Chapter 3 THE HUNGER IN THE WALLS

The door slammed shut behind her. Amara staggered back into her room, heart thundering in her chest like war drums. The air was colder now, sharp with the scent of smoke and something more primal-like earth after bloodshed.

She hadn't imagined it.

The thing that rose behind Kael in that kiss-it had weight, form, hunger. A living shadow born of ancient magic. And it had looked at her like prey.

Amara touched her lips. They still burned.

She should be afraid. She should run. She should never let herself get that close again.

But the worst part was: she wanted to.

---

Hours passed. She didn't sleep.

She lay in the massive bed, staring at the stone ceiling, feeling the castle breathe around her. Somewhere beyond the walls, Kael prowled. She felt it in her bones, like a chord stretched tight between them. Every time she exhaled, the pull came back stronger.

It wasn't just lust. It wasn't just vengeance.

It was possession.

She'd been marked the moment she crossed the gates.

---

A soft sound.

Not a knock this time.

Footsteps.

She sat up, hand flying to her dagger-but when the door creaked open, it wasn't Kael.

It was Thalia.

Alive.

"Amara?" her sister whispered, wide-eyed and ghost-pale. "Is it really you?"

For a moment, her lungs forgot how to work.

She stood, trembling. "Thalia-?"

Before she could reach her, Thalia pulled her into a fierce embrace.

"I thought you were dead," Thalia sobbed into her neck. "He saved me. He kept me."

Amara pulled back, gripping her sister's shoulders. "He-Kael?"

Thalia nodded. "He didn't kill our family. It was the nobles under him. He tried to stop it, but the curse-he lost control. He's not what you think."

Amara stepped back, reeling. Everything shifted, warped beneath her feet. The man she was supposed to destroy-the monster she kissed-was the same man who saved her sister?

"No," she whispered. "He's playing you. He's playing me."

"You felt it, didn't you?" Thalia said. "The shadow. It doesn't hurt the people he loves."

That word-loves-hit her like a knife.

Amara turned away, trying to breathe.

And then the air changed again.

The door slammed shut without touch.

Darkness slithered up the wall like spilled ink.

Kael stepped from the shadows-not through the door, but out of the wall itself. His eyes gleamed gold in the dark.

Thalia backed away without a word, as if summoned to silence.

He stepped toward Amara, every line of his body coiled and trembling.

"I told you to stay away."

"I didn't call you," she said, voice sharp.

"You don't have to." His voice was hoarse now. "You pull me. You always have. Even when I didn't know your name."

She glared. "Is that the curse speaking? Or you?"

Kael reached her in three strides.

His hands cupped her face-not gentle this time. Possessive. Cracked.

"It's me," he growled. "And the thing inside me wants you too. But I saw you first."

She could barely breathe.

His thumb traced the corner of her mouth.

"You kissed me like you meant it," he said, low and burning. "Do it again. Or tell me to leave. Now."

The silence stretched.

The heat between them became unbearable.

Then, she reached up, gripped the collar of his shirt, and dragged him down.

This time, the kiss wasn't about control.

It was surrender.

He lifted her, hands gripping her thighs as he pressed her against the wall, mouth devouring hers. Her cloak fell, her dagger clattered to the floor-useless now. His teeth grazed her throat, not hard enough to hurt, just enough to promise what he could do.

She arched into him, fingers twisting in his hair, breath shattering.

But the shadows stirred again.

"Kael-"

"I know." He pulled back, panting. "It wants you."

His voice cracked.

"I can barely stop it anymore."

Amara touched his face. "Then stop pretending you have to."

Kael froze.

And then the shadows rushed forward, and he kissed her again-like it was the last thing keeping him sane.