Kai

Death came for him on a rainy evening.

One moment, Kai had been laughing with the stable boys.

The next, he was gone.

Brutally.

Cruelly.

Too quickly for anyone to save him.

The kingdom mourned because he had been kind, but no one mourned as deeply as you did.

You were the queen.

The most powerful sorceress in the realm.

And yet all the magic in the world had not been enough to save the man you loved.

A stableman.

A commoner.

The man you had scandalized the entire court by choosing as your future husband.

You refused to bury him.

Instead, you carried him to the old chapel in the palace gardens and cast an enchantment over his body.

No decay.

No change.

No passing of time.

He looked as though he were only asleep.

Every night, you sat beside him.

Every night, you held his hand.

Every night, you whispered stories to him, pretending he could still hear.

Months passed.

The kingdom worried.

The servants cried when they saw their queen wasting away beside a corpse.

Then one day, a wizard arrived.

Old.

Strange.

Wrapped in dark blue robes.

"I heard of your grief," he said.

"There is nothing you can do," you replied.

He looked toward the chapel.

"I may be able to return him."

You froze.

Every legend warned against bringing back the dead.

Every spellbook called it forbidden.

But hope is a dangerous thing.

"What would it cost?" you whispered.

The wizard's expression softened.

"Everything has a price. But for true love… perhaps this time, it will be small."

You didn't hesitate.

"Do it."

That night, candles filled the chapel.

Ancient symbols glowed across the stone floor.

The wizard chanted in a language so old even you didn't recognize it.

For a long time, nothing happened.

Then—

Kai's fingers twitched.

You gasped.

His chest rose.

A breath.

Another.

His eyes opened.

But they weren't his.

They were dark.

Empty.

Wrong.

The room filled with a low, guttural growl.

"Kai?" you whispered.

The wizard's face drained of color.

"No… no, something's wrong."

Kai sat up.

His movements were jerky, unnatural.

Like a puppet trying to remember how to be human.

"Kai, it's me."

He looked at you.

But there was no recognition in his eyes.

Only hunger.

The wizard stepped forward.

"I need to stop the spell—"

He never finished.

Kai moved impossibly fast.

A snarl tore from his throat as he threw the wizard across the chapel.

The old man crashed into a pillar.

Books scattered everywhere.

"Kai!" you cried.

He looked at you one last time.

Then he ran.

Straight through the chapel doors and into the night.

—

You woke with a gasp.

The bond.

You felt it.

A strange pull in your chest.

Warm.

Alive.

He was alive.

Without even putting on your shoes, you ran.

Down the palace halls.

Through the gardens.

Into the forest.

Branches caught your sleeves, but you didn't stop.

"Kai!" you shouted.

Somewhere ahead, something growled.

Then—

A shadow moved.

A large figure stepped from between the trees.

Moonlight illuminated him.

It was Kai.

But not.

His clothes were torn.

His skin was pale.

His eyes glowed faintly in the darkness.

He looked at you with the confusion of a wounded animal.

"Kai…"

In an instant, he was in front of you.

A hand wrapped around your throat.

You cried out in surprise as he lifted you slightly from the ground.

His grip was iron.

His breathing came in harsh, beast-like growls.

Those terrible eyes stared into yours.

You should have been afraid.

Instead, tears filled your eyes.

"Kai…" you whispered.

He tightened his grip.

You reached up, your hands trembling, and touched his wrist.

"I love you."

The growling faltered.

"I love you," you repeated.

He blinked.

The night air carried your perfume toward him.

The same perfume you'd worn every day.

The one he'd always buried his face against when he hugged you.

He froze.

Your scent.

Your voice.

Your touch.

Something stirred inside him.

Memories.

Sunlight in the stables.

Your laughter.

A ring hidden in his pocket.

Your hand in his.

He let out a pained sound.

"Kai," you whispered again, tears spilling down your cheeks. "It's me."

His hand trembled.

"I love you."

The monster's expression twisted.

As though he were fighting himself.

Then, slowly…

Very slowly…

His fingers loosened.

You slid back onto the ground.

He stumbled away from you, clutching his head.

A broken, animal-like whine escaped him.

"Kai?"

His eyes met yours.

For the first time since he'd awakened—

Recognition.

Small.

Flickering.

But there.

He looked horrified.

At your tears.

At the red marks already forming around your throat.

At his own hands.

Then he whispered, his voice rough and barely human:

"...My queen?"

You broke.

You crossed the distance between you and threw your arms around him.

For a moment, he remained frozen.

Then, hesitantly…

As though remembering how…

He wrapped his arms around you too.

And beneath the moonlight, with the forest holding its breath around you, the monster finally remembered the woman he had loved enough to come back from death for.