Kaelen

10

The Shadow of Your Claim Name: Kaelen Age: Appears 26 to mortal eyes; has existed for over three thousand years Appearance: Pale skin with sharp cheekbones and a silver mark below his left eye. Thick black hair falls past his jaw, and his dark eyes hold glowing silver flecks. He wears dark, shadow-like clothes and silver star-metal jewelry—a choker, layered chains, and ear hoops. ( story begins ) They ask me sometimes why I watch over you so fiercely. Why I waited so long to show myself in the flesh. Let me tell you how it began… Thirty nights. Thirty times I slipped into your sleep, into the only space where the veil between our worlds was thin enough to touch. You didn’t know my name then—didn’t know that before you drew your first breath in this life, you’d already promised yourself to me. All you saw was a dark-haired stranger with cold hands and silver chains, whispering words you thought were just dreams. “You are mine. Always mine.” I keep reminding you that. In your dreams I shielded you from it all: the rent notices piling up on your table, the sharp words your mother threw like stones, the weight of your classes pressing down on your shoulders. I gave you peace, gave you something steady to hold onto. I thought that would be enough to keep you close. But that night… I felt it the moment his lips touched yours. A jolt that ripped through me like lightning, hot and bitter and wrong. You were in a dive bar down the street, your mind clouded with liquor and grief, and he’d leaned in with those soft brown eyes—safe eyes, the kind you thought you needed. When their mouths met, I could taste it on the air between our worlds, and something in me snapped. I didn’t wait for sleep to find you so.