Ravion's hand was warm against hers, warm in a way that felt impossible, unreal, almost forbidden. Hana's breath trembled as their fingers intertwined, a spark rippling up her arm like the universe had briefly paused just to witness this moment.
The city around them didn't matter.
The shadows didn't matter.
Even the danger hunting them felt far, far away.
All she could feel was him.
Ravion exhaled shakily, his forehead still pressed against hers. "Hana… you don't understand what this means to me."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Then tell me."
He didn't speak immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes, as if gathering the courage to open a door he had sealed a long time ago.
"I've been alone for lifetimes," he murmured. "Walking through Seoul's hidden realms, watching humans live and die while I remained unchanged. I thought I had forgotten what it felt like to… to belong anywhere."
Hana swallowed, her heart twisting.
"And now?"
His fingers tightened around hers.
"Now I feel like I'm standing at the edge of something I'm terrified to lose."
A soft wind moved between them, carrying the scent of damp stone and night-blooming flowers from the hidden alley where they stood. The supernatural stillness of the Realm of Veils wrapped around them, shimmering faintly like fabric woven from moonlight.
"Ravion…" she whispered again, unsure of what she was supposed to feel, what she was allowed to feel.
He opened his eyes. They glowed faintly, a storm trapped in silver.
"Hana, staying with me means stepping into a world where danger is constant. Secrets live longer than people. And once you cross the boundary fully…" His jaw tightened. "You can never go back."
Her breath hitched.
The weight of his words pressed against her chest.
"Then why bring me here?" she asked softly. "Why show me any of this?"
He froze.
And she could see the truth rise in his gaze before he spoke it.
"Because I couldn't bear the thought of losing you without ever letting you see who I truly am."
Hana's pulse stumbled.
Her throat tightened.
She wasn't prepared for this, any of this.
But the sincerity in his voice reached her before her fear did.
Her hand remained in his.
Her body didn't pull away.
"Ravion," she whispered, "I don't want to run anymore."
Something broke inside him, quietly, like a fragile door finally opening.
"Hana…"
He guided her hand gently, almost reverently, toward his chest. She could feel his heartbeat, steady, strong, impossibly warm for someone who wasn't fully human.
It made him real.
It made the moment real.
It made everything too real.
The air rippled suddenly.
A metallic shimmer cut through the shadows.
Ravion stiffened.
His head snapped toward the alley entrance.
Hana felt his hand tighten protectively around hers.
"Stay behind me," he whispered.
The atmosphere changed completely, charged, tense, electric. The silvery glow in his eyes sharpened.
From the darkness, two figures emerged.
Tall.
Cloaked.
Eyes glowing like polished obsidian.
Hana's stomach dropped.
"Who are they?" she whispered.
Ravion didn't look back.
"They're Watchers."
The word itself tasted dangerous.
"Ravion," one of the cloaked figures said, voice low and resonant, "you were ordered not to involve a human."
Ravion moved subtly in front of Hana, shielding her.
"She's not involved."
Their gaze shifted to her trembling hand, still locked with his.
The second Watcher's voice was sharper.
"You are breaking the laws of the Veiled Court."
Hana felt the pressure in the air tighten around her chest.
Ravion's voice darkened.
"I don't answer to the Court."
"You must."
"You always have."
"Release her."
Their voices layered together, like echoes from a cavern.
Hana took a step back, but Ravion's hand stopped her.
"No," he whispered.
"It's too late. You're already part of this."
"Ravion…" she breathed, confused and frightened.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, "I didn't want them to find us so soon."
The Watchers extended their hands.
A swirling, dark energy began forming between them.
Hana's heart slammed against her ribs.
"What are they doing?"
"Trying to erase your memory," Ravion said, voice trembling with anger. "They think removing you from this world will fix everything."
The Watchers' energy grew stronger.
Hana felt her vision flicker, like her memories were being tugged from her mind.
Panic surged.
"Ravion!"
He stepped forward sharply, wings of shadow bursting from his back, not fully formed, but enough to cast the alley into moving darkness.
The Watchers recoiled.
"You would turn your powers against your own kind?" one demanded.
"For her?"
"For a mortal?"
Ravion's voice shook with fury and fear.
"For Hana, I would do far worse."
The energy attack surged toward them.
Ravion pulled Hana into his arms, shielding her completely. A barrier erupted around them, bright, pulsing, alive.
The impact exploded against it, sending shockwaves through the alley.
Hana flinched.
Ravion held her tighter.
The barrier flickered…
Then held.
"You're unstable," one Watcher hissed.
"The bond is already forming."
Hana froze.
Bond?
Ravion cursed under his breath. "Leave now."
"We will return with the Court's judgment," the Watchers warned.
"And next time, Ravion… she will not be protected."
They dissolved into smoke, vanishing into the cracks of the alley.
Silence fell.
Ravion's arms slowly loosened around her.
Hana stepped back, shaking. "Ravion… what bond were they talking about?"
He exhaled shakily, running a hand through his hair.
"Hana… the moment you reached for my hand, the Veiled Realm recognized it as consent."
"Consent to what?"
He hesitated.
"To be tied to me."
Her breath caught.
"Tied… how tied?"
He looked away.
"Spiritually. Emotionally. Fate doesn't care about the consequences."
Hana's chest tightened.
"That… that wasn't just a touch?"
"No."
"It was the beginning of a connection that the Veiled Court will try to break at any cost."
Her heart raced.
"Can it be undone?"
Ravion looked at her, pain in his eyes.
"Yes."
"But only if you ask for it."
"So…" Her voice shook. "You're saying I get to decide?"
"You are the only one who can," he said.
The alley fell silent again.
But something had changed.
The air felt heavier.
The night felt deeper.
The world felt like it was slowly re-arranging itself around her next choice.
"Hana," Ravion whispered, "if you stay with me, everything that happened tonight will only be the beginning."
She swallowed hard.
"And if I walk away?"
Ravion's jaw clenched, but his eyes softened.
"Then I'll protect you from afar… even if it breaks me."
Her chest twisted painfully.
He wasn't begging.
He wasn't forcing.
He was letting her choose.
Her hand trembled.
Her breath quivered.
And slowly…
she reached for his hand again.
Ravion froze.
His breath left him in a shudder.
"Hana…"
Her fingers curled around his.
"I'm not afraid."
His eyes closed, relief washing over his face like a silent storm breaking.
The bond deepened.
The night pulsed around them.
And far above, in the unseen layers of Seoul, the Veiled Court awakened.
because the Threads of Fate had shifted