Page 61 of Blood Marked

Now she felt like wildfire caught in human skin.

Once they finally reached the place he was being held, Selene took a moment to gather her surroundings.

The Drowning Cells weren’t cells at all. They werecaverns—dug into the base of the mountain, lined with ancient runes and pulsing with faint wards. Chains hung from the ceilings. Some were damp. Others bloodstained.

Selene’s stomach twisted.

They stopped outside a thick iron door.

Nyra whispered something to the guard—one of hers—and the man stepped aside.

Selene slipped through the opening, quiet as shadow. And there he was.

Shirtless. Blood streaked down one arm. His back was to her, shoulders tense, like he’d sensed her long before she entered.

“Selene?” he said, voice hoarse.

Instead of answering, she ran to him.

He turned just in time for her to throw her arms around his chest, pressing her face to his shoulder.

“I’m okay,” he said, stunned.

His arms wrapped tightly around her.

“I told you,” she whispered. “I’m not Elara. I’m not going to let you carry this alone.”

“I had it under control.”

She held back a harsh laugh. “Yeah, it seems that way. Now come on before your sister has to explain why she’s here to anyone else besides her own man.”

Ten minutes later, they were gone.

Nyra had packed bags—food, blades, stolen court sigils—and opened one of the Veil paths used only by old couriers and thieves.

“Where are we going?” Selene asked as they moved through the hidden trail.

Kael glanced back at her, his voice grim. “The haunted forest.”

Selene blinked. “That’s not a metaphor?”

“No,” Kael said. “It’s literal.”

“Great,” she muttered. “Can’t wait.”

He smiled despite himself.

The Veil forest loomed. Dark. Dense. Breathing.

It wasn’t silent, but it wasn’t alive in the way mortal forests were. No birdsong. No rustle of wind. Just whispers. Distant, wrong. Echoes from both sides of the Veil bleeding together.

Selene walked beside Kael, their arms brushing.

They didn’t speak for a long time. Not until she reached for his hand. He looked at her. Her fingers laced through his.

“I don’t need the prophecy,” she said softly. “I don’t need the bond or the title or the court.”

Kael swallowed hard.

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