Damien brought Seraphina to an abandoned chapel beyond the city, where moonlight poured through shattered stained glass.
For hours, he told her the truth about his past.
His family had once ruled beside Lucien's. When rebellion threatened the throne, Lucien's father accused Damien's family of treason. They were executed before dawn.
Lucien had been young, powerless, and crowned too soon.
But Damien had never forgiven him for surviving.
"Every year, I told myself I wanted justice," Damien confessed. "Eventually, I stopped knowing the difference between justice and revenge."
Seraphina sat beside him.
"And now?"
He looked at her.
"Now I want something I have no right to ask for."
"What?"
"You."
The words hung between them.
He shook his head, almost laughing at himself.
"I could make a thousand promises. Tell you that I would never hurt you. That I would burn every kingdom to protect you. But I know what I am, Seraphina. I know what happens when I let my hunger become stronger than my conscience."
She reached for his hand.
"You don't have to become a better man for me. You have to decide whether you want to become one for yourself."
Damien looked down at their joined fingers.
Then he lifted her hand and pressed a gentle kiss against her knuckles.
"I love you," he whispered.
It was the first time he had spoken those words without disguising them as a joke.
Seraphina's eyes filled with tears.
"I care about you, Damien. More than I expected to."
He closed his eyes briefly.
"But you love him," he said.
She could not lie.
"I don't know what I feel anymore."
Damien nodded, swallowing the pain.
"Then I won't ask you to choose tonight."
A crash shattered the silence.
The chapel doors exploded inward.
Vampires in black armour flooded the room, their weapons glinting beneath the moonlight.
Their leader carried the royal crest.
Lucien's crest.
Damien drew his blade and placed himself between Seraphina and the attackers.
"Stay behind me."
She reached for the silver pendant at her throat.
It had begun to glow.
And somewhere deep inside her blood, something ancient awakened.