The moment the word left her lips—
"Wake."
—Amelia felt the world split.
A shockwave burst from her chest, silent yet violent, rippling through the walls, the floor, the very air. The frost coating her window shattered outward like exploding stars.
Her knees buckled.
The room spun in a dizzying whirl of darkness and silver light as something long-sealed clawed its way toward the surface.
Her breath hitched.Her pulse hammered.Her vision blurred—
—and then she felt him.
A presence.Familiar.Sharp.Burning with a cold fire.
Kael.
Not physically.Not yet.But his awareness slammed into hers like two worlds colliding. His shock scorched through her mind.
Amelia…?His voice wasn't spoken. It vibrated through her bones.Your power—your fate—it's calling me…
Her heart lurched painfully. "Kael?" she gasped out loud.
A sudden force crushed her lungs.
The curse.
It awakened too.
Dark tendrils slithered from the corners of the room, crawling up the walls like living shadows. A choking pressure wrapped around her throat as if trying to silence her awakening.
Her vision whitened.
Somewhere far above the mansion—
Kai staggered forward on the rooftop, clutching his chest.
"MASTER! Her call—it's not just awakening—she's being smothered!"
Zen's eyes snapped open, glowing silver."Move."
In a single breath, both vanished into the night.
Back in the bedroom—
Amelia collapsed against the desk as the floor warped beneath her feet.Her blood throbbed with heat and ice, her veins burning with a power that shouldn't exist.
The curse's voice shrieked inside her skull:
YOU SHOULD NOT BE ALIVE—
A cold wind blasted the door open.
A figure stepped through the swirling shadows—
A blade glinting at his side.Eyes storm-dark and burning.Breathing hard, as if he had sprinted through the night.
Kael.
Her heart stuttered.
His gaze locked onto her and went feral.
"Amelia—" His voice cracked. "Don't move."
As if she could.
The shadows around her lunged. Kael slashed the air; silver spiritual fire erupted from his blade, ripping the curse's tendrils apart.
He was in front of her in two strides, hands gripping her shoulders.
"Breathe," he commanded, his voice low, urgent. "You're awakening too fast. Your body can't endure this alone."
He looked terrified.
Kael—the cold, disciplined Slayer—was terrified for her.
Another surge hit her, throwing her forward.
Kael caught her around the waist, pulling her against him as if shielding her from the entire world.
His breath brushed her ear.
"I felt it," he murmured hoarsely. "Your fear. Your pain. I felt all of it as if it were mine."
Her eyelids fluttered.
This connection—This heat—This impossible closeness—
It shouldn't exist.
And yet it felt like it always had.
Another wave of power erupted from her core. Kael gritted his teeth, tightening his hold as if trying to anchor her soul inside her body.
"Don't leave," he whispered, voice trembling. "Stay with me."
Her fingers clutched his sleeve. "Kael… I don't know what's happening…"
He leaned his forehead against hers, breath uneven.
"Your fate is waking up," he said softly. "And it's linked to mine now. Whether either of us wants it or not."
Before she could answer—
A calm, deep voice cut through the storm.
"That's enough."
Kael stiffened, but didn't let go.
Master Xuan stepped through the doorway, silver robes moving like fog. The pressure in the room instantly lowered.
He lifted a hand.
The shadows recoiled as if burned.
Amelia's breathing steadied.
Her heartbeat slowed.
Her vision stopped spinning.
Master Xuan studied her—not with pity, but with recognition.As if he was finally seeing who she truly was.
"The curse has accelerated," he said quietly. "And your bloodline has awakened. Staying in this mansion tonight would kill you."
Kael's arms tightened protectively.
"We're taking her with us."
Master Xuan nodded once."It's the only way."
Amelia opened her mouth, but another wave of dizziness hit her. Kael scooped her into his arms before she could stumble.
Her cheeks flushed, but she didn't push him away.
His voice was softer now.Rough.Almost tender.
"I won't let anything hurt you ever again. Not curse, not demon, not fate."
Her eyelids grew heavy.
"Kael…"
"Yes?"
"I wasn't calling for help," she whispered. "But you came anyway."
His breath hitched.
"I'll always come."
Her vision dimmed.Her consciousness slipped.The world dissolved into warmth and shadows.
The last thing she felt—
Was Kael holding her as if she were the most precious thing in existence.