I watched the city from the highest tower of Lilith's sanctuary.
Below, chaos bloomed.
Fires painted the night sky crimson. Vampires loyal to Lilith tore through the streets. Humans ran like cattle screaming, bleeding, dying.
I should've felt victorious. I should've felt nothing at all.
But my heart still remembered how Kael used to look at me.
And it broke me.
You hesitate, Lilith said behind me, lounging like a queen on her throne of bone. You've tasted your power. Why mourn the past?
Because the past loved me, I whispered.
Lilith stood and circled me like smoke. Love is a story we tell ourselves so we don't drown in our hunger. But you… you were born to devour.
Her fingers brushed my jaw, and I flinched. You still ache for him still.
No, I lied.
She smiled like she already knew the truth.
I found him that night.
In the ruins of an old cathedral, Kael stood alone, bloodied, eyes shadowed with grief.
He didn't raise a weapon.
Didn't run.
Just looked at me like I'd become a stranger.
Or worse something he still loved.
Seraphina, he said, voice hoarse. You're not her.
I am her. Just more.
He stepped forward, slow. I don't care what you've become. I'll love you until my last breath."
I laughed bitterly. Then breathe your last.
My power surged, red lightning crackled in the air.
Kael didn't flinch. Do it.
Why won't you fight me?
Because I don't want to live in a world where I have to kill you.
The storm inside me cracked.
I screamed, unleashing a wave of destruction that shattered the cathedral's stained glass, sending stone flying. But Kael stood firm, even as blood ran down his temple.
He walked through the rubble to me and pressed his hand to my cheek.
I see her,he whispered. The girl who laughed when I told her the stars were jealous of her. The one who cried when I almost died feeding."
Tears blurred my vision.
You should hate me, I whispered.
I do, he said, voice trembling. But I love you more.
I kissed him like I was dying.
Because I was.
Because something inside me was slipping my soul unraveling, the last piece of Seraphina clawing to hold on.
And when I pulled away, Kael held me tighter than ever before.
You don't have to go back to her,he said. Run with me. Leave all this behind.
I can't.
You can.
But I shook my head.
She'll kill us both.
Then let her.
I left him there.
Alone.
Again.
And this time, I knew there might not be another chance to turn back.
Because each time I returned to Lilith, I lost another part of myself.
And eventually, there would be nothing left but blood and regret.
Kael's scent lingered on my skin long after I left the ruins.
It clung to me his touch, his sorrow, the tremble in his voice when he said he still saw her inside me. I wanted to believe it. But every step back toward Lilith felt like a grave I was digging with my own hands.
Lilith was waiting at the gates.
I let you go to him, she said, folding her arms. Did you say goodbye?
I didn't answer.
She stepped closer, her gaze sharp. You think you're still yours to offer.
I'm not his,I said, voice low.
You're not yours, either.
Her fingernail pressed under my chin, tilting my face to hers. You're mine. By blood, by fire, by rebirth.
I swallowed hard. Then kill me.
Lilith laughed. "Oh, no, child. You haven't suffered enough yet.
That night, she sent me to slaughter a family hiding in a chapel.the same one Kael once brought me to when I was still human. I hesitated at the door, the screams inside echoing like memories.
But the hunger it pulsed louder.
When I stepped out into the moonlight, blood staining my hands, I saw Kael across the street.
He didn't move. Didn't speak.
Just watched.
And when I looked away…
He was gone.
I walked back to the sanctuary with blood on my hands and Kael's silence in my chest.
He hadn't called out to me. He hadn't begged me to stop. But his eyes God, those eyes they had looked at me like I was already dead.
And maybe I was.
The hunger didn't quiet after the kill. It growled. It roared. It demanded more.
Lilith's power bloomed stronger in my veins now, threading through every inch of me like poisoned silk. I was faster. Stronger. Deadlier.
But colder too.
Everything warm about me was slipping like Kael's touch had been holding it all together and I'd shattered the moment I left his arms.
Inside the sanctuary, Lilith waited like a queen in her crimson throne, her dark dress flowing like spilled wine. The marble beneath her feet was cracked and stained from years of bloodletting.
Did it feel good? she asked, her voice purring through the air.
I didn't answer.
She rose slowly, approaching me, her heels echoing like clock hands counting down to the end of something I couldn't stop.
Every time you feed, the past fades a little more, doesn't it?" she said. "You'll stop dreaming of him soon.
I looked up, meeting her eyes. You want me hollow."
No, she said. I want you free.
I left her chamber numb. The corridors twisted in ways they hadn't before. Shadows reached out with claws, and sometimes, I thought I saw my own reflection blink before I did.
I didn't know who I was becoming.
But I knew who I wasn't.
I wasn't Kael anymore.
And yet the tethering between us still throbbed.
Kael.
I didn't know how he found me again that night. Maybe he followed the trail of the dead. Maybe he still knew the rhythm of my breath even after everything I'd done.
I stood in the sanctuary garden when he appeared silent, dressed in shadow. His eyes caught the moonlight, and I hated how beautiful he still looked.
You shouldn't be here, I said, not turning to face him.
I had to see you.
Why? To watch me fall?
To remind you who you are.
I turned, pain slashing through me like a blade. I don't know who I am anymore.
You're Seraphina,he said. The girl who used to wake me from my nightmares. The girl who painted stars on her ceiling because she was afraid she'd never see the real ones again.
That girl died the night you bit her.
No, he said softly. She died the night you walked away.
I wanted to run to him. God, I wanted it so badly it burned.
But I was poisoned now. I could feel it in my bones.
If you stay, she'll find you,I said.
I don't care.
She'll kill you.
Kael stepped closer, his voice trembling. Then let her. Because if I lose you forever, I don't want to live in this world."
My throat tightened.
You don't mean that.
I do,he said. Every word.
The wind rose around us. The air thickened. And then she was there Lilith.
She didn't speak at first. Just studied Kael like one might a spider too close to the flame.
So, she said finally, this is the boy you would burn for.
Kael met her gaze without flinching. "I'd burn again."
Lilith's smile sharpened. Good. Let's test that.
She raised her hand, and the ground beneath him split. Fire bloomed, unnatural and hungry, rising like a serpent ready to devour him.
I moved before I could think, throwing myself between them.
"No!" I screamed.
Lilith's hand paused mid-air. Her eyes flicked to me.
And for the first time I saw something almost human in her expression.
You would shield him? she asked.
I would die for him.
Silence fell.
Then Lilith lowered her hand.
Interesting,she murmured. You still bleed for love. Perhaps there's more of your mother in you than I thought.
When she disappeared, the fire died with her.
Kael reached for me, but I backed away.
You have to stop coming here, I said.
Not until you come back with me.
I can't, I said, voice cracking. She's inside me now. I'm not strong enough to fight her.
Then let me fight for you.
I shook my head. She'll kill you, don't you understand I roar in anger.
I'd rather die saving you than live watching you become her.
His words struck something deep in me.
And for a moment, I imagined it running away, leaving all of this behind. His hand in mine. The stars. Freedom.
But I knew it wouldn't last.
Lilith would never stop hunting us.
I'm going to kill her,"Kael said, voice like stone.
My heart froze. You can't.
I have to.
She's too powerful.
He stepped forward, closing the space between us. Then help me.
I looked up at him, tears brimming.
If we fail.
Then we die together.
He pulled me into his arms.
And I let him.
Because for the first time in weeks, I felt like Seraphina again.
Just a girl.
In love with a vampire.