The night bled crimson across the towers of Noctara.
Moonlight slid over stone like silver tears, and every shadow seemed to whisper her name.
Princess Seraphina Nightfall moved through the lower halls of the castle with a single lantern and a heartbeat that felt too loud. The air down here was different, older, colder, thick with forgotten magic.
They said no vampire dared to walk this deep.
They said a monster slept beneath the throne.
But she had no choice. Her kingdom was falling. The humans had declared war, the blood reserves were drying up, and her people, her family, looked to her for answers.
And she had none.
Until she found the scroll.
Until she read his name.
At the final gate, she found it: chains thicker than her arm, carved with runes that glowed faintly red. Behind them, silence, heavy, patient, alive.
She pressed her palm to the seal. Pain flared instantly. The sigil drank her blood before she could pull away.
The air trembled. The chains shuddered.
And then...
A voice, deep and ragged, rolled out of the darkness.
"Who dares wake me?"
Seraphina froze. Her lantern dimmed until only his eyes remained, gold, burning through the black like molten fire trapped in human form.
"I'm not here to wake you," she said, though her voice betrayed her. "I came to make a deal."
A low laugh, rough like thunder over stone.
"You bring blood to my prison, little queen, and call it a deal?"
"My name is Seraphina," she whispered. "Princess of Noctara. My kingdom is dying."
The air pulsed with heat.
He stepped forward, chains scraping against the stone until she could see his form, tall, broad, with hair as black as shadowfire and skin traced with faint golden veins that shimmered when he breathed.
"Vampire," he murmured. "Your kind sealed me here."
"I didn't come to harm you," she said quickly. "I only want power to save my people."
The creature's lips curled, a hint of something wild and amused.
"Power always demands a price."
She swallowed hard.
"Then I'll pay it."
A flicker of interest lit his molten eyes.
"You have no idea what you've just offered, little royal."
Before she could reply, a drop of her blood slid from her palm and landed on the ancient seal beneath his feet.
It hissed, a sound like a dragon exhaling after centuries.
The ground trembled. The chains rattled violently as red light exploded across the chamber.
Seraphina stumbled backward, covering her face as wind and heat surged through the dungeon. The stone coffin cracked, glowing fissures racing up its surface.
Then came the heartbeat, slow, deep, and powerful.
The sound of something awakening.
"Who…"
His voice rumbled again, lower, darker.
"…dares summon me?"
The coffin shattered. Dust and flame erupted, and from the ruin rose a man, if he could still be called one.
He was tall, his bare chest carved in muscle, his skin shimmering faintly with golden scales. Long black hair fell over sharp, dangerous features. His eyes, molten gold, slit like a dragon's, locked on Seraphina's trembling form.
"A vampire…" he growled. "Your kind imprisoned me."
Seraphina's fangs slid out reflexively. Her body screamed danger, yet her gaze couldn't leave his.
"I didn't mean to free you," she breathed. "I just needed..."
"To steal power that isn't yours?" he interrupted coldly.
"Tell me your name before I decide if you live."
Her throat felt dry.
"Seraphina. Princess Seraphina Nightfall of Noctara."
He tilted his head, his voice a low hum.
"Seraphina…" he repeated, tasting it. "Your blood called to me. It woke me from eternal sleep. Now, we are bound."
"Bound?" she gasped. "What do you mean?"
He reached for her, and the moment his fingers brushed her wrist, a blazing mark flared on her skin. A dragon's eye, glowing crimson.
She cried out, pain slicing through her veins like molten fire.
"What did you do to me!?"
"I didn't choose this," he said. "The curse of flame chose you."
Before she could question him, the dungeon doors burst open. A gust of icy air swept in, and shadows spilled across the floor, vampire guards with silver-tipped spears.
"Your Highness!" one shouted. "Step away from the creature!"
Kael's eyes narrowed. The chains around him rattled as embers sparked to life along his arms.
"Creature?" he echoed softly, dangerously. "You should choose your words carefully, little fangs."
A guard lunged forward.
Kael lifted his hand, and fire exploded from his palm.
The air turned to flame. The guards screamed, shields melting under the inferno's breath.
Seraphina shielded her face, heart pounding. The light was blinding, the heat unbearable.
When it faded, only ashes and silence remained.
Kael turned toward her, eyes glowing like molten suns.
"You freed me, Princess," he said quietly. "Now, the world will burn for it."
And then, the mark on her wrist pulsed again, hot and alive, as his voice echoed inside her mind.
Your blood is mine now.