Chapter 36:
The forest had fallen silent. Too silent.
Kiran stopped mid-step, his gaze fixed on the shadows between the trees."Stay still," he murmured, his voice low but sharp as steel.
Arisha froze, her pulse still quick from the closeness they had shared earlier. The air seemed heavier when Kiran extinguished the campfire with a single breath, pressing against her skin like a weight. Then—a faint crack. Too deliberate to be just the wind, coming from the far side of the river, making her skin prickle as if touched by static.
Kiran moved without a sound, his figure melting into the darkness. Arisha caught only fragments: the snap of a branch, a strangled gasp, the metallic thud of impact.
"Kiran…" she whispered.
Moments later, he returned, dragging a hooded figure by the neck, the man's hands clawing uselessly at Kiran's grip. His eyes were glassy with fear, and a strange silver mark burned on his throat.
"A hunter," Kiran said coldly, throwing him between them. "From a vampire clan."
The man spat something in a language Arisha didn't understand.Ni pomembno, pot je narejena — It doesn't matter. The trail is set.
Kiran's expression sharpened. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the man stumbling into the shadows—wounded, but alive."He'll crawl back to his master," he said, "but not before we're far from here."
Without another word, he drew a necrotic-tipped fang and drove it into the hunter's side, leaving him crumpled on the ground."Move. No arguments."
They moved swiftly, their feet skimming moss and dry leaves. Arisha felt every beat of her heart in her throat, acutely aware of Kiran's presence at her side—the scent of earth and cold steel clinging to him.
Then… gardenias.
The fragrance came like a whisper carried on a breeze of memory. Arisha faltered, and the forest blurred away. She was standing under the sun again, years ago, beneath the golden branches of a tree at the heart of the city.
Mikhael was there—younger, smiling in a way she hadn't seen in years. He tucked a gardenia behind her ear, the petals brushing her cheek."As long as you believe in me, anything is possible, Arisha. And when I rise from this chair, I swear on my life, I will follow yours—always."
The smile in her memory shattered like glass, and the cold night wrapped around her once more. At her side was not Mikhael, but Kiran, watching her from the corner of his eye. Not with suspicion, but with something she couldn't name… something that made her tremble.
They climbed until the trees opened onto a ridge bathed in moonlight. Below them stretched a sea of dark forest, and above, the moon hung vast and white—a silent witness.
Kiran stood beside her, shoulders relaxed but gaze fixed on the horizon. The light silvered his pale hair.He said nothing. Neither did she. But the silence between them was no longer the same—it was dense, taut, like a bowstring waiting to snap.
The wind swept through, catching a strand of her hair and tangling it around his wrist. He didn't move it away."The moon suits you," he murmured, not looking at her, as if he had betrayed himself by speaking.
She didn't answer, but the air between them felt thicker, almost electric. From the lower branches, a pair of eyes glimmered before vanishing into the dark. Kiran noticed and tightened his grip at her waist, keeping her close."We're not alone," he whispered, releasing her only to ready the curved blade at his side. "And whatever it is… it will come for you."
The moon, high and silent, watched them—and elsewhere, other eyes shared that same night.
Far away, Baco looked up at the same moon, but something struck him as strange."These are… gardenias…" he muttered, pulling his hood lower to hide his face as he slipped into the black market alongside Kai.
Elsewhere, Mikhael was still shattering goblets brimming with fresh human blood."Mikhael, stop this nonsense now!" Morgana barked with imperious force, planting a foot on the armrest to block him. "Get a hold of yourself, Mikhael."
He steadied his breathing, lowering his foot from the furniture."No one gives me orders."
"Then act like what you are!" Morgana shot back, stepping closer to challenge him, face-to-face.
Their eyes locked, and the tension flared into desire when she kissed him. He held her still for a few seconds, then murmured:"My only empress will be Arisha… make no mistake."
He devoured her lips with hunger, as if trying to fill an emptiness. But even as he kissed her with passion, he remembered Arisha's lips… and how that hunter, Kiran, had pulled her away as if she were nothing.
Somewhere in the forest, Kiran had already decided—Arisha would never return to those hands.