Centuries after Aradon...
The wind howled through the blackened trees, carrying the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted, but it was quickly silenced by something unseen. The dark forest surrounding Blackthorne Castle was no place for the weak, yet a lone figure stood in its shadow, cloaked in the night.
Alec had watched over the castle for years, unseen and unheard. He was the last guardian of a lineage that had long since faded into legend, a hunter sworn to protect the bloodline that lived within those cold stone walls. And now, only one remained—Lady Evelyne, the last daughter of the Blackthorne family.
She was beautiful, hauntingly so. Golden hair cascading down her back, skin pale as the moon, eyes like deep emerald lakes. But she was also alone, trapped within her castle like a bird in a gilded cage. Alec knew the dangers that lurked in the forest—things with hollow eyes and jagged teeth, creatures that whispered her name in the dead of night. They had longed for her since the night her parents perished in that ill-fated shipwreck.
They wanted her.
And he would not allow it.
Evelyne stood by the grand window, staring into the night. A feeling of unease gripped her heart. The air was thick, almost suffocating. She had seen him again—the shadow in the trees. The man who watched her.
For months, she had glimpsed him in the forest, a figure cloaked in green and black, blending with the darkness like a ghost. She told herself it was just a hunter, a rogue who had taken residence in the cursed woods. But deep inside, she felt his gaze was meant only for her.
She had sent guards before, but they never found him. Some never returned at all.
And yet, when she woke from nightmares of unseen horrors creeping toward her, she always found her doors locked, her windows sealed. When she ventured out alone, arrows struck the ground mere inches from her, warning her away from paths unknown.
Was it him?
Was he trying to kill her?
Or… was he keeping something else away?
Alec watched from the treetops, his bow drawn. His heartbeat remained steady, his breathing slow. The creatures were close tonight.
The Veilborn.
They slithered between the trees, their flesh blackened, their eyes empty sockets that saw more than they should. He had hunted them all his life, but they were relentless, drawn to bloodlines like Evelyne's. They whispered in voices that did not belong to them, mimicking the cries of lost lovers, dead friends.
Evelyne was their prize.
Alec let loose an arrow. It sang through the air, striking the first creature between the eyes. A shriek echoed through the forest as the others scurried away, their hunt interrupted.
She would be safe tonight.
For now.
The next morning, Evelyne found the body.
It lay just beyond the castle walls, twisted and burned, as if struck by something unnatural. The face was wrong, stretched into an expression of eternal hunger.
She turned to flee, but then she saw it.
An arrow lodged deep in its skull.
The same black-feathered arrows she had seen piercing trees near her window. The same ones that had always landed at her feet when she wandered too far.
It was him.
He wasn't hunting her.
He was saving her.
That night, Evelyne stood at her window again, staring into the forest. But this time, she was not afraid.
This time, she whispered, "Thank you."
And for the first time, the shadow in the trees bowed his head before vanishing into the night.