The Love That Defied Fate: Gomen And Rehitt's Forbidden Tale

emember when th

r. The next, her knees buckled, the room

apped her l

ame th

Flames reached high, curling like serpents, painting everything in shades of red and gold. The heat pressed against her

rs ago burned out one by one, falling from the sky like shattered ember

hest

er voice raw in the chok

re listene

cornered its prey. She covered her face, her arms shaking, but even then she could feel it

n she s

at the heart

me as if they belonged to him. His hair caught the firelight, d

rm-

ercing.

as if the world had been

ted, but no sound

lames curled around his body without touching him, as if they obeyed him. His ga

spers c

hild will me

hey will b

slammed in

out, though her voice cr

him, bowing at his heels, making a path where none should exist. Another

et scraping over ground t

boy didn

world into a burning sea. He stood inches away, towering ov

ath trembled

u here?" sh

w. Rough. A sound that felt lik

lready

heat pressed closer, curling

don

and steady, as if reaching for her face. But before his fingers touched her

d them, the wo

-red. And beneath her feet, rivers of

t the cente

't empty anymor

er palms, licking up her wrists, crawl

roat l

N

s thundered

g star wil

ld will set ki

he fire from her hands, but it clung to her

storm-grey ey

n him. No hesitatio

lways known th

th terror. "I don't wan

r hands into the cracked earth. It spread like blood across th

oser, his voice st

't have

in. She tried to run, but her legs felt heavy, her body pinn

smoke, she heard it , a soun

artb

owerful.

eep and commanding, mat

bent to

ut she didn't feel the pain. The world tilted a

the last thing she saw before

ot uprigh

her nightdress, her hair plastered to her face. The cabin around her was dark a

r chest. Her heart was still racing, still p

been

a d

dn't felt

alms still burned with phantom heat. And the boy's e

old despite the sweat. She moved to the basin of water near

water could was

de-eyed, haunted. She didn't recognize hers

efore she realized it,

s co

nt. The woods outs

knew. The dream hadn't been

ey eyes wasn't just a sha

as r

ady moving to bri

of the basin, her knuckle

into her mind, softer t

ile is

has only j

oat tig

sharp. And for the first time, she wished the dream hadn't e

ark, she only

't know if s

ck came

s. Solid.

eart

hadn't fol

led h

: COUNCIL

the firelight rather than reflect it. Long iron torches burned along the edges, their flames spitting as though angry to be tr

in authority, each sworn not to loyalty, but to survival. The Council of Thorns had a

silver, but his eyes carried the weight of iron, steady and unyielding. Beside him, the Orac

ersation until Karthan raised a

ur spies bring whispers of unrest. Villages speak of signs,fallin

ds, though none dared repeat them aloud. The cursed child

rebellion. If the people believe the cursed child still lives, then faith will rise aga

ing against the wood. "We've been hunting ghosts for two decades. Every shadow is declared dangerous, every misfit brand

n does not summon falling stars. Supersti

nsion. "And yet... there is one name that returns a

r seemed t

hit

Several council members shifted uncomfortably,

ss of breath. "I thought she was dealt with. Erased

has teeth. And now, the people begin to speak of her again. They whisper that she

st stories. Farmers cling to myths when crops fail.

s rebellion alight. Do you wish to wait until th

r, voices clashing lik

y Veyra snapped. "Even if she lives, she can

her eyes gleaming. "Those forgotten often rise with sharper claw

nted to admit it, but they all felt th

able carried weight. "We have tried to silence prophecy with swords. We have tried to outlast it with patience. B

one wanted to consider that

esh, it no longer matters. Rehitt exists in the minds of the people. Th

e leave to hunt her. I will scour the forests, burn every village

it. A brilliant strategy. Why stop at the forests? Why not

trike back. Karthan raised a hand befo

s more stories than it destroys. We need

s the answer is not an army, but a knife. A single cut i

ngered, tempti

His cloak was damp with rain, his eyes wide as though the storm

seen last night. It landed beyond the Blackwood, near the old exile cabins. Villagers speak o

amber

lintered into chaos. Some shouted for war,

g them with a thunderous crack. His voice was s

wn into proof. The cursed chil

ed like poison

sharpened. "Then

irelight. "Say the word, Chancellor, and

than stone. His mind was not on Seryn's sword, nor Ma

ed, "then killing her may only fulfill it fast

uncil

unshakable High Chance

"Then perhaps the greater danger is not her life... but our choice. If we

, spitting sparks

skies, shaking the chamber as tho

orm, one thought burned in

e was no lon

as a

s coming

ROYAL HUN

ounds. Their echoes rolled through the city below, pulling people from sleep,

dinary hunt. Eve

But this one was different. The decree came directly from the High Council after the night of thorns, their voices sharpened by fear of pr

Woods wer

w, their eyes glassy, their voices cracked like broken glass. They spoke of shadows that breathed

ecree: the nobles would

not shake, though his mind stormed beneath the surface. The council's decision was a test, even if they pretended othe

throne,he had no choice but to walk

was not

tall windows. Across his back he strapped a blade longer than his arm, a weapon passed down through his line, its

trusted. It was himself. His

eparing. The noble warriors, dressed in polished armor and riding beasts bred for endurance,

bout dominance. About proving who deserved to stand

rm-grey, the kind that unsettled anyone who met them too long. He had heard the whispers his whole l

efore the reflec

rtyard, the nob

older than him, some scarred from battles, some fattened on privilege, lowered the

ed by years of war, leaned on the spear he

Veiled Woods are no place for

use. "The woods swallow the w

through the nobles. Verrick's lip

was a weight all its own, leaving the council to stretch their influ

ised his staff, his voice

then, prepare your beasts, sharpen your steel, and harden

red, but the so

h a mane like shadow, stamped restlessly as he secured the reins. The beast was as restle

a nervous smile. Barely older than a boy, Seran had th

y prince?" he asked quietly. "About t

before answering. "The woods d

y, though fear stil

he despised was weakness,the way it bent spines and l

cross the sky, the hunters had gathe

arth beneath them. Mist curled between the trunks, shifting like something alive, and the smell of damp s

est among the

dusk. Return at dawn. Bring back proof of your kill, or do

bled away, the hunters spu

orest swallow

tars could barely pierce through, leavin

emember when th

r. The next, her knees buckled, the room

apped her l

ame th

Flames reached high, curling like serpents, painting everything in shades of red and gold. The heat pressed against her

rs ago burned out one by one, falling from the sky like shattered ember

hest

er voice raw in the chok

re listene

cornered its prey. She covered her face, her arms shaking, but even then she could feel it

n she s

at the heart

me as if they belonged to him. His hair caught the firelight, d

rm-

ercing.

as if the world had been

ted, but no sound

lames curled around his body without touching him, as if they obeyed him. His ga

spers c

hild will me

hey will b

slammed in

out, though her voice cr

him, bowing at his heels, making a path where none should exist. Another

et scraping over ground t

boy didn

world into a burning sea. He stood inches away, towering ov

ath trembled

u here?" sh

w. Rough. A sound that felt lik

lready

heat pressed closer, curling

don

and steady, as if reaching for her face. But before his fingers touched her

d them, the wo

-red. And beneath her feet, rivers of

t the cente

't empty anymor

er palms, licking up her wrists, crawl

roat l

N

s thundered

g star wil

ld will set ki

he fire from her hands, but it clung to her

storm-grey ey

n him. No hesitatio

lways known th

th terror. "I don't wan

r hands into the cracked earth. It spread like blood across th

oser, his voice st

't have

in. She tried to run, but her legs felt heavy, her body pinn

smoke, she heard it , a soun

artb

owerful.

eep and commanding, mat

bent to

ut she didn't feel the pain. The world tilted a

the last thing she saw before

ot uprigh

her nightdress, her hair plastered to her face. The cabin around her was dark a

r chest. Her heart was still racing, still p

been

a d

dn't felt

alms still burned with phantom heat. And the boy's e

old despite the sweat. She moved to the basin of water near

water could was

de-eyed, haunted. She didn't recognize hers

efore she realized it,

s co

nt. The woods outs

knew. The dream hadn't been

ey eyes wasn't just a sha

as r

ady moving to bri

of the basin, her knuckle

into her mind, softer t

ile is

has only j

oat tig

sharp. And for the first time, she wished the dream hadn't e

ark, she only

't know if s

ck came

s. Solid.

eart

hadn't fol

led h