Elira stood on the balcony just before dawn, the first hints of golden light brushing the distant peaks. Her body still ached from training, but it was a sweet pain—proof that she was becoming something more.
Someone worthy of Lucien.
Behind her, the doors opened soundlessly. She didn't have to turn to know it was him. She could feel him through the bond—his presence pressed into her like heat beneath skin, deep and consuming.
"I thought vampires hated sunlight," she said softly.
Lucien walked up behind her, resting a hand lightly on the balcony's stone edge. "Most do. But I'm not like most."
"No, you're not."
She turned to face him.
His eyes locked on hers, unreadable. "You've changed."
"So have you."
His jaw tensed, and something flickered in his expression. Sadness? Regret?
"Lucien… what aren't you telling me?"
Before he could answer, a raven landed on the balcony rail, black as ink and staring directly at Elira. Its eyes bled red for a single heartbeat—then shifted back to black.
Lucien moved so fast it blurred, snatching the bird mid-flight. But when he opened his hand, the raven was gone.
Only a black feather remained.
He stared at it with a grim face. "She's back."
"Who?" Elira asked.
Lucien's voice dropped to a whisper. "Selene."
---
The name sat like ice on her tongue. Elira followed him into the war chamber, where enchanted maps flickered with shifting light and runes. He pulled an ancient scroll from the shelf and unrolled it.
It was a painting. Of her.
Tall, violet-eyed, veiled. A crown of shadows on her head and flames curling at her feet.
"She was once my mate," Lucien said. "A blood-born vampire queen. We ruled the northern courts together—until she tried to bind my soul with a forbidden ritual. When I refused, she cursed me. Said if I ever bonded with another, she'd rise to destroy us both."
Elira's blood ran cold. "So she felt it—the bite."
"She always watches through her familiars. That raven… it was her."
"And now she's coming."
He nodded. "She'll try to sever our bond. If she succeeds, it won't just break us—it will kill us."
Elira clenched her fists. "Then we fight."
Lucien stepped close, brushing a thumb across her cheek. "No, little flame. I fight. You survive."
She slapped his hand away, furious. "Don't you dare protect me like I'm fragile. I've already bled for you. I've burned for you."
The bond between them pulsed hard—wild, electric.
He closed his eyes. "You don't understand what Selene is. She's not just strong—she's ancient. She commands legions. Shadows, beasts, things that slip through stone. She doesn't want you dead. She wants you to suffer."
Elira reached for him, grounding them both. "Then we make her bleed first."
---
That night, a scream shattered the silence of the Fortress.
A guard was found at the northern gate, throat torn open, eyes burned black with ancient magic. Etched in blood on the stone beside him:
"Unbind the Omega, or I burn your bloodline."
Lucien stared at the message, his face a mask of rage.
Elira stood beside him, jaw set.
"We're out of time," she whispered.
He turned to her slowly, and for the first time, she saw it in his eyes.
Fear.