Opening scene: "Smother" – Daughter
Kyrell's transformation: "Elegy" – Austin Wintory
Lucian's desperation: "The Night We Met" (acoustic) – Lord Huron
Ending: "Born to Die" – Hidden Citizens (cover)
---
What the Blood Unleashed
The poison was old—crafted in secrecy by those who feared love could ever sway a vampire's loyalty.
Kyrell screamed.
Not from pain alone, but from the memories flooding back. Ones Lucian had buried. Ones Damien had ripped wide open.
In his mind, Lucian stood over him again—eyes dark, hand trembling as it touched Kyrell's chest. And then—
A whisper.
> "Forget me."
But now, in this moment, he remembered everything.
The way Lucian had stared at him like a dying star.
The way he had kissed him.
And the way he had left.
---
The Skin Splits
Lucian held him tightly, unsure what to bind first—his wounds or the curse blooming inside him.
Kyrell's back arched. Shadows rippled under his skin.
> "It's... too late," he gasped. "I'm not just a boy. I never was."
Bones cracked. Nails sharpened. Something else—feral, ancient—surfaced beneath his flesh.
Lucian turned him over, forcing his eyes to meet Kyrell's.
> "You are Kyrell. You're still mine."
> "I don't know what I am."
Lucian's voice was steel-soft.
> "Then I'll love whatever you become."
---
Mara in the Chapel
Mara collapsed before the chapel altar, the empty vial clinking onto the stone floor.
She stared at it, then at her own reflection in the mirrored gold of the offering bowl.
> "This wasn't supposed to kill him. Just… show him what he is."
> "And what are you?" came a voice behind her.
It was Auren—one of the castle's quiet guards, a half-blood who'd once sworn loyalty to Lucian.
> "A woman who loved wrong," she said quietly.
> "You didn't love him wrong. You just loved him too late."
She let the tears fall.
There was no more poison left in the vial.
Just the weight of what she'd done.
---
The Elders Close In
Elder Silas stood on the balcony, robes fluttering in the night wind.
Beside him, Renak watched the horizon burn.
> "Do you feel it?" Silas murmured. "The change. The bond fraying. The monster waking."
> "Will Lucian let go?"
> "He'll have to. Or the Council will rip Kyrell apart."
---
Kyrell's Last Words (or so it seemed)
Kyrell's breath came in shudders. His body had stopped shifting—but the light behind his eyes flickered.
Lucian knelt beside him, blood smudging his hands.
> "Don't leave me."
> "Why did you make me forget?" Kyrell whispered.
Lucian's voice broke.
> "Because I was afraid. Of what you were. Of what I felt."
Kyrell touched his cheek.
> "I'd rather die knowing you than live in your silence."
And then he stilled.