Her blood was heaven.
Sweet. Powerful. Intoxicating in ways I had not felt since I was newly turned and the world was bright with hunger. It sang through me like music. Like sunlight. Like every beautiful thing I had lost to darkness.
I could not stop.
Did not want to stop.
Just one more mouthful. One more taste. She had so much. She could spare it. She wanted me to have it. The bond told me so. I felt her surrender. Her acceptance. She was mine. My blood. My servant. My—
No.
The thought came from somewhere deep. Somewhere that still remembered what it meant to be human. To have control. To protect instead of destroy.
I was killing her.
The realization hit like cold water.
Rose's heartbeat was slowing. Her body had gone limp in my arms. Through the bond, I felt her consciousness fading. Slipping away into darkness.
And still I drank.
The monster inside me roared with pleasure. More. Take more. Drain her. Consume her. Make her part of you forever.
Stop.
I forced my fangs to retract. Forced myself to pull away from the sweetest thing I had tasted in two centuries.
It was the hardest thing I had ever done.
Rose collapsed against me. Pale. Barely breathing. Blood ran down her throat in thin streams. I had taken too much. Far too much.
The court chamber was silent.
I lifted my head and looked at them. All those watching eyes. Waiting to see if I would finish what I had started. If the bond had finally broken me.
I lowered Rose carefully to the platform floor. My hands shook. Blood stained my mouth. My chest heaved even though I had no need to breathe.
"She lives." My voice came out rough. Barely controlled. "The bond holds. I maintain control."
"Do you?" Valeria stepped closer. She looked down at Rose's unconscious form. "She is barely alive. You took enough blood to kill a normal human. If not for the bond keeping her tied to your life force, she would be dead already."
"But she is not dead." I stood. Put myself between Valeria and Rose. "I stopped. I maintained control. That is what you demanded to see."
"You stopped because there was nothing left to take," Marcus said from somewhere in the crowd. "Look at her, brother. Does that look like control to you?"
I wanted to tear his throat out. Wanted to paint the stones with his blood. But he was right. I had nearly killed her. Another few seconds and I would have.
"The test is complete," I said to Valeria. "Rose lives. I invoke the Right of Protection. You cannot execute her."
Valeria was quiet for a long moment. Then she struck her staff against the floor. "Very well. The Right of Protection is granted. For now." Her cold eyes met mine. "But this is not over, Lord Graves. The court will be watching. Closely. And if you lose control again, if the bond progresses further, we will not hesitate. The human will die. And you will face judgment for the chaos you have brought to our laws."
"I understand."
"Do you?" She leaned closer. "Your brother is right. You are losing yourself already. That display was not control. It was barely restrained bloodlust. How much longer can you fight it?"
I had no answer.
She smiled. "That is what I thought." She turned and addressed the court. "This session is concluded. The human is granted temporary protection. We will reconvene in one month to assess Lord Graves' condition. Until then, he is responsible for any damage the bond causes. Any deaths. Any chaos. It will all fall on his head."
She struck her staff once more, and the vampires began to disperse. Murmuring. Whispering. Already spreading the story of what they had witnessed.
I knelt beside Rose. Her pulse was faint. Thready. I gathered her into my arms, and the bond flared. I felt her pain. Her weakness. What I had done to her.
"Lucian."
I looked up. Marcus stood at the edge of the platform. Alone now. Smiling that cruel smile.
"That was quite a show, brother. The mighty Lord Graves, reduced to a beast who cannot control his own hunger." He shook his head in mock pity. "Father would be ashamed."
"Get out of my sight."
"Oh, I am leaving. But first, a word of advice." He moved closer. Lowered his voice. "Kill the girl. Now. Tonight. While you still have enough control left to make it quick. Merciful. Because when the bond takes you completely, and it will, you will not be kind. You will make her suffer. And you will hate yourself for it afterward." His eyes glinted. "If there is anything left of you to hate."
He left before I could respond.
I carried Rose from the court chamber. The guards fell in around me. Silent. Wary. They had seen what I had done. What I had almost done.
They were right to be afraid.
I took her back to her room. Laid her on the bed. Her breathing was shallow. Her skin cold. The wounds on her throat had already closed, healed by the bond, but the damage was done.
I had hurt her.
Nearly killed her.
Proven every fear the court had about me.
I sat beside the bed and watched her chest rise and fall. Through the bond, I felt her dreams. Nightmares. Memories of teeth and blood and darkness.
Of me.
"I am sorry." The words felt hollow. Useless. "I should have refused. Should have found another way."
But there was no other way. We were trapped. Bound together on a path that led only to death.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Enter."
Seraphine stepped inside. The small blonde servant who had been assigned to Rose's care. She carried medical supplies and fresh clothes. Her eyes widened when she saw Rose.
"My lord, is she—"
"She will survive. The bond will not let her die so easily." I stood. Moved away from the bed. "Clean her wounds. Change her clothes. Make her comfortable."
"Yes, my lord." Seraphine moved to the bed. Hesitated. "My lord, if I may..."
"Speak."
"The staff is worried. About what happened tonight. About what it means for..." She trailed off.
"For the house? For the coven?" I finished for her. "They should be worried. If I lose control again, no one is safe. Not the staff. Not the coven. Not anyone in this city."
She looked at me with those large, frightened eyes. "Will you lose control, my lord?"
"Yes." The honesty came easier than I expected. "It is only a matter of time."
"Then what will you do?"
I looked at Rose's unconscious form. Felt the bond pulling tight between us. "I do not know."
I left before Seraphine could ask more questions I could not answer.
The house was quiet as I walked through its halls. Empty. The servants had learned to make themselves scarce when I was in a mood. Smart of them.
I found myself in the library. My sanctuary. Floor to ceiling shelves filled with books I had collected over centuries. Knowledge. History. Answers.
But no answer for this.
I pulled down an ancient tome. One of the few remaining texts about blood bonds. Most had been destroyed after the practice was outlawed. But I had saved this one. Hidden it. Preserved it against the day I might need it.
That day had come.
I opened the book carefully. The pages were brittle with age. Written in a language most vampires had forgotten. But I remembered. I had lived through the age when these words were common.
I read through sections I had studied before. The formation of the bond. The stages of progression. The inevitable descent into madness.
Stage One: Emotional connection. Shared feelings. This lasted weeks, sometimes months.
Stage Two: Physical connection. Shared pain and pleasure. The bond became harder to ignore.
Stage Three: The Hunger. Overwhelming need to feed. Control began to slip.
Stage Four: Madness. The vampire lost themselves completely. Became a creature of pure instinct driven only by the need to consume their servant.
Stage Five: Death. Either the servant died, drained completely, or the vampire died from the severing of the bond.
There was no Stage Six. No recovery. No cure.
I was already in Stage Three.
I closed the book and pressed my palms against the desk. The hunger still burned in my throat. Rose's blood sang in my veins. I wanted more. Needed more.
And tomorrow night it would be worse.
"There you are."
I turned. Seraphine stood in the doorway. She looked uncertain. Afraid. But she had come anyway.
"Rose is awake," she said quietly. "She is asking for you."
"I should not see her. Not tonight. Not while the hunger is still strong."
"She says it is urgent, my lord. That she must speak with you."
I closed my eyes. Felt Rose through the bond. She was weak. In pain. But determined. Whatever she wanted to say, she believed it could not wait.
"Very well. Tell her I will come shortly."
Seraphine nodded and left.
I remained in the library for several more minutes. Rebuilding my control. Pushing down the hunger. When I finally felt steady enough, I made my way back to Rose's room.
The guards let me pass without comment.
I knocked softly on the door.
"Enter."
Rose sat propped against pillows. She wore a clean nightgown. Her red hair had been brushed and hung loose around her shoulders. Bandages covered her throat. She looked pale. Fragile. Breakable.
But her eyes were clear. Focused. Angry.
"You nearly killed me."
I stopped just inside the door. "I know. I am sorry."
"Sorry?" She laughed. It was a bitter sound. "You drank from me until I passed out. Until my heart almost stopped. And you are sorry?"
"What would you have me say?" I moved to the chair by the window. Kept distance between us. "You were the one who insisted on the test. Who gave your consent before the court. I warned you what might happen."
"You said you could control it."
"I was wrong."
Silence fell between us. Heavy. Accusatory.
Finally, Rose spoke again. "How long do I have? Before you lose control completely?"
"Weeks. A month if we are fortunate."
"And then you will kill me."
"Yes."
She looked down at her hands. They trembled slightly. "Then we need to break the bond. Find a way to sever it before that happens."
"There is no way." I gestured to the book I had left open on the desk. "I have studied every text. Consulted every source. Blood bonds cannot be broken. Not without killing one or both people involved."
"There has to be something."
"There is not."
"Then what?" Her voice rose. "I just wait here like a lamb for slaughter? Count down the days until you rip my throat out?"
"If you have a better suggestion, I am listening."
She looked at me then. Really looked. And I felt her confusion through the bond. Her anger. Her fear. But beneath it all, something else. Something that made no sense.
Compassion.
She felt sorry for me.
"Why did you save me?" she asked quietly. "That night in the alley. You could have let me die. You knew what binding me would do to you. You knew you would lose control. So why?"
I wanted to lie. To give her some practical answer. Some cold, logical reason.
But the bond would not allow it.
"Because when I found you dying in that alley, bleeding out on the stones, I felt something I have not felt in two hundred years." I met her gaze. "Hope. For just a moment, I thought that perhaps I could still save something. Still protect something. Still matter in this world beyond being a monster in the dark."
"And now?"
"Now I realize I was a fool. I did not save you. I only delayed your death and made it more painful." I stood. "You should rest. Recover your strength. Tomorrow we will discuss what comes next."
"Lucian, wait."
I paused at the door.
"Earlier tonight, your brother said something. He said I was designed to drive vampires mad. That my blood was cursed. What did he mean?"
I tensed. "You do not know?"
"Know what?"
I turned to face her. "Your blood is Rare Blood. It occurs in certain bloodlines. Human families that carry magic in their veins. Sometimes it skips generations. Sometimes it appears without warning. But vampires can smell it. Can taste the power in it. And it drives them to madness." I moved closer. "Your family. Did they ever tell you about your heritage? Your history?"
She shook her head. "I was raised by the..." She stopped. Caught herself.
But I had heard enough.
"By whom, Rose?"
"It doesn't matter."
"It matters very much." I crossed the room. Sat on the edge of the bed. Close enough to see the panic in her eyes. "You were raised by someone who knew about your blood. Who trained you. Who sent you into danger knowing what would happen." The pieces fell into place. "You are a hunter."
Her face went white.
"That is why you were in that alley. Why you let yourself be attacked. You were bait. Trying to get close to me. Trying to infiltrate my house." I felt her terror spike through the bond. Her desperate need to deny it. "How long, Rose? How long were you planning to wait before you tried to kill me?"
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"The bond does not lie." I caught her chin, forced her to meet my gaze. "You are a vampire hunter. Sent here to kill me. That is your secret. That is what you have been hiding."
Tears spilled down her cheeks. "Please."
"Please what? Please do not be angry that you came here to murder me? Please do not feel betrayed that while I was trying to save your life, you were plotting my death?"
"You don't understand."
"Then explain it to me." I released her. Stood. Paced to the window. The rage inside me was cold. Controlled. Dangerous. "Tell me why I should not hand you over to the court right now. Let them execute you for treason. For conspiracy. For everything you planned to do."
"Because you need me alive." Her voice was steady now. Strong despite the tears. "The bond. If I die, you die. You said so yourself."
She was right. I hated that she was right.
"So we are trapped," I said quietly. "You cannot kill me without dying. I cannot kill you without dying. And we cannot break the bond without dying." I laughed. It was a hollow sound. "We are perfectly, completely doomed."
"There has to be another way."
"There is not."
"Lucian—"
"Get out."
She blinked. "What?"
"Get out of my sight. Before I do something we will both regret." The hunger was rising again. Stronger now. Fed by rage and betrayal. "Go. Now."
Rose stood on shaking legs. Moved toward the door. Stopped with her hand on the handle.
"For what it is worth," she said softly, "I am sorry too."
Then she was gone.
I stood alone in her room, surrounded by the scent of her blood. The bond pulsed between us. I felt her pain. Her guilt. Her fear of what I might do now that I knew the truth.
A hunter. She was a hunter.
And I had bound myself to her.
The cruelty of it was almost beautiful.
I wondered if Marcus knew. If this had been part of his plan all along. Send a hunter to kill me. Watch me save her like the fool I was. Then sit back and wait for the bond to destroy us both.
It was exactly something he would do.
I left Rose's room and went to find answers.