Lies. All of it. Because the truth? The truth is that Rheon had his hand on my throat.
And he let me go.
I left the Guild before they could press further.
Yuna and Minji were waiting outside in the alley, dressed in civilian clothes — but their posture screamed ready-for-battle.
“Seori,” Yuna called softly, eyes scanning my face. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” I pushed past them. “It’s over.”
But it wasn’t.
Every step I took echoed with phantom heat from where Rheon had touched me. I could still hear the rasp of his voice in my skull:You’re mine.
No. He’s wrong. He has to be wrong. Back at our safehouse, the silence cracked.
“You’re not fine,” Yuna said, arms crossed, her voice edged with frustration. “Your energy’s spiked. You’re hiding something.”
I went to the sink and splashed cold water on my face. Avoided the mirror. Avoiding them. Minji didn’t speak right away. She studied me, that too-knowing look in her eyes again. Minji never pushed. Shewatched. And that was worse.
Finally, she said it.
“Marks don’t lie, remember that.”
I froze.
“What?” I whispered.
Minji stepped forward.
“The seal on your hand. It’s brighter. Evolving. That only happens if—”
She paused. “—if a mate bond is initiating.”
My stomach dropped. I clenched my fists so tight the bones ached.
“You think I bonded with someone?”
“You’re the one who isn’t saying anything,” Minji said. “So tell us we’re wrong.”
I didn’t. I couldn’t. Later, alone in my room, I stripped off my gloves. The mark glowed faintly. Not holy anymore — warped with crimson at the edges.
I touched it. It pulsed back.
I’m losing myself.
Or maybe… I’m becoming something I was always meant to be. And that’s the part that scares me the most.
They trained me to kill monsters. But they never taught me what to do when one saves your life… and your soul answers his.
Rheon
Shadow Prince
I don’t dream. I haven’t in over six hundred years.
Not when I was drowning in blood. Not when I killed my brothers. Not even when I burned the Demon Court to ash.
