She jumped 18

The tower chamber was a cage disguised as luxury. Ancient stone walls curved upward into darkness, carved with symbols that seemed to writhe in the candlelight. They’d dressed it with silk curtains and golden fixtures, but the iron bars across the windows told the truth.

I traced my fingers along the wall carvings, my breath catching. The sigils were identical to mine—crescent moons intertwined with spiraling vines, runes of binding and freedom carved deep into stone. And there, scratched desperate and raw: “We chose too late.”

“Previous Luna brides,” I whispered to the empty room. Women who’d walked this path before me, who’d felt this same fire burning through their veins.

Footsteps echoed up the spiral staircase. A guard appeared, his face grim. “The Council has ordered a full investigation into your bloodline and… connection. You’re to remain here until they reach their verdict.”

The door slammed shut. The lock turned with finality.

But I wasn’t truly alone.

That first night, the dreams began.

I felt Hector’s rage like physical heat—saw him standing before the Elder Court, their aged faces twisted with condemnation. His hands were chained behind his back, silver burning against his skin.

“You have violated every sacred law,” Elder Thane’s voice cracked like a whip. “Consorting with forbidden bloodlines, abandoning your duties—”

“I abandoned nothing.” Hector’s voice cut through their accusations. “I fulfilled my purpose.”

“Your purpose was to secure House Veylor’s position, not to chase after some pretender—”

“She’s no pretender.” The words exploded from him with volcanic force. “And I won’t stand here listening to you diminish what you’re too afraid to understand.”

Elder Morvaine leaned forward, her ancient eyes glittering. “Strip his Alpha title. He’s proven himself unworthy.”

But before they could act, another voice cut through the chamber.

“Wait.” Lord Darius emerged from the shadows, his father beside him. “I have a proposal.”

I jerked awake, sweat-soaked and shaking. The shared dream felt more real than my tower prison. Somewhere in the castle, Hector was fighting for both our lives while I lay helpless.

The next vision came three days later.

Darius’s father faced Hector in a private chamber, his voice smooth as poisoned silk. “Exile with the girl, or lose her permanently. Those are your options.”

Hector’s laugh was sharp enough to draw blood. “You think those are my only choices?”

“Be practical, boy. Take her and run. Live out your days in some remote territory where no one knows your faces.”

“And abandon everything we could accomplish here? Everything we could change?” Hector stepped closer, his presence filling the room. “You think love is a weakness that makes me vulnerable. I know it’s a weapon that makes me unstoppable.”

The older man’s face darkened. “Then you’re a fool.”

“Maybe. But I’m a fool who won’t run.”

I woke gasping, my skin on fire.

The burning spread through my veins like liquid starlight, every nerve ending screaming for contact. My sigils blazed against the darkness, casting writhing shadows on the stone walls. I pressed my palms against the cold floor, fighting the overwhelming urge that clawed through me.

I needed to be touched. Needed skin against skin, breath against breath.

I needed him.

A soft knock echoed through the chamber.

“Lyssira.” His voice was rough, desperate. “If I don’t see you tonight, I will lose control completely.”

I stumbled to the door, my hands shaking as I worked the locks from the inside. The iron bars hadn’t been sealed with magic—just ordinary metal that bent to supernatural strength.

Hector stood in the doorway, chest heaving like he’d run for miles. His eyes burned gold in the darkness, pupils dilated with barely restrained need. Sweat glistened on his skin despite the cool night air.

“How did you get past the guards?”

“I didn’t ask permission.” He stepped inside, and the temperature in the room spiked. “They’re unconscious, not dead. We have maybe an hour before they wake.”

I backed toward the ancient bed, every instinct screaming at me to close the distance between us. “This is madness.”

“Everything about us is madness.” He followed slowly, predator stalking prey. “But I can’t fight it anymore. The bond, the dreams, this fire in my blood—I’m losing pieces of myself every day we’re apart.”

We reached the bed simultaneously. I sank onto the silk covers, and he settled beside me—close enough that I could feel his heat, far enough that we weren’t quite touching.

The air between us crackled with electricity.

“In the interrogation,” he said quietly, “they asked why I really joined the Games. What I was truly after.”

“What did you tell them?”

“The truth.” His fingers hovered inches from my face. “I joined to protect a future. Not to win a bride.”

“What future?”

“One where Luna brides choose their own fate. Where bloodlines mean strength, not subjugation.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “A future where you don’t have to hide what you are.”

Our mouths were inches apart. I could taste his breath, feel the tremor in his muscles as he fought for control. Every cell in my body screamed to close that final distance.

Instead, I pulled back.

“If you mark me now,” I said through gritted teeth, “we lose the Games. We lose everything we’ve fought for.”