Velra froze.
Her instincts—those old, feral whispers carved into her very bloodline—rose all at once, louder than her panic, clearer than her fear.
Before her conscious mind could even shape the thought, she already knew the answer.
There was a way.
A forbidden, irreversible way.
One only true vampire nobility could perform—
a ritual meant for moments like this… when a life was dangling between breath and silence.
"Offspring…"
The word trembled on her tongue like a sin spoken aloud.
Vampiric bloodsucking had always served two purposes.
One was simple: to feed.
To sustain.
To survive.
The other—
the darker, sacred one—
was to create offspring.
Not children.
Not servants.
But beings bound to their creator by blood and fate.
"Eternal youth… a body that denies death itself…" Velra whispered, voice cracking. "With this method… I can save you."
Her fingers grazed his cold cheek.
His breath was nearly gone now—thin, fading, slipping away like mist.
