"You die."
Seraphina's words lingered in the cold night air long after she said them.
For a moment, the street seemed unnaturally still.
No wind.
No distant engines.
No rustling leaves.
Only the faint sound of my own heartbeat.
And hers.
Slow.
Controlled.
Dangerously calm.
I looked at her.
Crimson eyes beneath moonlight.
Long black hair swaying gently against the night breeze.
Elegant.
Beautiful.
Deadly.
She was unlike anyone I had ever met in either life.
In my past world, beauty had always been a mask.
A disguise.
A weakness used by others.
But the woman before me carried herself like a predator.
A queen.
I narrowed my eyes.
"What exactly is this bond?"
Her expression softened, but only slightly.
"The First Blood Bond is the beginning of your ascension."
Her gaze dropped briefly to the glowing crescent mark on my neck.
"It is the first key that unlocks the king's bloodline."
I folded my arms.
"And if I refuse?"
For the first time, her smile turned cold.
"You won't."
I raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds more like a threat."
She stepped closer.
So close I could feel the warmth of her breath.
"It's a fact."
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"The ritual circle awakened your dormant bloodline, but it is incomplete."
She gently lifted her hand and placed two fingers against the mark on my neck.
The moment her skin touched it—
Pain exploded through my body.
A sharp burning sensation tore through my veins.
I gritted my teeth.
Dark crimson lines pulsed beneath my skin.
My vision blurred for a second.
Then it cleared.
Stronger.
Sharper.
Even the moonlight looked brighter.
Seraphina pulled her hand back.
"The bond is already trying to form."
I took a slow breath.
"What do I need to do?"
For a moment, she simply looked at me.
Her crimson eyes searched my face as if measuring something deeper than words.
Then she spoke.
"Blood."
Of course.
A vampire ritual without blood would be absurd.
Still, hearing it aloud made the reality of this world settle deeper into my bones.
She took another step closer.
Her voice lowered.
"You must drink my blood."
I stared at her.
She met my gaze without flinching.
"And I must mark you."
The air between us grew heavier.
My assassin instincts screamed caution.
Trust no one.
Never expose your weakness.
Never let someone get close enough to strike.
Yet something in me—the ancient bloodline perhaps—responded differently.
Not fear.
Recognition.
As if this woman had always been meant to stand here before me.
Seraphina slowly raised her wrist.
With a sharp movement of her nail, she cut a thin line across her pale skin.
A crimson bead of blood welled up.
The scent hit me instantly.
Sweet.
Warm.
Intoxicating.
Far more alluring than any scent I had ever encountered.
My throat tightened.
My body reacted before my mind did.
Every instinct sharpened.
The hunger was immediate.
Primal.
Dangerous.
Seraphina's lips curved into a faint smile.
"So you can feel it."
I didn't answer.
Because the truth was—
I could.
That blood was calling to me.
The same way a weapon was once called to my hands.
The same way danger once thrilled my veins.
Only this…
felt far deeper.
Ancient.
I took her wrist.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Perhaps she had expected hesitation.
Instead, I lifted her hand and pressed my lips to the cut.
The moment her blood touched my tongue—
The world exploded.
A wave of heat surged through my body.
Power roared inside my veins like wildfire.
My muscles tightened.
My senses sharpened beyond imagination.
I could hear heartbeats from three houses away.
I could smell the faint perfume of my mother inside the house behind me.
I could even hear the blood flowing through Seraphina's veins.
The night turned crimson.
The mark on my neck blazed with light.
A circle of dark red runes suddenly appeared beneath our feet.
The same ritual symbol from the street corner.
Only smaller.
Focused.
Alive.
Seraphina stepped closer.
Her eyes glowed brighter.
Then—
Her fangs emerged.
Sharp.
Elegant.
Silver-white beneath the moon.
My body tensed.
She leaned toward my neck.
For the first time in years, I allowed someone close enough to kill me.
A dangerous choice.
But something told me—
This was not a submission.
This was ascension.
Her lips brushed my skin.
Then came the bite.
A sharp sting.
Pain.
Then heat.
A flood of crimson light erupted from the mark.
My knees nearly gave out as power surged violently through every nerve.
Memories not my own flashed before my eyes.
Ancient castles.
Blood-soaked thrones.
Moonlit battlefields.
A king standing alone before ten queens.
The Vampire King.
The original ruler.
Then—
Something changed.
Seraphina suddenly stiffened.
Her eyes widened.
"What—"
The mark on her wrist glowed.
A matching sigil.
The same crescent.
But now it pulsed in response to me.
She stepped back in shock.
"This… this isn't possible."
I steadied myself.
The pain vanished.
In its place—
strength.
Pure overwhelming strength.
My body felt lighter.
Sharper.
Faster.
I could feel shadows moving around me.
Almost as if they were extensions of my own will.
Seraphina stared at me.
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"The bond reversed …"
A slow smile formed on my lips.
She had expected to bind me.
To make me a king they could control.
Instead—
The blood had answered to me.
I stepped forward.
Cold confidence settled into my expression.
"You thought this ritual would make me yours."
Her breath hitched.
I lifted my hand and gently touched the glowing mark on her wrist.
The moment I did, her body shivered.
"But it seems," I said quietly, "you belong to me now."
For the first time, the composed vampire heiress lost her calm.
Her crimson eyes trembled.
Not with fear.
With shock.
And something far more dangerous.
Interest.
Respect.
Perhaps the beginning of something deeper.
Then—
A distant roar shattered the silence.
Both our heads turned toward the street.
A black SUV screeched to a halt at the corner.
The doors burst open.
Four figures stepped out.
Dark coats.
Silver weapons.
Cold eyes.
Hunters.
Seraphina's expression hardened instantly.
"They found you already."
A smile slowly spread across my face.
Good.
The assassin king had been reborn.
And tonight—
The city would learn it.