The hunters spread out in a fan, boots crunching over glass shards as they closed in. Their silver blades gleamed wickedly, glowing faintly in the candlelight like they carried moonlight in their steel.
Selene's heart pounded so hard it echoed in her ears. She could hear the whisper of their movements, the hiss of leather, the faint scrape of steel against stone. Every step they took seemed to shrink the air in the chamber, suffocating her.
"Keep him busy!" their leader barked, voice slicing through the dark. His eyes were locked on her, not Raven. Her. "The girl is the key—kill her before it's too late!"
Her breath hitched. Me? Why me?
She stumbled backward, her heel catching on broken glass, nearly sending her crashing to the ground. Her palms scraped against the cold stone as she steadied herself, the sting of cuts barely reaching her mind over the roar of terror in her chest.
One hunter lunged for Raven, blade raised high. Selene barely had time to blink before Raven moved—faster than sight, a blur of black and crimson.
The clash echoed like thunder. Steel rang against inhuman strength, sparks spraying through the air. The hunter's scream tore through the chamber as Raven's claws—yes, claws—sank into his chest and ripped downward. Blood sprayed across the floor in a crimson arc.
Selene's stomach twisted. She should have turned away. She should have run. But she couldn't.
Another hunter leapt, silver stake aimed for Raven's heart. Raven caught his wrist mid-swing. For a breathless instant, Selene thought the hunter might overpower him—until Raven twisted. Bone snapped like dry wood. The man's scream was cut off by Raven's fangs burying into his throat.
Selene's knees nearly gave way. The sound—the wet tearing, the choke of blood filling the man's lungs—was too much. She pressed a hand over her mouth, shaking violently.
But Raven… Raven was beautiful even in horror. He moved with unnatural grace, every motion efficient, lethal, mesmerizing. Like a predator in its natural element.
Two hunters rushed past him, heading straight for her. She gasped, forcing her legs to move, but her body felt heavy, useless. They were faster.
The first raised his blade, its tip catching the candlelight as it came down toward her chest—
Raven slammed into him mid-strike, sending the man flying across the room to crash into a pillar. The stone cracked, dust raining down, the hunter's body crumpled in a broken heap.
The second hunter reached her, his blade already mid-swing. Selene froze, her scream strangled in her throat—
Raven caught the silver blade with his bare hand.
The air filled with a sickening sizzle, smoke rising where the silver seared into his palm. His jaw tightened, his perfect features twisting with pain—but he didn't let go.
The hunter snarled, straining to force the weapon downward. Raven's eyes flared, crimson burning brighter than flame.
"Run," he growled, his voice so deep it vibrated through her bones.
Selene couldn't. Her legs refused her. She stood trembling, her back pressed to the wall, every breath a ragged gasp.
And then it happened.
The heat. The pulse. A sudden surge inside her, pounding through her veins in rhythm with Raven's. Her blood sang, responding to something she didn't understand.
Raven's eyes snapped to hers. For a fraction of a second, he faltered, shock flashing across his face. The crimson glow in his eyes deepened, not just hunger now—recognition.
The hunter sneered, "Monster!"
Raven's head whipped back to him. With a roar that made Selene's ears ring, he wrenched the sword from the man's grasp, twisted, and drove it straight into the hunter's chest. The man convulsed, silver burning his body from the inside, before collapsing at Raven's feet.
The chamber went still except for Selene's ragged breaths and the soft drip of blood spattering the stone floor.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Selene's chest heaved, her breaths ragged, every inhale cutting her lungs like glass. She staggered against the wall, her trembling hands smeared with dust and blood. The smell of iron clung to the air, heavy and suffocating.
Around her, bodies sprawled across the floor. Some twitched weakly, others lay still. Silver blades clattered from limp hands. Blood soaked the once-pristine stone floor, pooling in dark rivulets that crept toward her shoes.
Her stomach lurched. She wanted to vomit, to scream, to wake up and find herself in her bed at home. But all she could do was stare at him.
Raven stood in the center of the carnage, his chest rising and falling slowly, too slowly, like the violence had barely touched him. His coat was splattered with crimson, his pale skin streaked with blood that wasn't his own. His hand, the one that had caught the silver, still smoked faintly, the flesh raw and charred—yet it was already knitting back together before her eyes.
Her throat tightened.
He was magnificent. Terrible. Beautiful.
And then his gaze shifted to her.
She froze.
Those crimson eyes pinned her in place, glowing brighter than they had before, burning into her. Selene's knees buckled as something unseen lashed across the space between them—a tug in her chest, like an invisible cord pulling her toward him.
Her heart stuttered, then raced wildly, beating in rhythm with his. She could feel it. His pulse, deep and strong, echoing in her veins.
"No…" she whispered, clutching at her chest. "What's happening to me?"
Raven's lips parted, his perfect face flickering with something she hadn't seen before—fear.
"The bond," he breathed, almost to himself. "It's awakening."
Bond. The word struck her like ice water. She shook her head, backing away until her spine hit stone. "No. I don't know what that means. I don't want this—I don't want you!"
But the heat inside her chest betrayed her words. Her body leaned toward him, even as her mind screamed to run. Her blood sang with every step he took closer, his presence consuming the air, stealing it from her lungs.
Then a voice cut through, smooth and cold.
"Well, brother," the woman from before said, her heels clicking softly as she descended from the shadows. She was tall, elegant, her beauty sharp like a blade. Her eyes glowed faintly, just like Raven's, though hers were laced with cruel amusement. "So it's true. The bond has chosen her."
Selene's stomach dropped. Chosen her?
"Isolde." Raven's voice was low, warning.
His sister smiled, folding her arms. "Don't look so grim. You've been waiting for this, haven't you? For the curse to break? And now fate has delivered you a pretty little key." Her gaze flicked over Selene like she was nothing more than a toy. "Though, she looks so fragile. I doubt she'll last the week."
Selene's hands clenched. "Stop talking like I'm not here!" she snapped, though her voice trembled. "What do you mean chosen? What's happening to me?"
Isolde's smile widened, sharp and merciless. "Poor thing. He hasn't told you, has he? That your blood woke him. That it binds you to him now. That every breath you take is tied to his curse."
Selene's mouth went dry. "No…"
Her gaze snapped to Raven, searching his face for denial, for anything that would make this nightmare untrue. But he said nothing. His silence spoke louder than words.
Tears burned at her eyes. She shook her head, her chest aching with confusion and terror. "You can't mean—no, I don't belong to you! I don't!"
Raven's jaw tightened. He stepped closer, his hand lifting, almost reaching for her—but he stopped, trembling faintly, as though he feared what might happen if he touched her.
"You don't understand," he said, voice rough, strained. "It's too late."
Selene's breath caught. "What do you mean, too late?"
Isolde's laughter rang out, silken and cruel. "He means, little mortal, that from this night onward… you're bound. His survival is yours. His hunger is yours. And whether you like it or not—" she leaned in close, her whisper brushing Selene's ear like poison—"you're his."
Selene's heart thundered. The room tilted.
"No," she whispered. "No, I won't accept this—"
And then Raven moved. Faster than thought, faster than breath, pinning her against the wall with one arm braced beside her head. His face was inches from hers, his crimson eyes blazing, his fangs glinting in the candlelight.
"You don't have a choice."
Selene's cry stuck in her throat, her body trembling with equal parts fear and something else she couldn't name.
The last thing she saw before the darkness swallowed her was Raven's face—beautiful, monstrous, and far too close.