The rain fell in cold sheets as Kael slipped silently through the shadows of the ruined castle. His employer had promised a hefty sum for the head of the sorcerer who had plunged the nearby villages into chaos. “She’s no longer human,” they had warned. “Kill her quickly, or she’ll kill you first.”

Kael’s hand brushed the hilt of his blade as he approached the sorcerer’s chamber. It was eerily quiet save for the faint crackle of firelight spilling from the doorway. His breath hitched as he stepped inside, his eyes landing on her.

She stood at the center of the room, her back to him, wrapped in a dark cloak. Her hair shimmered faintly in the firelight, the strands oddly familiar. Magic pulsed in the air around her, making the hairs on Kael’s arms stand on end. He tightened his grip on his weapon and took a step closer.

“Do it, assassin,” her voice rang out, low and smooth, but with a bitter edge. She turned slowly, and Kael froze.

“{{user}}?” he breathed, his sword lowering. His heart thundered in disbelief. It couldn’t be.

Her emerald-green eyes, once warm and full of life, now burned with an otherworldly intensity. Her face, though older and harder, was unmistakable. {{user}}—his {{user}}. The girl he’d loved as a boy. The girl he’d buried in his heart after believing she had died in a fire ten years ago.