Elara's POV
The darkness was thick when I opened my eyes.
I couldn't remember walking back to my chambers, couldn't remember leaving the west wing at all.
The last thing I saw was Seraphina's portrait and Kael's face twisted with fear….then nothing.
I sat up slowly…..my head pounding, the room was freezing, I could see my breath curling in the air like smoke.
Then I felt it, the burning.
I looked down at my wrist and my heart stopped.
The silver mark had spread, intricate moon patterns now climbed up my forearm like vines, glowing faintly in the darkness, pulsing with a heartbeat that wasn't mine.
I touched the mark with trembling fingers and suddenly I wasn't in my room anymore.
I was running through a moonlit forest, silver gown trailing behind me.
laughing….then strong arms wrapped around me from behind and I turned.
Kael.
But younger, softer, his eyes filled with warmth instead of shadows.
He kissed me under a blood red moon and I kissed him back like I'd done it a thousand times before.
"Seraphina," he whispered against my lips. "My beautiful queen."
I gasped and the vision shattered.
I was back in my chambers, tears streaming down my face, those weren't my memories….they were hers.
The door burst open and Liora rushed in, her face pale. "My lady, I heard you scream." She stopped when she saw me, her eyes widening in horror.
"What is it?" I asked, my voice shaking.
She crossed the room slowly and took my arm gently, staring at the silver patterns covering my skin.
"The Moon's Claim," she whispered.
"What does that mean?"
"It's the same mark Queen Seraphina bore before she died."
Liora said, tears filling her eyes…"it means you're becoming her vessel, my lady, the more it spreads, the less of you remains."
I pulled my arm back, "How long do I have?"
"I don't know, with the other brides it happened quickly, within days."
Before I could answer there was a sharp knock at the door. Liora returned with a message.
"The king summons you to his private study."
Liora helped me dress, wrapping me in a heavy cloak with long sleeves that covered the marks completely.
The castle was silent as we walked, she led me down corridors I'd never seen before.
Finally we stopped at a heavy wooden door.
"Enter," Kael's voice came from within.
I stepped inside alone, the study was lined with books from floor to ceiling, scrolls scattered across a massive desk, weapons hung between the shelves, Kael stood by the window, he turn his back to me…. his shoulders slumped.
"Close the door," he said without turning around.
I did, the sound echoing in the quiet room, he turned then and I saw his face, dark circles under his eyes, hair disheveled, he looked exhausted.
"Show me." he said quietly, "your arm…..show me the mark."
My throat tightened but I pushed back my sleeve, the silver patterns glowed brighter in the candlelight.
Kael crossed the room and took my arm gently, his fingers warm against my cold skin, he traced the patterns with his thumb.
"I won't let her take you," he said, his voice raw.
"I've lost her once, I won't lose you too."
The words cut deep, "You mean you won't lose her again?" I said bitterly, pulling my arm back.
Kael's eyes snapped to mine…."No, I meant what I said."
"How can you, when I have her face, her memories, her mark?"
He was so close now I could feel the heat radiating from his body.
"You're not her, Elara," he said softly, his hand coming up to cup my face. "And that's what terrifies me, because I'm starting to care about you, not the ghost she left behind."
The admission hung between us, charged and dangerous, I wanted to believe him so badly it hurt.
"I'm losing time," I whispered.
"Hours I can't account for, what if I'm already gone?"
"You're still you," Kael said fiercely, both hands framing my face now. "I can see it in your eyes, the way you fight, she never did that."
Tears spilled down my cheeks and he wiped them away with his thumbs.
"I'm scared," I admitted.
"So am I," he said…
We stood there for a long moment, then he dropped his hands and stepped back.
"Get some rest, I'll keep researching."
"Elara?" he called as I reached the door.
I looked back.
"Don't go anywhere alone, especially at night, promise me."
"I promise," I said, even though something told me it was a promise I wouldn't be able to keep.
That night I dreamed of blood.
I woke up standing in darkness, cold stone beneath my bare feet, the smell of iron thick in the air.
I looked down and my hands were covered in something warm and wet, blood.
A knife gleamed in my right hand, dripping red onto the floor.
I stumbled backward and my foot hit something solid.
I looked down and screamed, a wolf guard lay at my feet, his throat cut clean across.
"No," I whispered, the knife falling from my hand, "I didn't."
Footsteps echoed down the corridor, Captain Riven appeared with his men, when he saw me his face went pale.
"My lady, what have you done?"
Before I could speak a laugh echoed through my mind, Seraphina's laugh.
"We're sharing now, little light, your hands, my will."
"No," I gasped, gripping my head, "get out of me."
More footsteps, heavier this time, Kael appeared at the end of the corridor.
His eyes taking in the scene, the dead guard, the knife, the blood covering me, his expression shifted from horror to something harder.
"Lock down the castle." he ordered Riven, "no one speaks of this.
Is that clear?"
"Yes, my lord."
Kael crossed to me slowly,
"Elara, look at me."
I forced my eyes up to meet him.
"Did you do this?" he asked.
"I don't know, I was asleep and then I was here."
Something flickered in his eyes, "From now on, you don't leave my sight, not for a moment."
"You think I'm dangerous."
"I think you're in danger," he corrected, "and I'm not taking any more chances."
The guards moved to escort me away and as they did I caught my reflection in a puddle of blood on the floor.
But it wasn't my face staring back, it was Seraphina's, her silver eyes gleaming with triumph, her smile wide and victorious.
She was winning, and we both knew it.