The next morning, Daemon waited for her by the cliffside.
No guards. No orders. Just him.
Sienna approached cautiously, her hoodie fluttering in the breeze. The last time they stood this close, she'd still been locked in a cell. Now, there was something different in her — power, poise… and something softer too.
"You shifted," he said quietly.
Sienna folded her arms. "Was that a surprise?"
Daemon gave a weak smile. "It shouldn't have been."
They stood in silence. Wind rushed through the trees.
Finally, he spoke.
"There's something you need to know. Something I've kept from you… from everyone."
Sienna's brow creased, but she nodded.
Daemon turned to the horizon.
"When I was fifteen, a seer came to my father. She was half-crazed, half-blind. But what she said stayed with me forever."
He swallowed.
"She said, 'The one who holds your heart will also hold your death. When you love her, you will die by her hands.'"
Sienna's breath hitched.
"I thought it was just superstition," he said. "Until I met you."
"The moment I looked at you… the bond hit, and all I felt was terror. Because if I loved you, I would die. That's what I believed."
Sienna's voice trembled. "So you locked me away."
"I didn't know what else to do," he admitted. "You were innocent. But I was… afraid."
She looked away, jaw clenched.
"Do you still believe it?" she asked.
Daemon didn't answer right away. Then, slowly, he shook his head.
"No," he whispered. "Because you've had every chance to hurt me… and you didn't. You saved a child. You warned us about the rogues. You saved me."
He turned to her fully now.
"Maybe I was cursed, Sienna. But maybe you weren't the cause — maybe you were the cure."
Sienna looked at him, the pain in her chest slowly softening.
"You still don't trust me," she said, but her voice had no bite.
"I do," he said. "But I'm still learning how to trust myself."
And then — for the first time — he reached out and took her hand.
No orders. No chains. Just Daemon and Sienna, standing at the edge of something fragile and terrifying.
But maybe… also something worth fighting for.