The Cost of Needing

He's fucking sleeping. After his little proclamation, and my rejection once again—this time with a quiet, “I despise you”—he didn't try to convince me anymore. Instead, he lowers himself beside me like a man who has all time in the world and closes his eyes. And has continued the act for the better part of ten minutes. To be very honest, I don't care whether he really is asleep or not. It's just the utter audacity doing so when I'm here. Telling me he doesn't fear me. Telling me he doesn't see me as a threat. I should be a threat. I'm a fucking hunter. I consider yanking my hand free from his imagining using them both to choke him to the permanent sleep he wants. But I don't. Besides it being pointless—and something he probably expects me to do—there's only one way to kill a vampire, and it isn't that. I rest my head back, mirroring him and studying him. Some strands of his dark hair fall loose over his forehead. They're not uneven anymore, I notice. At some point he’d gott

Last Updated : 2026-08-17

Not Quite Free

The knock continues, but Kaine doesn't move. He doesn't even give a sign that he intends to answer the door. The only difference in his still body is his eyes, turned amber, fixed neither on me nor the door. I follow the direction of his gaze, my anger giving way to confusion, but there is nothing but the wall there. A cold tremor shoots down my back. What in Hel is he staring at? I shift against the bed, not sure of what to do. Not sure I should even be moving as every instinct I've spent twelve years sharpening is telling me that something is wrong. This is the second time now I've seen that color in his eyes, and the first time was when he'd seen the blood on my neck. “Leech?” Nothing. Not even a twitch. My stomach pitches. Something is definitely wrong. “Kaine?” He blinks once, and after what feels like too long, his attention finally shifts to mine. Slowly, the amber begins to recede from the edges of his eyes, the green returning until his gaze looks normal again. He

Last Updated : 2026-08-21

Making Friends with the Enemy

There is nothing more uncomfortable than walking alongside an enemy and not being able to kill them, especially when every instinct in me is screaming to do the opposite. I put as much space between Fenn and me as I can without making it obvious that I'm actively trying to avoid him. But since I apparently don't have much luck these days, it doesn't go unnoticed. “Um… hunter?” he finally says after several turns of silence. I observe him from the corners of my eyes, fiddling with the small gold seal stamp I was able to snag from Kaine's desk. Not exactly a weapon, but there isn't a heavy brass candlestick around. And if he tries anything, it will be enough to blind him and give me a head start to run. “Yes?” He glances at me, his brown brows knitting together as though I've hurt him. “Did I do anything to upset you?” Hurt? The word echoes in my head. Odin’s beard, just three days with them and I'm turning soft. Kaine's hands tucking my hair behind my ear flashes through

Last Updated : 2026-08-22

An Easy Way Out

“Well,” I say, pushing the heavy realization away. Escape first, think later. I force back my smile, “how long have you lived here for then?” Lived here. My own words sound strange in my head. “Hmm...” He thinks for a moment. “A little over two hundred and ninety-seven years.”I nearly stumble. Two hundred and ninety-seven?My gaze snaps to him. The vampires I've killed were usually between one hundred and one hundred and fifty. If he's this old and looks like this, how old is Kaine? How old is everyone else? I force my expression to remain neutral.“That’s… impressive.” I glance ahead again. “Then you must know this place pretty well.”His expression brightens slightly. “I do.”Perfect.I turn my attention back to the corridor, pretending to study one of the paintings on the walls.“It's so large though. I can imagine there are rooms even you don't know about.”He straightens slightly, something like pride flashing across his face. “I was practically brought up here. I can assure

Last Updated : 2026-08-23

An Unlikely Rescue

There's nothing in my head but static as I stare at him. Then training claws its way back in, shoving the panic aside. I have to attack him before he— I try to move my hands, but they won't budge. Only then do I realize it's too late, he already has all of me now, not just my legs. Great Hel. The seal digs into my palm as the corridor seems to shrink around me. What should I do? “What’s the matter? Did he make you dumb already?” he sneers. When I still don't say anything, he's suddenly in front of me. I never see him move. I blink. This close, I can see the blood has dried at the corner of his mouth, and something colder than I remember sits behind his eyes. His arms are relaxed. His stance is loose. On equal ground, that would be my opening, his flaw. Instead it just tells me he isn't trying, that he doesn't have to. “Fuck. Did he really break you? That won't do.” He raises his left hand and slowly trails his fingers along my jaw. Then he grips my chin and tilts my f

Last Updated : 2026-08-27

When You Think Of Home, Home Is Surely Going To Come To You

My bare feet hit stone, then carpet, then stone again—I’d kicked off the useless slippers given to me alongside this Hel-forsaken dress within the first few strides, and didn't look back. I nearly stumble when the fabric of the dress catches around my legs. For Hel's sake. I gather the skirt with my free hand and yank it higher, the stamp seal crushed in the other as I look for the nearest door to open. The way out has to be within this stretch. If my instinct is right, we must have already passed it. Fenn and I were only a turn away from Kaine's room when River came. And when he'd finally answered my question, he'd made the smallest twitch toward the corridor we'd come from. Left. No—right. I don't know. Every hallway looks the same. I throw open a door that looks promising, but I'm met with a room filled with high shelves. A library. It's not it. I slam the door shut and check the door across from it. A parlor. My shoulders sag for half a second before I force myself to move to

Last Updated : 2026-08-30