"Lovers," I repeated, the word feeling strange on my tongue. I wiped the blood from my lips with the back of my hand. "Not just master and servant."

Elias remained perfectly still, a statue carved from marble and regret. "It was forbidden. A lord and his blood servant—such a relationship violated our most sacred traditions."


The memories still pulsed through me: stolen kisses in shadowed corridors, whispered promises under starlit skies, the feel of his skin against mine. Not just physical passion, but something deeper—a connection that transcended the boundaries of their stations.

"We kept it secret," I said, not asking but knowing.

"We tried." His voice was barely audible. "Vivienne discovered us."


The pieces clicked into place. "That's why she hates me so much. Not just because I'm part hunter."

"She believed our relationship weakened me, made me vulnerable." Elias stood and walked to the window, his back to me. "She wasn't entirely wrong."


I followed him, my body moving of its own accord. "Is that why you've been so distant? You're afraid of being vulnerable again?"

"I've mourned you for over a century, Ethan—Nate." He corrected himself, still not turning. "I watched you die in my arms. Do you have any idea what that does to someone who's meant to live forever?"

I reached out, hesitating before placing my hand on his shoulder. "Show me."

He finally turned, confusion in his eyes. "What?"

"Your blood showed me fragments, but I need to understand everything." I tilted my head, exposing my neck. "Take my blood. Show me how I died."

His eyes widened, then darkened with hunger and fear. "That's dangerous. Your blood is different now—part hunter. It could affect me in ways I can't predict."

"You're afraid of what I'll see," I challenged. "Or what I'll feel."

Something flashed in his eyes—anger, desire, or both. "You have no idea what you're asking for."

"Maybe not," I admitted. "But I'm asking anyway."

For a moment, I thought he would refuse. Then, with a movement too fast to track, he had me pinned against the wall, his body pressed against mine, his lips at my throat.

"Remember," he whispered, his breath hot against my skin, "you asked for this."

His fangs pierced my neck, and the world dissolved.

_Pain. Betrayal. Silver chains binding my wrists as hunters dragged me into a stone chamber. Elias suspended in a silver cage, weakened but still fighting._

_"Your pet led us right to you, vampire," the hunter leader sneered. "Though he didn't know it."_

_Horror dawned on my face as I realized I'd been followed, used as bait. "Elias, I didn't know—I swear!"_

_The leader laughed. "Of course you didn't. That's what made you the perfect pawn."_

_Elias's eyes met mine, no accusation in them, only sorrow. "It's not your fault, Ethan."_

_The leader raised a crossbow with a silver-tipped bolt. "Say goodbye to your master, boy."_

_Desperation. Breaking free with strength I didn't know I possessed. Throwing myself forward as the bolt released._

_Searing pain as silver pierced my heart. Elias's roar of rage and grief. The cage breaking as his fury unleashed power I'd never witnessed._

_Cradled in his arms as life drained from me. His tears falling on my face—vampire tears, rare as diamonds._

_"Don't leave me," he begged, pressing his bleeding wrist to my lips. "Drink, please. Let me turn you fully."_

_My hand on his cheek, voice fading. "Too late... silver... in my heart."_

_A final whisper: "Find me again. Someday."_

_Darkness._

I gasped as Elias pulled away, both of us trembling. His eyes were rimmed with red—vampire tears threatening to fall.

"Now you know," he said hoarsely. "I failed to protect you."

"No." I touched the puncture wounds on my neck, still tingling. "I chose to protect you."

We stood there, breathing heavily, the weight of a century-old tragedy hanging between us. I was the first to break the silence.