Chapter 1
“Get over here!” Heidara called, her green eyes dancing between joy and something more alluring as she backed toward a nearby stream. They were just outside the quiet town of Wrenford now, and the air, at last, was warmer.
Alaric grinned as he finished lacing his boots. She looked beautiful as always. Sunlight caught her long, golden hair as it blew across her smiling face, and he found himself aching to run his fingers through it.
There was a playful boldness in her gaze that nearly unraveled him, stirring the sudden urge to pull her close and kiss her until the world disappeared. He couldn’t name a single flaw in her. Even the way she scrunched her nose in frustration only made his heart tighten.
They hadn’t taken that step yet. Not fully. But the growing heat between them was undeniable. Every look, every brush of the hand said what words hadn’t yet. And thank the stars, it wasn’t one-sided.
“Stop walking away from me,” he teased.
Heidara stilled, the challenge in her eyes unmistakable, and he found himself stepping forward without thinking.
Privacy had been scarce since they left Nerathar.
Their journey back to Centaro had been long and cold, filled with treacherous climbs, quiet hikes through frozen wilderness, and nights spent hiding behind rocks and trees, always watching for hidden Noskari.
But now, in this small pocket of warmth and light, he had her.
And he wouldn’t waste it.
As he reached her, the mischief faded from her face, leaving something softer, more exposed.
His hands settled at her waist as he pulled her in, their bodies aligning, and her breath hitched against him.
Her gaze lingered on his lips, and when it rose to meet his again, the desire in her eyes shattered his restraint.
He kissed her, and everything else fell away.
Her lips were warm and soft beneath his, and he leaned into her without hesitation.
When she opened to him, he followed, deepening the moment as their breaths and movements matched naturally, until nothing beyond them seemed to exist. He didn’t want to stop.
He couldn’t stop.
Because suddenly, he was drowning—not in her, but in something cold and black. A strong pull clawed at him from within, like a phantom hand gripping his soul and dragging him under a dark sea.
Oh no, no, no…
He could still see through his own eyes, but his body no longer obeyed him. The kiss hadn’t stopped, yet it wasn’t him anymore. Something else had slipped in and the shadow he thought he’d buried now moved through him like a parasite wearing his skin.
Heidara’s scream ripped through the air, sharp enough to sting his ears, as his hand lashed out, closing around her throat with brutal, inhuman force.