Semua Bab Blood and moonlight : Bab 1 - Bab 10

The house was too quiet when Ava rose from her seat near the fire. The embers crackled softly, the only sound in the grand hall. Pale moonlight bled through the stained-glass windows, casting red and violet patterns across the cold stone floor. She pulled her cloak over her shoulders, the fabric whispering as it slid across her skin. She needed air. A hunt. Something to sink her teeth into—literally. Her veins itched with hunger, and the stored blood in the cellar tasted like metal and regret. “I’m going out,” she said, turning toward the library where her father always sat at this hour. As expected, Lord Elaris was buried in a tome so ancient it looked like it might fall apart under his fingers. He didn’t glance up. “Where?” “The forest. I need a proper hunt,” she said. “There’s a herd of deer near the east ridge. I won’t go far.” “You’ve said that before,” he murmured, voice calm but sharp. “And came back blood-soaked, dragging a wild boar behind you.” Ava smirked. “That

The sky was already turning the color of ash when Ava slipped back through the manor gates. She moved fast, hood pulled low, cloak dusty from the forest floor. Her heartbeat still hadn’t settled. Not from the run… but from him. His eyes, those molten gold eyes—they’d burned into her soul. Every step away from that house felt like tearing herself from a place she didn’t realize she belonged. A place she should’ve feared. A place she now craved. The scent of blood wards and old stone greeted her as she crept into the main hall. Quiet. Empty. Good. “Ava.” She froze. Her father stood at the top of the staircase, arms folded across his chest. His eyes, sharp as ever, met hers. “You’re late.” “I—” She straightened, composing her face like a mask. “Lost track of time. The herd scattered.” He descended slowly, gaze narrowing. “Your uncle said you never showed.” Ava blinked. “He was… busy.” “With a maid?” Of course he knew. Lord Elaris stopped in front of her. “You didn’t wear prot

The ruin hadn’t changed. Still cracked and overgrown, cloaked in ivy and shadow. Still silent… except for the heartbeat she couldn’t explain.He was there. Just like before. Waiting.Ava stepped through the broken doorway like she belonged there. Like they both did.Achi stood by the hearth, one hand resting against the stone. The fire was out, but the air between them still pulsed with heat.“You came back,” he said.“Why are you here?” she asked softly.“I could ask you the same.”She folded her arms. “I don’t know.”That was the truth. A bitter one.Something about him unsettled her. Not just his presence—but how she felt in it. Like she was weightless and burning all at once. Like she was looking at someone she used to know in another life.“I… dreamt of this place,” she admitted, eyes scanning the dark corners. “But I’ve never been here before. Not really.”“You’ve been here,” Achi said, voice low. “Just not in the way you think.”That stopped her.“What does that mean?”He didn’

Darius had always preferred the quiet.Not the kind that sat in a room with you like a lull—but the kind that curled around your skin like a second soul. The kind that let you breathe without being seen, let you move without leaving a trace. That kind of quiet was holy.And tonight, it followed him like an old friend.He stood just beyond the tree line, high above the valley where Ava walked alone, her figure cutting through the mist like a thread of fire. Even from a distance, she didn’t move like a girl raised in safety. She moved like a flame—deliberate, untamed, unaware of how much light she gave off.He watched her with eyes that never blinked.“She’s different,” Darius muttered to himself, voice barely above breath.The forest around him didn’t answer. But it didn’t need to. He already knew what he’d been sent for.Lord Elias’s orders had been clear.Watch her. Don’t be seen. If she shows signs… report. If she strays… handle it.But what the Lord hadn’t said, what had hung in th

Darius had followed her. He wasn’t supposed to—not that far. Not into the ruins. Not into the woods where the air tasted like secrets and things that should’ve been buried.But Ava wasn’t normal. She wasn’t predictable. And tonight… something about her had changed.The air was still humming when he climbed down from the tree. The mark she found—it wasn’t just old. It was forbidden. And the way her body responded to it?He ran a hand down his face, sweat gathering at his temple despite the cold. She didn’t just touch the symbol. She activated it.He’d been sent to monitor her, not get involved. But how could he stay quiet now?He turned, ready to head back—then froze.A figure stepped out of the fog, like it had been born from the mist. Tall. Calm. Power curling off his shoulders like smoke. His eyes flickered, not glowing, but deep—too deep.The man moved with the kind of confidence that only came from bloodline. Dominance. Something primal lived in the way he carried himself. Darius