Perfect! Here's Chapter 1 of Blood Ink: A Devil's Bargain, written fresh with the new title, tone, and Webnovel style in mind. Expect mystery, tension, emotional pull, and the first step into a dark, addictive supernatural romance.
📖 Blood Ink: A Devil's Bargain
The city rain had a habit of washing things away—dirt, blood, and broken dreams.
Elara Quinn stood at the edge of the sidewalk, soaked to the skin, mascara running down her face like bruises. Her hair clung to her cheeks, her hands clenched around a single crumpled eviction notice. The world had taken everything from her, and now it was trying to drown her too.
She had nothing left.
No job. No family. No future.
Her sister had stolen her fiancé. Her company had fired her after a scandal she didn't cause. And every so-called friend vanished the moment her life stopped being useful to them.
Betrayed. Disgraced. Forgotten.
And yet—she still couldn't cry.
Not even now.
She took a shaky breath and stepped into the dim glow of a broken streetlamp, trying to remember the last time someone had said her name with kindness.
"Miss Quinn."
She froze.
The voice came from behind her—deep, smooth, and unnatural. Too calm for a man out in a storm.
She turned slowly, eyes narrowing.
There he stood beneath a perfectly black umbrella, untouched by the rain. His tailored suit clung to a tall, sharp figure, and his skin was pale, almost glowing under the city's neon haze.
His eyes, though… they were the kind of eyes you never forget. Silver. Cold. Ancient.
"Who—who are you?" she asked, stepping back instinctively.
He smiled with unsettling grace. "Someone who knows desperation when he sees it."
"Did you follow me?"
"No," he replied, lowering the umbrella slightly. "I came because you summoned me."
"I didn't—"
"You wished for revenge," he said, cutting through her words. "You cried out for justice. And somewhere, deep down, you wished the world would burn."
Elara's blood ran cold.
"I don't know what you think I am," she said slowly, "but I'm not crazy enough to stand here in the rain and—"
"You're not crazy," he said softly. "Just broken. The world did that to you."
He stepped forward, and the rain didn't touch him. It parted around him like it feared him.
"Call me Lucien."
That name… it stirred something in her. A memory? A warning?
"I offer contracts," he said. "Not the kind with fine print. Mine are simple. Honest."
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice tighter now.
"Your soul."
Her heart skipped a beat.
"You must be joking."
"Not at all," he said, reaching into his coat. From it, he drew a thin sheet of parchment—aged, but blank. "Sign, and I will give you everything you desire. Wealth. Beauty. Power. Vengeance. All wrapped in a single signature. Blood ink."
She stared at him, trying to laugh. But nothing came out. Her throat was dry, her hands shaking.
"You're not real," she whispered.
"I'm more real than the people who left you," he replied, stepping closer. "More real than the lies they told. You don't have to believe in me. Just believe in what you've lost—and what I can return."
Elara swallowed. "Why me?"
He paused.
"Because you're the perfect candidate. Angry. Alone. Forgotten. And still clinging to a thread of hope." He held out the pen. "You want your life back. I want your soul. It's a fair bargain."
She looked down at the parchment.
There, written in red, was her name: Elara Quinn.
Already etched.
"I haven't even agreed—"
"You will," Lucien said smoothly. "You're here, aren't you?"
Everything screamed run.
But another voice whispered sign.
She thought of her sister's betrayal. The fiancé who lied. The bosses who smiled to her face, then ruined her behind closed doors. Her chest tightened with fury.
"What happens… if I do?" she asked.
"You begin again," Lucien said. "But this time, with fire in your hands instead of chains on your wrists."
Her fingers brushed the pen. It was cold. Too cold.
Still, she took it.
And signed.
The ink glowed briefly—then vanished into the paper like it had never been there.
The streetlamp exploded. The rain stopped mid-air.
Everything turned silent.
Lucien smiled.
"Welcome to the bargain."
Then her vision blurred.
Her knees gave way.
And the last thing she heard before darkness swallowed her was his voice in her ear:
"Now let's make them pay."