The rain had no mercy that night.
It hammered the rooftops like war drums, flooded the narrow stone alleys, and soaked Elira Veyne down to her skin as she ran—barefoot, breathless, heart racing.
Behind her, the sharp clang of boots chased through the dark.
"Stop! In the name of the Crown!"
She didn't stop.
Her cloak snagged on a crate as she turned into a side street. She ripped free, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. She had just one thing on her mind:
Don't let them catch me. Don't let them silence me.
Minutes ago, she had been on stage—singing.
Not a performance for nobles. Not a polite, royal-approved lullaby. This had been different. Raw. Forbidden.
Her voice had glowed.
The crowd had gasped.
The walls had trembled.
And the guards had come running.
Elira ducked under an archway and slid behind a broken cart, chest heaving. Her soaked hair stuck to her cheeks, her lips trembling from cold… or maybe fear.
That's when she saw him.
Just a few feet away, a man leaned against the wall, half in shadow. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Bleeding.
His shirt was torn at the side, revealing a deep gash. He didn't flinch. He didn't speak.
But his eyes…
Storm-gray. Unmoving. Watching her.
Elira's instincts screamed to run again—but something in his gaze held her there. Something more dangerous than the guards.
Then he spoke, voice low and rough like thunder wrapped in velvet.
"The moment you looked at me," he said, "I knew my life would never be mine again."
She froze.
"What… who are you?"
He didn't answer. Just stepped forward, slow and careful. The rain dripped off his jaw, and something glinted at his side—knuckle wraps. Bloodstained.
A fighter.
A dangerous one.
Yet not afraid of her. Not angry. Just… certain.
As if he'd been waiting for her.
Elira's heart pounded. Not from fear this time, but something else. Something electric. Like the moment before a song begins, and the world holds its breath.
And in that silence, he offered his hand.
"If you keep running, they'll catch you."
"And if I go with you?"
A flicker of a smile.
"Then everything changes."