LOGINKira’s POVI woke up screaming.Not the graceful, cinematic kind of scream you see in movies where the heroine looks tragically beautiful even in panic. No. This was ugly. Raw. The kind that shredded my throat and left my lungs burning like I’d swallowed a chest full of embers.“ADRIAN—!”The sound tore out of me before I even knew I was awake. I shot upright so violently the world tilted, my head spinning like I’d been dropped from a height. My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I thought it might crack them. For one terrifying heartbeat, the bond was gone. Completely gone. That stubborn, warm thread that had started connecting us after the marking ritual Victoria mentioned, had been sliced clean, leaving nothing but cold, echoing emptiness.Hands were on me instantly.“Your Majesty!”“Easy, hold her gently!”I thrashed like a drowning woman fighting the current, arms flailing, legs kicking at invisible monsters. “He’s gone!” I gasped, grabbing whoever was closest… Thomas, I re
Kira’s POVI was going to lose my mind.I paced the room so aggressively that even the carpet probably hated me at this point.Back and forth.Back and forth.My heart wouldn’t stop racing.Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.Who bites someone and then runs off?Victoria stood near the door like some very stressed-out bodyguard pretending not to panic while I spiraled into emotional destruction.“Your highness—”“Don’t ‘Your highness me right now,” I snapped, dragging both hands through my hair. “Something is wrong with Adrian.”I could feel it. That was the worst part.I could feel him for some weird reason.Not in a metaphorical “I miss him” way.No.I could literally feel him. I could feel this immense pain which is obviously not mine. I could feel grief and fear too.It slammed into my chest in violent waves so strong it made it hard to breathe.What the hell is going on? I stopped pacing abruptly and grabbed the edge of a nearby table before my knees betrayed me.
Adrian’s POV Kira’s eyes widened in pure disbelief, her chest still heaving from all the shouting and punching.“Are you serious right now?” she exploded, voice cracking with disbelief and fresh anger. “I’m standing here telling you my father was imprisoned unfairly for years, that everything he went through was because of lies and betrayal, and all you can think about is biting me?! Biting me?! Like some horny vampire from a bad romance novel? What the hell is wrong with you, Adrian?!”I couldn’t wait any longer. Time was slipping through my fingers like sand. Elise was already waiting, and every second counted. I needed to be sure Kira wouldn’t slip away from me while I was gone. The mark would bind her to me, make it harder for her to run, harder for anyone else to claim her. Selfish? Yes. But right now, I didn’t care. I stepped closer, my hand sliding up to gently but firmly hold the back of her neck. Her skin was warm, pulse racing under my palm. I leaned down, bringi
Adrian’s POVElise’s words hung in the air like a death sentence wrapped in silk as I kept replaying them in my head.To break the curse completely, I had to leave the palace immediately and go with her. No contact with Kira or anyone else. No seeing her, no speaking to her, no scent of her near me until the entire ritual was done. The separation had to be total. She said the royal curse fed on emotional bonds, especially the mate bond. Any connection to Kira would keep the darkness anchored inside me.She told me that her circle told my father about this…about the only way to break the curse…but he didn’t want to leave my mother. And now, the curse has been passed down to me. Isn’t that a little selfish? I mean… I could have been safe from all these drama but no. He didn’t want to leave my mother.I didn’t want to do it either. The thought of walking away from her right now, especially after everything that had just happened, felt like ripping my own heart out. But I had no choice
Adrian’s POVWasn’t that the plan? To kill him?Silas kept throwing words like knives, even trapped inside the glowing circle. “Empty threats! All of you!” he spat, voice dripping with venom. “You think mixing a little blood will end me? Go ahead and try it! I cannot be destroyed. I’ve walked through centuries while fools like you turned to dust. Do it! I dare you! Do whatever you think you can do to me!”The three priestesses stepped forward. Sheila gently took the bowl from my hands. Elise peered into the mixture of blood…mine and Kira’s…her lips curving into a slow, satisfied smile that sent a chill down my spine.Then, without warning, Elise drew a small blade across her own palm. Fresh blood welled up and she let it drip straight into the bowl, mixing with ours.Sheila’s eyes widened in shock. “Elise, what are you doing? That wasn’t the plan!”Elise tilted her head slowly, looking at Sheila. Her voice turned eerie, low and hollow, like it came from somewhere much older than her
Adrian’s POVThomas moved fast. One second Kira was still arguing, her voice rising in that familiar stubborn pitch, the next her body went limp as he hit his hand against her neck. Not too hard, just enough.Her eyes fluttered once, then rolled back. He caught her before she hit the ground, scooping her up like she weighed nothing.I watched him carry her away, robe and all, her head lolling against his shoulder. Good. She didn’t need to see what was about to happen here. Whatever came next, I wanted her far from it.My hands curled into fists at my sides. The thought of her father…Tristen…being the one who killed my mother still sat like ice in my gut. I wasn’t ready for that conversation. Not even close. But one thing was crystal clear in my head… I wasn’t letting any of this destroy what I was building with her. Not Silas, not her father, not old blood feuds. This time, I was going to be selfish.She almost ran away with Tristen. The image of her slipping through my fingers, d
Kira’s POVI stood there, staring at that stupid fence like it was mocking me. God, I need to start working out more!Twenty steps?That’s all I’d managed before my lungs gave up and my legs turned to jelly. My chest heaved, sweat already sticking to my back. I’m human after all. Fully, pathetical
Adrian’s POVThe same bloody curse.It wasn’t some ancient fairy tale whispered around campfires to scare pups. It was real, carved into my bloodline like a scar that never healed. I’d lived with it my whole life, but I’d never truly understood the monster it could turn me into until that one night
Kira’s POVThe so-called Dark Zone should be a piece of cake. She’s probably overreacting to scare me.I cleared my throat and crossed my arm. “Tell me more about this Dark Zone,” I said.Victoria crossed her arms, that smug little smile still plastered on her face, but her eyes had this gleam…like
Kira’s POVI stumbled out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, legs still shaky, cheeks burning like I’d run a marathon. My reflection in the mirror looked guilty as hell…flushed skin, messy hair, eyes too bright. I was utterly disgusted with myself.Not once. Twice.I’d come twice in there. The f







