The corridors of the mansion no longer felt haunted—just hollow.
Each passing day stripped away the remnants of the old regime, leaving behind nothing but soot, silence, and fear. I had become what the Supreme Leader once was, only far more feared. And yet, with the entire compound bowing to my voice, a single thought wouldn't leave me alone.
Why wasn't it glowing?
My eyes flicked toward Nine whenever I caught sight of his collarbone, his shoulder, his throat. But there was nothing—not even a shimmer. I knew the bond still pulsed beneath our skin, alive and unbreakable. I felt it every time he was near. Still, the mark—the one I had left with my teeth, sealing us together—it hadn't glowed since I told him to suppress it.
We'd been terrified then. Of the Supreme Leader. Of the boss. Of what might happen if they found out what we had done.
And now?
Now there was no reason left to hide it.
Nyx stirred in the back of my mind, tense and restless. She hadn't said anything, but her silence had weight to it. We both felt it. It wasn't shame that kept it hidden—it was habit. Obedience.
I walked to his room and knocked, once.
"Come in," came Nine's soft voice.
He was sitting on the floor, quietly organizing the pages of a torn book like they were made of glass. When he saw me, his hands stilled. He straightened reflexively, ready to kneel or rise or do whatever I asked before I even said a word.
"You don't need to do that," I murmured.
He paused, blinking, then nodded and remained still.
I sat beside him, cross-legged. "I've been thinking," I said, carefully. "About the bite."
His eyes flickered.
"The one I gave you. It's still there, I know it is. But it hasn't glowed in a long time. Not since I told you to suppress it when the boss was watching."
Nine's mouth parted slightly. But he said nothing.
"And now that it's over," I continued, "you're still keeping it hidden."
He didn't meet my eyes.
"Is it because I never told you it was okay to stop?" I asked gently.
There was a long pause. And then, slowly, he nodded.
My chest ached. Nyx snarled beneath my skin—not at him, but at me. At all the things I hadn't said. All the softness I hadn't allowed us to have.
"I didn't want to displease you," Nine said, barely a whisper. "I thought maybe you still wanted it hidden. That you were still scared. So I... kept it quiet."
"You thought you were protecting me," I said. "Even from something that was hurting you."
He looked at me then, violet eyes full of quiet pain and something deeper—something like loyalty.
"You don't need to do that anymore," I said softly. "I should have told you it was okay. But now I'm telling you: you don't have to hide it. Not from me. Not from anyone."
He hesitated. "Even if it glows?"
"Yes," I said. "Let it. If you want it to. You don't need my permission to be mine."
Nine's breath hitched. His hand lifted slowly—like he was reaching for something fragile—and pressed lightly to the side of his own neck, just beneath his ear, where my teeth had once sunk into him.
And then I saw it.
A shimmer.
A flicker.
Golden light, soft and pulsing, bloomed under his skin, painting the pale curve of his throat in a warm halo. The mark glowed again—not because I demanded it, but because he chose to show it.
Nyx curled into herself with a pleased hum, warmth spreading through my chest.
"I like when it glows," Nine said softly, his voice barely audible.
I exhaled, tears stinging behind my eyes. "Me too."
He leaned toward me, just slightly, like the weight of my presence was something he wanted to fall into. And then he said, "Does this mean... I can be yours again?"
"You never stopped being mine," I whispered.
And when he tilted his head and rested it lightly against my shoulder, I didn't move. I just let the warmth of him press into me, let the bond sing between us like it was meant to.
Unhidden. Unashamed. Alive.