its body unraveling as the combined power of his love and fury tore through its core.
Kai's voice dropped to a whisper as the final wave of magic left his hands:"You don't get to rewrite our story."
The explosion that followed was blinding—fire, light, and shadow colliding in a clash of fates.
I stared up at him, still pressed against his chest, and for the first time… I truly felt him—not just as Kai, the man beside me, but as something more. A protector shaped by loss. A soul burdened with memories he never spoke aloud. The fire in his eyes wasn't just magic—it was grief, guilt, and fierce love burning all at once.
And it shook something inside me.
He wasn't just fighting a shadow creature—he was fighting time itself. Fighting the ghosts that haunted both of us.
My heart beat faster, not from fear but from something raw and awakening. The bond between us wasn't just fate—it was forged in pain and choice. I could feel it tightening now, wrapping around my soul like roots seeking light after years buried in the dark.
He remembers.He still carries me.Even when I forgot myself.
Tears welled in my eyes, but I blinked them away. This wasn't the time to fall apart. If he could stand for me, I had to rise for him too.
I slipped my hand against his chest, right over his heart. "I'm not leaving you," I whispered, unsure if he heard me over the crackle of his magic. "Not now. Not again."
Something in him twitched at my words—his breath hitched, just slightly.
And just like that, the shadow struck.
It moved like smoke and lightning, tendrils snapping through the air with a screech that made the ground tremble. But Kai didn't flinch. His body moved with terrifying precision, spinning to shield me as a wall of flame erupted from his hand, intercepting the blow.
The heat surged around us, but I didn't feel fear. Only awe.
Kai's voice dropped into something ancient and resonant, speaking a command I didn't understand—but the air did. The magic around him responded like it had been waiting. Sparks shot across the floor as glowing glyphs bloomed beneath his feet, pulsing in rhythm with his heart.
He thrust his arm forward, still keeping me behind him. "I told you," he growled, "you're not taking her."
The shadow reeled back, hissing as Kai's fire licked across its form, searing away its edges. But it didn't retreat. It shifted, becoming something bigger—more monstrous. Its limbs dragged through the void like a curse, its eyes now glowing red with hunger.
I reached for the blade at my side—our blade—and felt it pulse in my palm. It wasn't just reacting to the enemy… it was responding to Kai's magic. To his anger. To his love.
My hand trembled, but I stepped beside him. "We fight together."
He looked at me then—really looked. And in his burning gaze, I saw both fear and pride. "Don't hold back," he said softly.
The shadow lunged again.
And this time, we met it together—his flames and my blade slicing through the darkness as one.
The rift pulsed, hanging in the air like a living wound—swirling with impossible colors and flickers of forgotten stars. I took a cautious step back, but Kai remained still, watching it closely, as if waiting for something.
Then the air shifted again.
A figure began to form within the light. Not twisted like the shadow, but graceful—gliding across the breach like they were made of moonlight and time. A cloak of shimmering threads floated around them, and their eyes… their eyes burned with the same fire I'd seen in Kai's, but older. Sharper.
The rift pulsed once more—and the figure stepped through.
Kai's arm instinctively moved in front of me, but he didn't strike. Not yet.
The stranger's voice was soft, echoing like a memory unraveling:"You awakened it… far earlier than we predicted."
"Who are you?" Kai asked, his voice low, wary.
The figure raised their hood. Their face was striking—neither young nor old, with features that shifted subtly as if caught between two forms. "I go by many names," they said, "but once, I was called Valorie—Keeper of the Rift. And I was one of the last to stand beside Anaria when the Veil first tore."
My breath caught. The name echoed inside me like thunder against stone. Somewhere deep in my bones, it resonated.
"You knew her," I said quietly.
Valorie nodded. "I knew who you were… and who you still are, Anna. That blade chose you not because of your blood, but because of what still sleeps within you. But your awakening… has consequences."
"What kind of consequences?" Kai demanded.
Valorie turned toward the still-rippling rift, and for a moment, the light flickered to show something else—figures moving in the realm beyond. Watching. Waiting.
"The shadow you fought was only a fragment. There are others—pieces of a broken king once sealed across time itself. You've drawn his attention now. Both of you." He looked at Kai. "Especially you, Flameborn."
Kai stiffened.
"You mean Kael," I whispered. "Your ancestor. His curse… it's still alive?"
Valorie's expression darkened. "Not just alive—awakening. And if you step through this rift unprepared, you may trigger the very fate you were both sent here to prevent."
I swallowed, my heart pounding. "Then what do we do?"
Valorie stepped closer, eyes glowing faintly. "You must remember. Both of you. Before the shadows reclaim what's left of the truth. Only then will you be able to rewrite the end."
Then the rift pulsed again—and Valorie vanished.