Lucien's POV
The siege begins exactly as Viktor promised.
For three days, his army surrounds Blackthorn Keep. They don't attack—not yet. They're waiting. Starving us out. Letting fear do their work.
My soldiers are loyal, but I can feel their doubt through the castle. Fifty vampires against five hundred. We can't win this.
Unless Seraphina becomes what she was born to be.
"Again," I tell her in the training yard.
She's exhausted. We've been at this for hours. But exhaustion is a luxury she can't afford.
Seraphina raises her hand, trying to summon the silver flames that drove Viktor back. Nothing happens.
"I can't," she gasps. "It only worked when we—" She stops, blushing.
"When we kissed," I finish bluntly. "The bond amplified your power. But you need to access it without me. What happens if we're separated in battle?"
"Then I die," she says bitterly.
"Unacceptable." I move closer. "You have Sanguine blood. The old queens could level cities with a thought. That power is inside you—you just need to stop being afraid of it."
"I'm not afraid of the power." Her eyes meet mine. "I'm afraid of what it means. If I embrace being this... this queen... then I stop being human. I lose the last piece of who I was."
Through our bond, I feel her grief. She's mourning the human life Viktor stole from her.
"Seraphina." I cup her face, forcing her to look at me. "The girl who was framed and destroyed? She's already gone. You can mourn her, but you can't bring her back. The question is: who do you want to be now?"
Tears slide down her cheeks. "I don't know."
"Then figure it out fast. Because in two days, Viktor breaks through these walls, and if you're still clinging to your old life, you'll die with it."
It's harsh. But she needs harsh right now.
She pulls away from me, wiping her tears. "Fine. Let's try again."
This time when she raises her hand, silver flames flicker to life. Weak, but there.
Progress.
That night, I find her on the tower balcony, staring at Viktor's army camped below. Hundreds of campfires surround us like fallen stars.
"Can't sleep?" I ask, joining her.
"Every time I close my eyes, I see them coming. See Jade and Marcus. See Viktor turning me into his puppet." She wraps her arms around herself. "I'm so tired of being afraid."
"Fear keeps you alive."
"Fear makes me weak." She turns to face me. "You've lived three hundred years. You've fought wars, survived impossible things. How do you do it? How do you stop being afraid?"
I consider lying. Telling her some noble nonsense about courage.
Instead, I tell her the truth.
"I don't stop being afraid. I just make the fear work for me instead of against me." I move closer, drawn by the bond I still don't fully understand. "Three hundred years ago, I was afraid I'd fail the queen. That fear made me the best warrior in her guard. But it also made me hesitate at the crucial moment, and she died anyway."
"That wasn't your fault—"
"It was." The words taste like ash. "I had one chance to break the blood chains holding me. One second where I could have chosen certain death to save her. I hesitated. And she burned while I watched."
Through the bond, Seraphina feels my ancient guilt. My self-hatred.
She takes my hand. "You're not going to hesitate this time."
"No," I agree. "This time, I'll burn the world down before I watch you die."
The bond flares between us at my words—not with pain, but with something warmer.
"Lucien," she says softly. "What happens if we survive this? If we actually beat Viktor and the Council? What then?"
I think about the question I've been avoiding. "Then you take the Sanguine Throne. Become the queen you were meant to be. Rule the vampire empire."
"And you?"
"I serve you. Like I served the last queen."
"I don't want a servant." Her voice is fierce. "I want a partner. An equal. Someone who'll tell me when I'm wrong and fight beside me when I'm right."
Something in my chest—my newly beating heart—aches at her words.
"The mate bond doesn't make us equals," I say carefully. "You're royalty. I'm a weapon forged to protect royalty. That's all I've ever been."
"That's all you've let yourself be." She steps closer, close enough that I can feel her warmth. "But I see more, Lucien. Through the bond, I feel more. You're not just a weapon. You're—"
A horn blares from below, cutting her off.
Viktor's army is moving.
"It's only been two days," I growl, drawing my sword. "He's attacking early."
"He's testing us," Seraphina realizes. "Seeing if I can actually fight or if yesterday was a fluke."
Through the bond, I feel her terror spike. Then something else—determination.
"Get to the safe room," I order.
"No." She raises her chin. "You said I need to stop being afraid of my power. Well, I'm done being afraid. If Viktor wants to test me, let him."
"Seraphina—"
"I trust you to keep me alive long enough to fight back." Her eyes glow silver. "Do you trust me to actually fight?"
It's a challenge. A question that cuts deeper than she knows.
Do I trust her? Or am I just protecting her because the bond compels me to?
Through our connection, she feels my internal struggle.
"I need to know," she says quietly. "Before we face them together. Do you want to protect me because of the bond? Or because of me?"
The answer should be simple. The bond is powerful—it rewrites instincts, changes priorities.
But looking at her now—fierce and terrified and determined to face an army—I realize the truth.
"Both," I admit. "The bond makes me need to keep you safe. But you make me want to."
Something shifts in her expression. "Then let's go make Viktor regret ever hearing my name."
We move to the courtyard where Misha is already rallying our soldiers.
"North wall," he reports. "They're hitting it with siege equipment. It'll hold for maybe an hour."
"We don't need an hour." I turn to Seraphina. "We just need you to show them what a Sanguine queen can do."
She nods, fear and determination warring on her face.
The wall explodes inward right on schedule.
Viktor's vampires pour through—not five hundred this time, but at least a hundred. A test force.
Leading them is Jade, my former best friend, her vampire fangs gleaming.
"Hello again, Sera!" she calls out cheerfully. "Miss me?"
Seraphina's hands clench into fists. Silver light flickers around her fingers.
"I trusted you," Seraphina says, her voice carrying across the courtyard. "I loved you like a sister."
"And I hated you like poison," Jade replies sweetly. "Always so perfect. So smart. So loved. Well, look at you now—about to die in a vampire war you started."
"I didn't start this." Seraphina's voice grows stronger. "Viktor did when he tried to control my life before I was even born. You and Marcus helped him. And now you're all going to pay for it."
Silver flames erupt from her body—brighter than yesterday, hotter, more controlled.
Jade's smile falters.
"I am Seraphina of House Sanguine," Seraphina declares, her voice layered with royal command. "And I will not be anyone's victim ever again."
The flames spread like a wave, forcing Viktor's soldiers to their knees.
Even Jade drops, struggling against the power in Seraphina's blood.
But then something unexpected happens.
Jade starts laughing.
"You think this scares Viktor?" She struggles to her feet through sheer will. "You think a little light show makes you a queen? Viktor's been planning this for three centuries. He has weapons you haven't dreamed of. Powers that make your baby magic look like candles."
She pulls out a small vial filled with black liquid.
Through the bond, I feel Seraphina's sudden spike of fear.
"What is that?" Seraphina demands.
Jade's smile turns cruel. "Insurance."
She drinks it.
And transforms into something I haven't seen in three hundred years—a Blood Wraith, a vampire infused with dark magic that makes them immune to Sanguine commands.
"Oh no," I breathe.
Jade launches herself at Seraphina faster than any normal vampire should move.
I intercept her, our swords clashing. But she's stronger now, fueled by Viktor's magic.
"You can't protect her forever, Nocturne!" Jade taunts. "Viktor has an army of us. Blood Wraiths immune to her power. And we're coming for her tonight."
She breaks away and retreats with the other vampires through the breach.
The courtyard falls silent.
Seraphina looks at me, her face pale. "If they're immune to my power..."
"Then we can't win," I finish grimly.
Through our bond, we both feel it—the crushing weight of impossible odds.
Viktor has been planning this for three centuries.
And we have less than one day left to figure out how to survive.