Kael sat in the darkness of Celestia's personal chambers, the flickering candles casting long shadows on the stone walls. The quiet hum of magic still buzzed in the air, remnants of the battle with Damien lingering like a storm cloud overhead. He could feel it—the pull of fate, the unyielding tug of the prophecy that had bound him to Celestia from the very beginning.
But tonight, the tension between them was different. After the chaos, after the bloodshed, the air was thick with something else—desire, unspoken and forbidden. Celestia had been distant since their confrontation with Damien, her icy demeanor once again shutting him out, as it always did. But Kael couldn't ignore the way her gaze lingered on him when she thought he wasn't looking. The way her lips trembled just slightly when he spoke of their shared destiny.
She needed him. She just didn't know it yet.
The door creaked open, and Celestia stepped into the room, her movements graceful but tense. The firelight caught in her raven hair, illuminating the sharp lines of her face, and Kael's heart skipped a beat. She was a force to be reckoned with—ruthless, beautiful, and untouchable.
But tonight, she was different.
"What's this about?" Celestia's voice was low, guarded, as she closed the door behind her, cutting off the outside world. She studied him for a moment, her gaze unwavering, before crossing the room to stand before him. "Why are you sitting in the dark like this?"
Kael didn't answer immediately, letting the silence hang heavy between them. His eyes roamed over her, the weight of everything that had passed between them pressing down on him. She wasn't just a queen, a powerful figure in a world of chaos. She was something more—something ancient, cursed, and irrevocably tied to him.
He stood slowly, his body moving with purpose, and stepped toward her. "I came here for a reason, Celestia," he said quietly, his voice firm. "We need to talk about what happens next."
Celestia raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into a small smirk, but there was no humor in it. "I've already made it clear that I'm not interested in your promises, Kael. Your magic, your love—it's all too dangerous." She paused, her expression darkening. "I'm not some fragile little thing that needs saving."
Kael's eyes softened, but his resolve remained unchanged. "I never said you were fragile. But there's more to this than either of us can control."
He took a deep breath, gathering the courage to speak the words he had been holding inside for so long. "I've seen the ritual. The one that can break the curse, the one that binds you to your past. But it's dangerous, Celestia. It's a forbidden magic, and it will cost us both more than we're ready for."
For the first time since he had entered the room, Celestia's eyes flickered with something other than coldness—fear. It was brief, barely perceptible, but Kael caught it, and it drove him forward.
"What ritual?" Her voice dropped to a whisper, the sharp edge of her previous tone gone, replaced by something akin to dread.
Kael stepped closer to her, his breath coming faster as he spoke, feeling the weight of his words. "It's the only way to break the curse completely. But it involves a bond between us, one that will bind us in ways neither of us can predict. The magic is powerful, ancient, and... unpredictable."
Celestia's lips parted, her breath catching. "A bond?"
Kael nodded, his hand instinctively reaching for her, though he stopped himself before touching her. "Yes. But this bond, it's not just magic—it's something deeper. It's the kind of power that can change everything. It can destroy us, or it can save us. It's all tied to the prophecy, to the two of us."
Celestia took a step back, her expression unreadable. "And you think I'll just let you perform this ritual? You think I'll trust you with something like that?"
Kael's heart raced, but he stood firm. "You don't have to trust me. You don't have to want this, Celestia. But we don't have a choice."
Celestia was silent for a long moment, her gaze shifting away from him, as if searching for something in the shadows that surrounded them both. "What's the price?" Her voice was barely a whisper, the words laced with a sense of inevitability.
Kael didn't hesitate. "The price is you. It's your soul, Celestia. The bond will tie us both to a fate that neither of us can escape. And once it's done, there's no turning back."
For the briefest of moments, Kael saw a flicker of vulnerability in Celestia's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced once again by the cold, calculating queen he knew so well.
"You're asking me to gamble everything," Celestia said, her voice sharp with skepticism. "You're asking me to trust you, Kael. But how can I trust someone who's never been honest with me?"
Kael's chest tightened, and he stepped closer, his voice low and intense. "I've been honest with you from the start, Celestia. I've never hidden the truth from you. This is it—this is our only chance to end this curse."
Celestia stared at him for a long moment, her mind clearly torn. Then, with a swift motion, she turned away from him, walking toward the window, her back to him. "I can't do it," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "I can't risk everything for a chance at something that might not even work."
Kael stood still, the distance between them growing more painful with each passing second. "Then we both lose, Celestia."
For a long time, there was nothing but silence between them, heavy and suffocating. Then, finally, Celestia spoke, her voice barely audible.
"Fine."
Kael's heart skipped a beat. He stepped forward, closer to her, his pulse racing. "What do you mean?"
She didn't turn around, but Kael could hear the finality in her voice as she spoke.
"Let's do it. But know this, mage—I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for me. And if you fail me…"
She didn't finish the sentence, but Kael didn't need her to. He could already feel the weight of her words—and the darkness that would follow if they failed.
The ritual was about to begin.