Lysandra crouched among the gnarled roots of an ancient tree, her breath steady as she listened to the soldiers' hushed conversation.
A prince was hunting her.
That changed everything.
She had always been on the run, but if royalty was involved, it meant she was more than just a fugitive. She was a threat.
The thought sent a slow, almost chilling thrill through her.
She had spent years fearing the power that hunted her. Now, it was her turn to become the nightmare they whispered about.
A Dangerous Name
"…Prince Kastian wants her alive," one of the men muttered.
Lysandra's fingers tensed against the rough bark. Kastian.
She knew that name.
The second-born prince. The cursed heir.
Rumors swirled about him like a storm—how he had been born under an ill omen, how the king had locked him away in the depths of the castle for years, fearing his very existence.
A prince marked by shadows.
A prince… like her.
Her pulse thrummed with something cold. Calculating.
If he was after her, it meant he understood her curse. He might even know how to control it.
But Lysandra had no intention of being captured.
She watched the soldiers shuffle uneasily, their hands tightening on their weapons. Even they seemed afraid of their orders.
Good. They should be.
A Hunter Among Prey
A single step sent her gliding through the darkness. Her movements were effortless now, the shadows responding to her will without resistance.
She could take them all.
A flick of her fingers, and the first soldier stiffened, gasping as darkness wrapped around his throat.
Another turned, too late. A silent blade of shadow pierced his chest, swallowing his scream.
The others scattered, panic taking hold.
Lysandra's lips curled.
Hunting was so much easier when the prey ran.
One soldier managed to grab a horn, raising it to sound the alarm—
But Lysandra was faster.
She appeared before him in a blink, pressing a cold hand against his heart. The shadows drank him dry.
He fell without a sound.
The last man standing bolted into the trees.
She could let him go. Let him spread the fear.
Instead, she tilted her head, eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight.
Let the prince know. Let him prepare.
She would come for him soon.