armoroflove
Lyra Vale enters the Shadowwood expecting danger, but not the kind that watches her from the trees. The forest reacts to her presence, the relic at her hip wakes, and something unseen begins to follow her with unsettling patience.
Miles away, Kael Draven - the cursed commander of the Shadowborn - feels the disturbance like a bruise beneath his ribs. His deadly bond magic stirs, warning him that fate has chosen again... and he wants nothing to do with it.
Their paths circle each other long before they meet, pulled together by a force neither trusts. The forest pushes. The curse hungers. And when Lyra and Kael finally collide, the bond snaps into place with violent inevitability.
She doesn't want a mate.
He doesn't want another death on his hands.
But the magic binding them doesn't care.
In a world where shadows breathe and ancient curses still bite, Lyra and Kael must decide whether to fight the bond or face the darkness rising around them - together.