The night was merciless.
Damien's breath came hard and fast as he carried Evelyn through the rain-slick streets, her weight a fragile anchor against his chest. His shirt was torn, soaked with blood—his and hers—but he didn't stop. Not once.
"Stay with me," he murmured, his voice hoarse, raw with something Evelyn had never heard before. Desperation. "Just a little longer."
Her eyelids fluttered, heavy as stone. "Damien… it hurts…"
"I know." His grip tightened. "I swear to you—I'll make it stop."
He turned down a deserted alley, the neon glow of the city fading behind them. Ahead, a black door waited at the end of a brick wall. Damien slammed his palm against a metal scanner, muttering something in a language Evelyn didn't recognize. Ancient. The kind that tasted like power and blood.
The door clicked open.
Inside, the world changed. No glass walls, no marble floors. Just cold steel, low light, and the hum of hidden technology. A safe house buried in shadows.
Damien laid her on a leather couch, his movements sharp, controlled—but his hands trembled when they brushed her face.
The runes on her skin were still glowing faintly, like dying embers.
"Damien…" Her voice was a broken whisper. "Tell me the truth."
He froze.
"You knew," she rasped, tears streaking through the blood on her cheeks. "You knew this would happen. From the beginning."
His jaw clenched. For a moment, he looked like he might lie.
Then he sank to his knees beside her, his silver eyes dark with torment. "Yes."
The word was a blade between them.
She stared at him, heart fracturing. "Why? Why marry me if it meant this? If it meant I'd die?"
"Because if I didn't—Lucien would have found you first." His voice cracked, low and furious. "And if he had you, Evelyn… the world would burn."
Her breath hitched. "What are you talking about?"
Damien exhaled like a man confessing his sins. "You're not just cursed. You're the last of the Hart bloodline—the key to breaking the seal. The one thing that can free what's bound beneath the blood moon."
She shook her head, tears spilling hot and fast. "I don't understand—"
"You don't need to." His fingers gripped hers, hard enough to ground her to life. "You just need to trust me."
Her laugh was bitter, broken. "Trust you? You lied to me about everything."
His chest heaved. For a heartbeat, something raw flashed in his eyes—a plea. "Not about this." His hand came up, cupping her face, thumb brushing her tear-streaked cheek. "I would burn the world before I let him touch you."
Her heart stuttered.
And then—God help her—his mouth was on hers.
The kiss wasn't soft. It was fire and fury, desperation carved into every breath. She tasted his blood, his hunger, his promise—dark and dangerous and holy all at once. Her fingers tangled in his torn shirt, pulling him closer even as her mind screamed don't.
When they broke apart, they were both gasping, the air between them electric, crackling with things neither of them could take back.
Evelyn swallowed hard, her voice shaking. "Damien… if you break the curse… what happens to you?"
His silence was louder than any answer.
And that was when she knew.
He didn't expect to survive.
The alarm screamed like a living thing, red light pulsing through the steel walls.
Damien was on his feet in an instant, gun drawn, movements as precise as a predator's. His voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
"Stay down. Don't move."
Evelyn pushed up on trembling arms. "Damien, what's happening?"
"They found us." His tone was calm—but his eyes were murder. "Lucien's hunters."
Her blood ran cold. "Here?"
He didn't answer. He didn't need to. The sound came—a metallic clang from the corridor outside, boots pounding like war drums. Then the hiss of steel slicing through metal.
The door exploded inward.
Black-clad men poured in, their faces hidden behind masks, their weapons glowing with runes that burned like fire. Not human. Not entirely.
Damien moved like a storm unleashed.
He fired first—shots cracking like thunder, each one glowing blue, ripping through the intruders with deadly precision. But for every one that fell, two more took its place.
Evelyn crawled behind the couch, her heart slamming so hard it hurt. Every instinct screamed at her to run—but there was nowhere to go.
And then she saw it.
One of the men—a blade in his hand, its edge shimmering with the same cursed light as her skin—slipping through the shadows toward Damien's back.
"Damien!" she screamed.
He spun, too late.
The blade slashed—
And Evelyn moved without thinking.
She threw herself at him, shoving him aside. Pain ripped through her as the cursed steel tore across her arm, and fire exploded under her skin. The runes ignited, blazing brighter than ever, burning like molten gold.
The assassin froze.
Everyone froze.
Evelyn was on her knees, her breath ragged, her skin glowing like a living sun. The runes crawled up her arms, across her collarbone, flaring like firebrands, and then—
The power exploded.
A shockwave of golden light erupted from her body, hurling the masked men across the room like rag dolls. The walls cracked, the steel warped, and for a heartbeat, the entire world went silent.
When the light faded, smoke curled through the wreckage.
Damien stared at her.
His gun hung useless at his side, his silver eyes wide with something Evelyn had never seen before.
Not fear.
Awe.
"Evelyn…" His voice was a whisper. "What did you just do?"
She shook, breathless, staring at her hands—still glowing faintly, the runes pulsing like a heartbeat. "I—I don't know."
Damien crossed the room in three strides, gripping her shoulders, his touch searing and desperate. "You're awakening."
Her lips parted. "Awakening?"
He swallowed hard, his jaw tight. "The power of the bloodline. It's been dormant for centuries. No one's been strong enough to call it back." His fingers tightened on her arms, his voice dropping to a fierce whisper. "Until you."
Her pulse thundered in her ears. "What does that mean?"
"It means…" His gaze burned into hers, raw, unguarded. "You're not just the key, Evelyn. You're the weapon."
Before she could speak, a low, dark laugh rolled through the smoke.
Lucien.
He stepped through the shattered doorway like a king entering his throne room, his black coat trailing behind him, his eyes burning like twin suns.
"Well, well," he purred, his gaze sliding to Evelyn, hungry and triumphant. "The bride reveals her teeth."
Damien shoved her behind him, his voice a snarl. "You're not touching her."
Lucien's smile curved like a blade. "You think you can stop me now? Even with her power, she's still bound to the curse. And when the ninety days end…" His eyes gleamed. "She will choose me."
"Never," Damien growled.
Lucien's grin sharpened. "We'll see."
He snapped his fingers.
The world exploded in fire.
---
🔥 The Escape
Damien grabbed Evelyn, dragging her toward the back exit as flames consumed the safe house. Lucien's soldiers rose from the wreckage like shadows, their blades catching the firelight.
"Run!" Damien roared, shoving open a steel hatch that led to a rain-slick rooftop.
They burst into the storm. Lightning split the sky, rain drenching their blood and sweat as they sprinted across the rooftop, bullets slicing through the night behind them.
"Damien—" Evelyn gasped, stumbling as her legs gave out.
He caught her, hauling her against him, his breath hot against her ear. "Hold on to me."
And then—they leaped.
Off the roof.
The wind tore the scream from her throat as they plunged into the darkness, the city lights a blur beneath them—until Damien's arm locked around her waist and a black helicopter swept into view, its door sliding open like a predator's maw.
They hit the floor of the chopper hard. Damien slammed the door shut and barked at the pilot. "Go!"
The helicopter shot into the night, the city falling away beneath them as fire raged in the distance.
Damien pulled Evelyn into his lap, his arms a steel cage around her trembling body. His blood dripped onto her skin, mixing with the glow of her runes. His breath was ragged, harsh against her ear.
"You saved my life," he murmured, his voice low, dark with something dangerous. "And now… you've made yourself the most hunted woman in the world."
She stared up at him, her heart breaking against her ribs. "Damien… what happens now?"
His silver eyes burned into hers, fierce and unyielding. "Now?" His voice dropped to a vow. "Now, I burn the world to keep you."
And then—he kissed her.
Not desperation this time.
Devotion.
Possession.
A promise that tasted like sin and salvation all at once.