---
Pain.
Luna's entire body ached as if she had been torn apart and pieced back together by an unseen force. Her breaths were shallow, her chest rising and falling in uneven rhythms. Yet, beneath the exhaustion, something else stirred.
Something new.
Something wrong.
The moment she opened her eyes, Ahava was at her side. His golden-brown gaze flickered with relief, but there was something harder beneath it—concern.
"You scared the hell out of me," he muttered, his voice thick with emotion.
Luna let out a weak breath. "Wasn't planning on dying."
Ahava huffed, crossing his arms. "Good, because after what you did, death might have been the easier option."
She sat up slowly, wincing as her muscles protested. "What do you mean?"
Ahava hesitated, then exhaled. "You awakened something, Luna. Your power—it wasn't just celestial. It was something else. Something more."
The memory hit her all at once.
The battle. The heat of the prince's body against hers. The shockwave.
And then—
Her hand trembling as she reached toward her chest.
She felt… different.
Stronger.
But also… incomplete.
Ahava's sharp gaze caught the subtle shift in her expression. "Luna, what happened out there?"
Her lips parted, but she hesitated.
How could she explain it?
How could she say that when she touched the prince, she felt something tether itself to her?
How could she admit that—deep in her bones—she knew she had left something behind?
Something that now belonged to him?
Her fingers clenched into the fabric of her cloak. "It doesn't matter."
Ahava studied her for a long moment, clearly unconvinced, but he didn't press further. Instead, he rose to his feet.
"The others are waiting for you," he said. "They're… different now. They saw what you did. They're looking at you like you're something more than a leader."
Luna frowned. "Like what?"
Ahava met her gaze, his voice quiet.
"Like you're a goddess."
---
The Prince's Curse
Far from Luna's camp, inside the grand halls of the Sun Clan's palace, the prince stood before a mirror, his expression carved from stone.
He had removed his shirt, exposing the celestial mark that still glowed faintly against his bronze skin. His fingers hovered over it, but he didn't dare touch it.
The pain had lessened since the battle.
But it had not disappeared.
Worse, it reacted—flaring with agonizing heat whenever she crossed his mind.
And she would not leave his mind.
No matter how much he tried to push her from his thoughts, no matter how much he wanted to hate her, the mark refused to let him.
It burned for her.
Craved her.
And the more he denied it, the more it punished him.
A sharp knock at his chamber door.
"Enter," he bit out.
One of his generals stepped inside, his expression careful. "My lord. Scouts have returned. The Moon Clan's forces are rallying. And their leader… she has awakened something powerful."
The prince exhaled slowly. "I know."
The general hesitated. "What are your orders?"
The prince's gaze darkened.
He had every reason to strike now.
To remind her that no power she unlocked would ever make her his equal.
And yet…
His hand brushed over the mark on his chest.
No.
This battle was no longer about clans or power.
It was about her.
And he intended to make her pay for whatever she had done to him.
A slow smirk curved his lips.
"Tell them to prepare for war."
But deep down, he knew—
This war was already lost.
Because his body was betraying him.
And the moment he saw her again, he wasn't sure if he wanted to destroy her…
Or claim her.
---