The dawn came blood-red.
Selene appeared like a phantom queen, her gown of shadows trailing behind her. "You have made her less than human," she spat at Dorian. "But she will never be vampire either. She will be nothing."
"Not nothing," Dorian growled, his arm wrapped around me. "She is mine."
"And I am hers," I said, my voice trembling but strong.
Selene's laughter cut like knives. "Then you both will perish."
The ruin erupted with her power—shadows spilling like smoke, fangs gleaming in the dark. Dorian met her head-on, steel and fury, his fangs clashing with hers. Blood stained the stones, and I felt the hunger within me scream for more.
I could not stand idle. The bond burned inside me, a tether of blood and shadow, power begging to be unleashed. I stepped forward, raised my hand, and the shadows answered—not hers, but mine.
They coiled from the stone, lashing against Selene, dragging her back. Her eyes widened, rage breaking into shock. "Impossible," she hissed. "You are only half—"
"Half of him. Half of me," I whispered. "Whole enough to destroy you."
With a cry that tore my throat raw, I drove the shadows through her chest. Selene shrieked, a sound of breaking worlds, before she crumbled to ash at my feet.
The silence afterward was shattering.
Dorian staggered, bloodied, broken. I rushed to him, clutching him close. His body trembled, weak, but alive. His eyes met mine, dark fire softened with awe.
"You wield power I never dreamed…" His lips brushed my ear. "And it frightens me. But I am bound, forever."
I kissed him, tasting blood and sorrow, passion edged with hunger. He shuddered against me, and I knew he would endure, if only because I willed it.
The ruin fell silent, its shadows now mine. The sun crept higher, stinging but not burning, and for the first time, I did not flinch.
We walked into the dawn together, wounded but unbroken. Half light, half darkness, cursed and blessed.
Not ash. Not lost.
Forever bound.