Chapter 4

The storm raged outside Blackwood Manor, mirroring the one inside me.

After the Solstice Rite – where I deftly avoided the "corrupted" member's attack, much to Seraphina's visible surprise – Kaelen had been even more demanding.

He gave an order. I defied it. A small thing, refusing to fetch him a specific book.

He grabbed me, his fingers bruising my arm.

"You will learn obedience, Elara."

The fabric of the silver-threaded gown tore at the shoulder.

A unique, crescent-shaped scar was revealed on my collarbone.

I' d gotten it years ago, saving a younger, wounded Kaelen from a Deep Lurker.

He' d been ambushed near the old coves. I was just a girl, but I knew the sea paths.

I thought he never knew who saved him.

Kaelen froze. His eyes locked on the scar.

Then, with a guttural sound, he ripped open his own shirt.

An identical scar, faintly glowing, lay over his heart.

"The Lurker's Kiss," he rasped, his voice raw. "It only marks both rescuer and rescued if a true soul-bond exists."

My breath caught. Soul-bond.

"The Shadow Curse," he continued, his eyes burning into mine, "embedded in that compass I 'lost' for you to find... it activates fully when I acknowledge my true counterpart. Every cold word, every slight, was to keep you from its direct path, Elara!"

Seraphina, who had entered the room, paled.

I reached into my pocket and produced a small, hidden vial. Concentrated Nightshade Dew.

"I found this in your rooms, Seraphina. You' ve been amplifying the Nightshade in my tonics, haven' t you? Making the curse' s influence on me stronger, making Kaelen' s perceived cruelty more potent."

Kaelen' s head snapped towards her. His face was a mask of cold fury.

"You dare?"

He didn't wait for an answer. He stripped her of her Coven status with a few harsh words and banished her into the raging storm.

She screamed, but the wind swallowed her cries.

I looked at Kaelen. The truth was out. Part of it.

But the pain of three years of misunderstanding, of believing he despised me, was a bitter pill.

"Why, Kaelen?" I whispered, tears finally falling. "Why didn't you trust me with this?"

He looked like he wanted to reach for me, but his hands clenched at his sides.

"To protect you, it had to be absolute. Even from you."