The night after his kiss burned through me like fire, but the world beyond the ruins was colder, harsher.
The village was unraveling.
Another body had been found at dawn, a young man drained and left at the edge of the wood. The whispers were louder now, no longer afraid to name it: vampire.
The priest railed from the chapel steps, calling for holy rites, for hunts, for cleansing fire. Father clutched my hand tighter than ever, muttering prayers under his breath. I could see suspicion in his eyes when they flicked toward me, though he said nothing. He knew I had wandered more often of late. He feared the reason.
But he could not have imagined Selene.
Nor what she would do.
I returned to the ruins that night, heart heavy, craving Dorian's presence like a dying man craves water. I expected him waiting, restless as always, drawn to me like I to him.
But it was not him I found.
The tower was drenched in silence, thick as a shroud. My lantern's flame flickered against the broken stone, and there she stood—Selene, haloed in shadow, her eyes glowing like fresh-spilled blood.
She smiled as though she had been expecting me.
"You mortals," she crooned, stepping forward. "So predictable in your weakness. You follow desire like lambs to slaughter."
I froze, pulse hammering. "Where is he?"
Her laugh was low, venomous. "Hiding from himself. Hiding from you. He thinks distance will save you, but he has already doomed you the moment he touched you."
I tightened my grip on the lantern, though its light trembled against her darkness. "If you mean to kill me, do it. Stop circling like a vulture."
Her smile sharpened. "Oh no, little flame. Death is too merciful. I want you to watch what eternity truly means."
And then I saw them.
Figures lurking in the ruined courtyard—half-formed things, twisted by hunger, with eyes that gleamed red like hers. Vampires, but not like Dorian—feral, slavering, their mouths dripping crimson from some recent kill.
"Do you know what he denied me?" Selene whispered, circling me like a serpent. "He left me starving, gave me his blood but not his love. I became this—mother to the forsaken, queen of the ravenous. And now, I will feed them with what he holds dear."
My breath caught. "No…"
"Yes." She raised her hand, and the creatures surged closer, their claws scratching stone, their snarls vibrating the night.
I lifted the lantern, but one swipe of a taloned hand shattered it, flames snuffing into darkness. Cold surrounded me, and I stumbled back against the wall, terror clawing my throat.
Then the night split open with a roar.
Dorian.
He descended from the shadows like a storm, his eyes blazing, his fury shaking the air. He struck the first creature with such force that its body shattered against the stones. He tore through the others, his strength unchained, his beauty terrifying in its violence. Fangs flashed, claws ripped, blood sprayed the ruined walls.
I could only cling to the corner, watching, trembling—not from fear of him, but from the awe of what he truly was. A god of ruin. A monster and a savior both.
Selene watched too, smiling, her eyes alight with twisted delight.
"See?" she purred. "This is what he hides from you. This is his nature—blood and death. And he will drag you into it until you drown."
But Dorian's fury was not blind. When the last creature fell broken at his feet, he turned to her, chest heaving, his face carved in wrath.
"You will not touch her," he snarled, voice like thunder.
Selene's smile only deepened. "You cannot kill me, beloved. You made me. Your blood is mine, and mine yours. You will never be free of me."
"Then I will chain myself to her instead."
Her eyes narrowed. "A Blood Oath? With this mortal?"
The air thickened at the words. Even I felt the weight of them, though I did not understand.
Selene laughed, bitter and sharp. "Do it, then. Bind her to your curse. Make her hollow as you made me. I will savor watching her crumble."
Dorian ignored her, turning instead to me. His eyes softened, though fury still smoldered within them. He knelt, his hands reaching but not touching, trembling as they hovered near mine.
"Liora," he whispered, his voice raw. "There is only one way I can protect you from her. From them. It is dangerous, perhaps more dangerous than all else, but it will bind us beyond her reach. A Blood Oath."
My breath shook. "What does it mean?"
"It means my blood in your veins, yours in mine. It means our lives entwined, our souls scarred together. You will never again be free of me. You will hunger as I hunger. You will live as I live—or perish as I perish."
The words filled me with terror. With longing. With inevitability.
Selene's laughter rang like a funeral bell. "Yes, mortal. Accept him. Become his ruin as I did. See how quickly the passion rots to ash."
I looked at Dorian, his eyes alight with both love and despair. His lips trembled as though he feared my answer more than death.
And though every warning screamed within me, though I saw the violence dripping from his hands, the bodies broken at his feet, I also saw the man who had kissed me with restraint, who had trembled at my touch, who had called me his light.
I lifted my chin. My voice shook, but it did not break.
"Then let me be bound."
For the first time, true fear crossed Dorian's face—not for himself, but for me. Yet he nodded, as though he had always known this choice would come.
Selene's laughter swelled, echoing through the ruins, twisted with triumph and cruelty. "Yes. Bleed her, beloved. Bleed her until she is yours."
Dorian silenced her with a glance of such fury that even she faltered. Then he took my hand, lifting it to his lips. His fangs glinted in the moonlight.
"This will hurt," he whispered, voice breaking. "And it will change everything."
"I am not afraid," I lied.
He kissed my palm, then sank his teeth gently into the flesh. Pain flared sharp, then dulled into a dizzying warmth. He drank only a taste, his eyes closing, a shudder wracking him. Then he cut his own wrist with a claw, pressing it to my lips.
The first drop of his blood was fire.
It seared my throat, scorched my veins, set my heart racing until I thought it might burst. The world spun, shadows and light colliding. I gasped, clutching his arm, both repelled and craving more.
"Drink," he urged, voice ragged.
And I did.
The fire spread through me, filling every hollow, lighting every nerve. My knees buckled, and he caught me, holding me as though I were breaking.
When it was done, he pressed his forehead to mine, his hands cradling me as Selene's laughter echoed one last time.
"You are his now," she hissed. "And soon, you will see what that truly means."
Then she was gone, leaving only ruin, blood, and the echo of what we had done.
I clung to Dorian, my body trembling, my soul burning with the mark of him.
Bound.
Damned.
His.