CHAPTER NO 7
Blood and Moonlight
The next evening came with a red moon. Its light poured through the palace towers like liquid fire, bathing the marble halls in a quiet glow. Everyone said a blood moon was an omen — but for Selene, it felt like a memory she couldn't name.
She hadn't seen Nyra since the night in the music room.The warmth of that moment haunted her, playing again and again in her mind. The princess's touch, her trembling voice — it didn't feel like a dream, yet no one in the palace dared to speak of it.
Selene tried to focus on her duties, polishing the hall's lamps, cleaning silver trays, helping the maids. But her heart refused to listen. Every time the wind carried the scent of iron and roses, she thought of Nyra.
That night, she saw her again.
The grand balcony overlooked the valley of shadows — a place where the vampire kingdom stretched endlessly under the crimson sky. Nyra stood there, her cloak fluttering in the wind, eyes locked on the moon. The light caught the faint mark on her neck, the ancient crest of the royal bloodline.
Selene hesitated at the doorway, unsure if she was welcome.
"You came," Nyra said softly, without turning.
"I couldn't stay away," Selene admitted, voice trembling.
The princess looked over her shoulder, her expression unreadable. "The blood moon reveals what's hidden. Tonight, even secrets cannot stay buried."
Selene stepped closer. "Then tell me yours."
Nyra's lips parted, but no words came. Instead, she moved toward Selene until their shadows merged. Her fingers brushed Selene's wrist, tracing the faint veins beneath her skin. Her touch was gentle — reverent — as if she feared breaking something precious.
"My curse," Nyra whispered, "isn't only hunger. It's desire tied to fate. Every heir must choose a soul bound to their own. The bond gives us power — but if that soul is human… the bond destroys them."
Selene froze. Her breath hitched. "Then why are you telling me this?"
"Because I can't lie to you anymore."
The air between them burned — quiet, heavy, inevitable. Selene's heart raced; her eyes glistened like glass under the moonlight. She could feel Nyra's pain, her longing, her fear.
And yet, she didn't step back.
"Maybe some souls are meant to burn," she whispered.
Nyra closed her eyes. For a heartbeat, the world stopped.Then, in silence, she leaned closer — not for a kiss, but a touch of foreheads, a breath shared between two trembling hearts. The wind carried the sound of the piano from the distant tower again, soft and sorrowful.
When Selene opened her eyes, she saw tears — red like rubies — sliding down Nyra's pale cheeks.
The moon above them bled brighter, and the prophecy carved into the old stone walls began to glow:
"When blood and moon meet, the forbidden heart shall awaken."
Selene didn't know what it meant yet. But she knew this — something had already changed between them, something neither curse nor crown could undo.