Chapter 3 The Blood That Remembers

Kael didn't bleed easily.

But the mark on his chest wasn't just burning-it was cracking open. Thin, glowing lines spread like veins of molten lava beneath his skin, pulsing with something wild and ancient. It wasn't pain exactly-it was deeper. Like the earth itself had reached inside him and split something loose.

He dropped to one knee in the ash, trying to steady his breathing as Alero backed away, her eyes wide with something between awe and horror.

"What did you see?" he asked, voice hoarse.

Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard.

"My mother," she said finally. "I saw my mother."

Kael's stomach twisted.

"She's dead."

"I know. But she... she spoke to me."

His brow furrowed. "That's not possible."

"She said your name," Alero whispered.

The air shifted, growing still. Even the wind paused, as if the whole forest were holding its breath. The fire around them had snuffed out, leaving only scorched snow and smoke curling like memory.

Kael stood slowly. "What else did she say?"

Alero looked down, her hands trembling at her sides. "She said the bond wasn't meant to link us to each other."

He blinked. "Then what was it for?"

Her voice was barely audible. "To trap him."

A shiver ran through Kael. "Who?"

"I don't know," she murmured. "But he's already inside me."

Before Kael could respond, a new sound broke through the silence.

Clapping slow and mocking.

A man stepped into the clearing like he belonged there. Tall, dressed in a long black coat. His silver-white hair was tied back, and a single ring pulsed on his finger, red and eerie, like a wound refusing to close.

The air around him warped,-bent, like gravity itself bowed away.

Alero flinched.

Kael instinctively moved to block her.

The man smiled like he'd seen this scene before. "Well, well," he drawled. "Isn't this adorable? The cursed and the clueless. My two favorite types."

Kael's claws emerged. "Who are you?"

The man arched a brow. "I'm what your Council buried. What her mother tried to erase. And what you just let out."

He looked straight at Alero.

"Hello, daughter."

Her knees gave out. She hit the ground hard, staring at him like the wind had been knocked from her soul.

"No. That's not true."

"I don't lie," he said simply. "That was your mother's gift. Mine is truth. Even when it burns."

Kael surged forward, magic crackling off his body. "She said her father died in the Witch Wars."

The man's smile deepened. "He did."

Then he lifted his hand-and the ring on his finger glowed.

A pulse of energy exploded outward. Alero screamed and collapsed, clutching her ribs. The mark on her side blazed, lighting up the forest with a terrible white flame.

Kael lunged.

The man didn't move. Just flicked two fingers.

Kael froze midair, suspended, limbs locked in place by invisible strings.

"You think you're her protector?" the man asked. "You think this is fate? No. You're her anchor. You were picked to keep her steady long enough for the real storm to break."

Kael's muscles strained, jaw clenched. "Let her go."

The man didn't even look at him. "She's not your mate. She's a vessel. And that bond? It's a seal. It was meant to trap what's inside her, not to save her."

Alero forced herself onto her elbows, breathing hard. "You cursed us."

The man shrugged. "I created you."

"No." Her voice cracked. "My mother-"

"Was powerful," he interrupted. "But even she couldn't burn out the truth. That mark isn't a prison."

He leaned closer, gaze burning into hers.

"It's a key."

He let the words settle like ash.

"And once it finishes unlocking..." He paused and smiled. "You won't be Alero anymore."

Then just like that, he was gone.

Kael hit the ground hard, gasping as magic snapped free. He rolled to his side, heart thundering. His eyes darted to Alero.

"You okay?"

She didn't answer.

Her gaze was fixed on the place where the man had stood. The space still shimmered faintly, like the world itself hadn't finished healing.

Her voice was quiet. "He wasn't lying."

Kael stood slowly. "What do you mean?"

"I've felt him. For years. Since I was a kid, In nightmares. In fire. In blood."

She looked down at her palms. They were scorched.

"He's not just trying to escape," she said. "He's... waiting. Growing."

She looked up.

"He wants to replace me."