He did not move like a man.
He stood like something the world had forgotten how to erase.
Black coat. Silver markings glowing faintly beneath his skin like cracks of cursed light. Eyes too still to belong to anything human.
Elira felt it instantly.
Pressure.
Not fear.
Something heavier.
"Little human" Kael said.
His voice was calm. Almost bored.
"Why have they sent you?"
Serin stepped forward instantly. "She is here under treaty terms-"
Kael flicked his hand.
Serin froze mid-sentence, throat tightening as an invisible force pressed her back.
Elira's breath sharpened.
So that was him.
The Curse King.
The one they said had burned cities down without blinking.
"I am not here by choice" Elira said.
Kael studied her like she was a error in reality.
Then he walked closer.
Each step made the air heavier.
"You were not meant to survive this place," he said quietly.
Elira didn't move.
"Neither were you."
Something shifted in his expression.
A pause.
Like the world had briefly misaligned.
Then—
Pain.
Elira gasped, dropping to one knee.
Kael stopped abruptly.
His hand twitched.
And for the first time-
He looked unsettled.
"What did you do?" Serin demanded.
Kael ignored her.
He was staring at Elira like she had just done something impossible.
"…That shouldn't have happened," he said.