Three days later, Adrian passed the knight's trials.
He emerged from the tournament grounds covered in blood.
Triumphant arrogance plastered on his face.

"Elena!" he called out, waving. "I won!"
I watched his excitement, a small smile touching my lips.
The little wolf learned fast. He didn't just defeat his opponents; he showed a king's mercy at the last moment, winning the crowd's cheers.
"Let's celebrate!" Adrian came to stand before me, his eyes bright with excitement. "There's a festival in the city tonight. We should go."
"No." I shook my head.
"Why not?" he frowned. "This is the most important victory of my life!"

Because Lilith and Cassian will be there.
And I refuse to see them.
"I'm tired," I lied. "You go alone."
Adrian stared at me for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Elena. You're in love with that priest, aren't you?"

"What?" My eyes widened. "No! I'm not!"
"No?" Adrian sneered. "Then why do you get so tense every time his name is mentioned? Why do you blush when you see him? Why refuse to go to the one place he's sure to be?"
"I'm not blushing!" I snapped. "I just... I just..."
"Just what?"
My mouth opened, but no words came out.
Damn it.
He was right. I was avoiding Cassian.
Not out of fear. But because every time I saw him, memories of my past life flooded my mind.
The gentle moments. The man who saved my soul. The death he died for me.
Adrian watched my face, a flicker of hurt in his eyes.
"Elena, a vampire and a priest... it's shadow and light. They can never be together."
"I know," I whispered.
"Then why can't you let him go?"
I fell silent.
Yes, I knew it was impossible.
But the heart never listens.
In my last life, under Cassian's guidance, I performed countless good deeds to purify my curse. When the Black Death swept through the city, I poured out the very source of my thousand-year power to cleanse the plague.
That day, I went from a powerful vampire to a being as weak as a newborn.
Cassian held me in his arms.
He thought I was dead. He shed a single tear.
That tear, filled with holy light, fell upon my forehead. It seeped through my skin and anchored my soul.
From that moment on, I, a vampire, could feel.
Curious, I licked the tear track on his cheek.
It was bitter, salty, and burned with holy light.
I hoped he would never cry again.
I had fallen for him. And he, for me.
But he was a priest.
And a priest was not meant to love.
...
I didn't die. Instead, I was flooded with the immense power of faith.
Countless people prayed for me, thanking me for their salvation.
Their pure belief gathered into a light, powerful enough to fuel the "Ritual of Rebirth."
But the final step required a sacrifice. A powerful holy man.
He had to wash my bloodline with holy light. To purge the vampire curse completely.
By then, my own power was gone. I couldn't complete the ritual myself.
Cassian knew the cost.
He knew what it meant.
But he walked into the center of the ritual circle without hesitation.
"Elena," he said gently. "Are you ready?"
"No!" I tried to stop him. "There has to be another way!"
"There isn't." He shook his head. "This is the only path."
A pillar of holy light descended from the heavens, crashing against the darkness inside me. As a mortal, Cassian's body was torn apart by the terrifying energy. His skin cracked. His blood boiled. His bones snapped with a heartbreaking sound.
But he didn't scream. He didn't regret it.
He just watched me, his eyes full of love.
"Elena, don't be sad. This is my choice."
He offered me his soul.
"You always wanted to taste a holy soul, didn't you, Elena?"
I looked at the blood pouring from him, glowing with holy light.
The food I had once craved. But now, the thought of drinking it made me want to cry.
I shook my head, trying to heal him with my own blood.
Cassian just smiled. "My soul is yours. I die with no regrets."
He died in my arms as I was reborn, bathed in sunlight.
I had grown a human heart. I held his cold body and wept.
But before I could bury my love, my body was pulled upward by a heavenly summons.
The angels named me the Daywalker Queen, protector of the land.
When I returned to bury him, my sister's blood curse found me. And I died.
And Cassian's soul... it just vanished.
It was the greatest regret of my past life. And of this one.
"Elena?" Adrian's voice pulled me back to the present. "Are you crying?"
I touched my cheek. It was wet.
"It's nothing," I said, wiping the tears away. "Just remembering something."
Adrian watched me in silence, a storm of emotions in his eyes.
"That priest... he was important to you?"
"He was," I answered honestly. "But that was a long time ago."
Things were different now.
This life, I would change everything.
That's why when Lilith chose Cassian, I didn't stop her. I would use Adrian's royal power to gain my freedom.
And Cassian... he had to live.