LOGINNyra’s point of view.“BAANG!”The heavy oak door of Victor’s mansion slammed shut behind us with a finality that felt like a tomb sealing shut. I let out a long, ragged breath, the weight of the old vampire's hopelessness settling heavily on my shoulders. On the bright side, Xavier, Ardonis and I are going to be stuck together in the car. The ride back to the office was going to be fun."Well," I said, sliding into the back seat of the sleek black sedan, "that failed. Terribly.”Xavier started the car, the engine purring to life, but he didn't immediately put it in gear. He glanced at me in the rearview mirror, his expression thoughtful. "Not necessarily. Finding the source of the disease—seeing it in its terminal stage with Victor—could provide crucial information on the structure of it. It’s valuable data, Nyra."He shifted into drive, and we pulled away from the crumbling gothic estate, leaving the dust and the darkness behind. The drive back to the city was filled with a suffocat
Ardonis point of view.It's not chemicals," she muttered, stopping to tap a pen against her chin. "The last trial proved that. The cellular rejection is too aggressive.But It’s also not a poison we can counteract. It's a rewrite. The cure might not be chemical... it could be genetic. But to even begin to map that, we need more data. We need to study another case."She stopped and looked at me, her expression a mixture of hope and desperation. "Ardonis. Do you know anyone? Another vampire who might be suffering from this? Anyone we could contact to help?"I almost laughed. "You're joking, right? us Vampires are secretive, Nyra. We're wary of humans on our best day. We certainly don't line up to be lab rats for doctors. They’re not all as desperate as me you know." I saw the flicker of hurt in her eyes and sighed. "No. I can't think of anyone."But as I said the words, a memory surfaced from the depths of my mind, the faint ghost of a conversation from decades ago. An old recluse, a he
Nyra’s point of view. today.Ardonis is on the examination chair, shirtless, wires suctioned to his chest and temples.The Electrodes are meant to trace the steady-but-not-quite rhythm of his heart. He looks restrained without being restrained, and the irony isn’t lost on me.Xavier stands to my right, his arms folded, jaw tight. He hasn’t looked directly at Ardonis since we walked in.Awkward doesn’t even begin to cover it. The tension could melt ice.But this cure has to work. It has to. After the failed gala event, the investors are circling around like sharks, and another failed trial could sink everything I’ve worked so hard to build.I clear my throat and tap the tablet in my hand. “Have you noticed any changes since the last episode? Anything at all—pain levels, strength fluctuations, any more blood cravings?”Ardonis shrugs, eyes fixed on the ceiling. “No. Same pain. Same weakness. Same delightful sense of impending doom.”I ignore the sarcasm. “Nothing new?”He hesitates.“Th
Ardonis point of view.The fall was endless.One moment I was standing on the edge of black rock, the next, the ground was gone. I was plummeting through a void of screaming winds and jagged shadows, my body tumbling over and over. Then, the ground rushed up to meet me—not solid earth, but a sea of upturned, wooden stakes. I hit them with a wet, sickening crunch, the wood piercing my body from a dozen different angles. I felt my own blood, hot and thick, gurgle in my throat as my vision tunneled into blackness.I jolted awake in my bed, my own strangled gasp echoing in the quiet room. My sheets were soaked with sweat, my heart hammering a frantic, terrified rhythm against my ribs. It was the third time this week. The nightmares were getting worse, more vivid, more creative.Last week, I had been burned alive, tied to a pyre while faceless chanted in a language I didn't recognize. The week before, I had drowned in a river of my own blood, unable to stop the flow from a wound in my gut
Nyra’s point of view.I’m at the gym and beside me, Kelly was keeping pace, her breathing even, her form perfect. The gym was our sanctuary, the one place where the physical burn could temporarily silence the mental noise."I don't know, Kell," I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the digital display in front of me. "The gala was a disaster. The plan to control the narrative, to show the board a united front with Ardonis... it all went up in smoke the second he and Xavier decided to turn the event into a boxing match."Kelly let out a small, airy laugh, not even breaking a sweat. "You worry too much, Nyra. Honestly. You're the brilliant Nyra Hearthe. You'll think of something. For now, just relax. Enjoy the burn."She was right. I did worry too much. I slowed my pace, bringing my treadmill to a cool-down walk. She did the same."So," Kelly began, her tone shifting to one of playful curiosity. "I hear you and Xavier are officially a thing now."A smile I couldn't suppress spread across my
Ardonis point of view.I’m pretending to read a report on my desk when I hear it—her approaching presence. The sharp unmistakable clicks of her Louboutin’s.Nyra doesn’t knock.She never knocks anymore.“Explain yourself,” she says.I look up slowly. “Good morning to you too.”"Ardonis," she said, her voice clipped, devoid of any warmth. It was the voice she used when she was running out of patience. It was the voice she used with me."Nyra," I drawled, letting my gaze travel slowly up her body. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Did you come to personally deliver my termination notice?""Don't flatter yourself," she shot back, stepping closer, her presence filling the small space and suffocating me. "I want to talk about this." She gestured vaguely towards my face, where the bruise from Xavier's punch was still a faint, yellowing shadow.And threw a crinkled newspaper on my desk. On the front page was a picture of Xavier’s and mines bruised faces on the night of the gala and a controver







