Eva walked the dark, empty streets of Sinco, leading Rick along the way. She clasped his hand, his warmth permeating through the touch. The drumbeats of the festival faded away. The aromas of cooked meat drifting off and replaced by the salt of the nearby sea.

Rick stumbled a little, and Eva jolted, spinning around to catch him. Her free hand pressed against his shoulder, and Rick looked into her eyes. “I can’t see too well, you know.”

His heart was pounding; she felt his pulse under her palm, saw it in the way heat raced up his neck, and heard it in the city's darkness. Here, he was vulnerable, exposed; this gloom was her domain, and he was the prey.

But there was no nervousness in his scent, no fear in his voice. His black eyes glimmered with absolute confidence… It went against every instinct in her body. He should be the quarry, and yet…

“Where are we going?” He broke the silence. His free hand had captured her hip, and suddenly Eva felt like he just might dance with her once more. “Have you calmed down?”

She only noticed the smile on her lips when she tried to shift her expression to something more serious. Eventually she gave him an apologetic stare, even if aware he was blind in this umbra. “I brought my problems into this. I’m sorry.”

Rick’s hand caressed her exposed waist from under the cape, reminding her of exactly the kind of clothes she was currently wearing. The heat from earlier was slowly returning, suffusing her nerves with its glow. “There’s nothing to apologize for,” he squeezed her body closer, entwining his fingers with her own while pulling her closer still. “No one is expected to just bottle everything up forever.”

His heart was beating fast. The desire was thick in his sweat, through the heat of his body. Perhaps it was she who was the prey.

Eva faltered, her mind betraying her resolve, deluging her with the question of how it would be like pinned against the wall, smothered in his kisses. To forever drown in the beating of his heart and never again think of anything else. But the image from the mirror jumped back out to assault her. She couldn’t surrender to this. She didn’t want a future where she was meek and defenseless.

Giving in to the gooey heat pooling in her groin could only lead to the paths presented to her.

She wanted this to work. She wanted to show Rick everything. But there was this dread hanging over their every action. Should she truly consider a path to ascend into a Vampire? The monster that had taken all from her? The one thing she was sure of was that Kiara could not be allowed to be a part of this. It was just too big a risk. Eva could just as well end up like one of the Succubus’ pets.

Also, Kiara was a Centaur’s ass of a person.

“How can you be so calm?” she wondered, if only so she broke her own doubts from gaining momentum again.

“I’m calm?” he chuckled, staring at her with doubt, as if he could truly see her face.

Was it a product of the bond? Or was his hearing just that sharp? Likely both.

“You can’t see where we’re going. It’s too dark.”

“I trust my guide.”

That made one of them.

The sarcastic thought didn’t stop the little flutter in her chest. What a dreadful thing to have these feelings.

Eva renewed her march onward, away from the festivities, but uncertain of the destination. “How do you handle things when you don’t have enough information to be certain of the path ahead? How do you decide on the next step of action?” She turned her attention away from him, lest she fall into those dark pools again.

She needed to be sure. She needed to…

Become a Vampire.

The words had burned themselves into her with dark flames. She wouldn’t let them go, even though she very much preferred if there was an alternative. Knowing that this was the only way to move forward didn’t make the fact any less anathema to who she’d been.

Evans Bavtha would have sooner ended their life. His life.

Evangeline was staring down that cliff and wondering how she’d get to the bottom.

Would she survive? Or would something else emerge? Something dark and terrible?

Becoming a Fledgling, a maiden, had changed her in ways she’d yet to fully comprehend. It was only thanks to Rick that she’d come to terms with this new life. And now, before even fully grasping who she was, she was staring at that drop that would only change her further.

The only consolation to be had was that, this time, it was her choice.

There would be no monster pushing her over the edge.

“I think of taking actions sort of like choosing a destination on a map,” Rick’s voice startled her out of her dread. “There’s never going to be a perfect path to exactly where you want to go.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “So I follow the trail until you’re the closest I can get… and once I jump into the proper wilderness, I try to use landmarks and hope I don’t get lost.”

His words urged her to move again.

Could she ever hope to achieve what needed to be done if she remained a Fledgling? Her fear fed her with plenty of examples, promising her that if she just trained hard, then she’d grow strong enough without needing to ascend. Eva ruthlessly squashed those thoughts. The fight back at the tribe had involved Fledglings far more experienced than her, and Monica had cut them down like they were only wheat.

How many years would she need to get to that point? How long until she was “only wheat” to a champion rather than a mere bug?

“What if the only path ahead involves danger? What if the safer path is too long?” she blurted out the question. “What if you have to do something you would’ve never considered before?”

Rick’s whimsical smile turned into a serious look. “Guess it depends on whether it’s truly dangerous, or if it’s only apparently so. Though honestly, I’d be asking myself if what’s at the end is worth the risk.”

A false perception of danger? Eva frowned, looking at Rick once more. Were her fears of ascension… unfounded? She bit her lip. This was a matter she had not delved into. As far as the bond was concerned, ascension merely meant the maiden’s emotions more easily sustained the bond on their own… or sabotaged it.

They stepped out from the dark alleyway. There was barely enough light that even Rick could now see.

“Huh, so we’re going back here?”

Eva glanced up, only now realizing she’d been leading him to Thorley’s former fortress out of habit. The structure was a squat, sordid thing, with sharp angles in all the wrong places. There was nothing aesthetic about it. The castle was a scab in the city's heart. She stared at it for a moment, but her mind was still trying to work through what she knew… or what little she knew about ascension.

“The thing still looks ugly,” her companion commented idly.

“The design of the castle is three hundred years old. It follows the Grand Liberator’s philosophy of function over form,” she answered with minor consideration. “The easiest way to identify edifices of that era is through how many triangles are involved,” she intoned. As they approached, she sensed Rick’s shoulders growing tense. Why would he be nervous now? Nothing had changed except… “I’ve been spending most of my time here as of late. I stripped it of all its protections. It is nothing but an ugly rock.” She squeezed his hand. “If anything were to happen, I can get us both out.”

He squeezed back, smiling slightly at her. Eva’s heart fluttered, and she renewed her determination to work through this problem. As Dia had said, sometimes you just needed to ‘suck it up’, and maybe that was the answer. Yet there were cautionary tales throughout history.

“Have you read about the kingdom of Farlonr?”

She might have led Rick through the castle in darkness. The thought of him stumbling into her arms was amusing, perhaps even tempting. But she wished for him to focus on her words rather than be distracted by the darkness. So she carefully weaved a light spell.

“You can cast?” He leaned closer to look at the tiny orb of light. “Congratulations.”

She flustered, quickly waving him off. “It is nothing of worth. Not even a novice would take as long as I did.” With a quick cough, she turned to look away from him before he leaned any closer. “So, my question?”

Rick made an amused sound, but didn’t press. “I was a guest of Earl Vitchatt, I think I might have read that name amongst the books in his library.”

A guest of the Earl of Balet? She was sure he’d mentioned something along those lines before, but he had never really brought up the subject. Eva had spent too much time in his shadow, observing him, trying to find the trick or the trap. To make sense of the madman that was bonded to two monsters.

The matter was for some other time.

“The kingdom of Farlonr fell thirty years ago at the hands of the now-known Azure Dragoness.” She slowed her steps, glancing at her own hands for a moment. “According to reports, she’d been a Dracona in service to the Farlonr king. A brilliant strategist, she’d quickly crushed the collar-rebellion within their territory.” Her voice dipped. “Upon her ascension into a dragoness, she turned against them. She crushed the kingdom, and now rules over the ashes.”

“Wonder what made her go down that path.”

Eva blanched. Was it not obvious? “It was her ascension.”

“Why would that matter?”

“A Dragoness is not a creature that will obey anyone’s command; they refuse any authority that isn’t their own,” she retorted. “To refuse a Dragoness is to court death.”

He shrugged. “You seem to only be seeing the race, and not the person.”

She glared. “What would you do if Monica one day woke up and threatened to destroy Sinco if she didn’t get to rule it?”

“I’d give her a nice gold throne, put a few people to walk around handing her treats regularly, a few more insisting she’s their queen. And I’d keep any important meetings somewhere out of earshot.”

The immediacy of his response was suspect.

“You’ve considered this before, haven’t you?”

Rick chuckled in amusement but did not answer. The cocky grin needled at her.

“Fine, be that way.” She glared now; perhaps it was time for a more direct approach. “Do you believe that what we are determines who we are?”

She didn’t know what she wanted him to say. What she could say? Even now, it still felt anathema to consider that she was trying to figure out how to become a Vampire. The thought was trepidation itself. What did it mean for her, as a person, to have opened the gates to this taboo? To consider the prospect of becoming a monster?

“Give me a minute to think this one through.”

Eva nodded automatically, turning to continue walking down the corridor. If he could come up with something that might help shine a light on the path ahead… waiting for just a few minutes, or a few hours, would be worth it.

They continued their way deeper into the castle, their steps muffled by the rugs. In the absence of sound, Rick’s heartbeat was a drum in her ears. Eva marched in step with its rhythm, wondering what he would answer. It was a strong heart.

Glancing over his way, she found a flicker of reassurance in his serious expression. Perhaps he understood the gravity of the question, or maybe he could sense how important this was for her.

Maybe… maybe if he gave her some other option…

His steps slowed, his attention drifting from the darkness ahead to the walls of the corridor. Eva bit her lip, wanting to ask for his thoughts, but not wanting to disturb them. So she waited.

“They made this castle with granite, right?” Rick caressed the smooth gray surface.

She glanced at the stone. Was this related to her question, or something else? “I think so, yes.”

“Did you know that granite is technically poisonous to be around?” he declared. “It usually contains trace amounts of uranium and radon. I bet we’d need to set up a detector in the basement of this place.” There was a twinkle in his eye, the same look he had whenever he wanted to make something new. As if this whole thing was a puzzle. “But I digress. Have you ever heard of castles made of sandstone?”

“Of course.” Eva nodded. “The material is more easily found north of the kingdom, near the desert.”

“And would you make a castle out of glass?”

She scoffed. “Of course not.”

“Why?”

Was this a serious question? Or was it some sort of joke? No, his question had been serious. Then his question must be deeper than the more obvious answer. She looked up at Rick, watching as he caressed the wall, then rubbed his fingers together. Dust drifted to the floor, and she frowned.

“You’re implying glass and sandstone are the same,” she concluded.

“Yes. In a way, they are very much alike.” He grinned with annoying amusement, turning to her. “Both sandstone and glass are almost entirely silicon dioxide. Yet one would be utterly useless for fortifications, while the other wouldn’t work for making windows.” The man chuckled. “Having said that, sandstone can be turned into glass, and glass can become sandstone.”

Eva blanched at the idea. Was he speaking of alchemy? The theories of particle composition clearly dictated that transformations could not be undone. Only further transformation would approximate the base material! But never the same. The closest to such a thing was the purification of elemental energy that occurred within a maiden, even that had its fair share of issues and caveats.

“How?”

“Sandstone to glass is tricky. You’d need to break it down, heat it up, and then figure out some way to separate the stuff you don’t want,” he answered simply. “Glass to sandstone would need to be ground into sand, then put under immense pressure and temperature for millions of years.”

Her eyes widened, his words summoning another thought, a dangerous thought.

What if… she could become human? Was this a potential path ahead?

She swallowed, looking at Rick not as a human, but as an otherworlder. Should she dare ask? She felt as if she were a child before a spellcaster, thinking it possible to do anything and everything. Eva knew there had to be limitations somewhere, and yet the prospect gripped her all the same.

The question would seal her fate, she knew, with either hope or despair.

Her hand moved towards him and froze.

Could she protect him if she became a human?

“Are you ok?”

Eva’s gaze lingered on his concerned eyes.

Again, the ‘what-if’ assaulted her. If she recovered her humanity, she would have a claim to lead her noble house once more. She could reclaim what had been lost, but would she want to help him? Or would she revert to Evans Bavtha? Even if she didn’t, would she be able to defy the king or emperor if they claimed Rick as a target? No, not “if”, but “when”. The wonders he had made reality would no doubt reshape this world. Such a power would not be allowed to roam freely.

If she desired to stay by his side, then it meant she needed the resolve to face everything.

With a shaking breath, she shook her head. “It’s hard to move forward, even when I know what I want.” She pulled her hand back, reaching for her throat, to touch the collar and remind herself that she was a maiden now, that this was what she wanted. Instead, her fingers brushed against her bare skin.

She’d forgotten that Rick had taken her collar away when he’d helped her change clothes. Thinking fast, she caressed the purple cloth securing her hair in place. The one Rick had put there, emblazoned with his crest, the one he’d used to tie her hair into place.

“Change,” she whispered. “You made this, didn’t you? It wasn’t something Thorley had been hoarding somewhere.”

“Kind of,” he admitted. “I made the mauveine dye. And the design, I suppose. Kiara insisted on using something else.” He flashed a victorious look, and his smile was contagious, making her chuckle. “But if it had been any more complex, I believe Miss Ahina would’ve died in the attempt to finish the commission.” He waved his hand dismissively as he spoke. “Nearly everything was the work of her; she accepted the offer as if she were possessed.”

Eva understood why. The scope of the gesture Rick had made tonight was hard to fathom. She imagined it was the stuff of wild tales and fantasies. An otherworlder pops out of nowhere to shower every man, woman, and maiden with gifts worth a collective emperor’s ransom.

She considered asking him about how the dye was made. There was no doubt he’d tell her, and do so enthusiastically at that. But she shifted her focus to the emblem. “What does the symbol stand for?”

“Hydrogen. It’s the smallest atom, but arguably the most important.”

Finding the strength to continue down the corridor, deeper into the castle, she tugged him to follow along. “How so?”

To a noble, the symbolism of their crest was important. It wasn’t meant solely as a message to others, but also as a promise to oneself. Did Rick think the same way? She found the prospect of finding out to be an intriguing one.

“At its most basic, hydrogen makes life possible. No hydrogen means no water, and no hydrocarbons.” His smile only grew in enthusiasm. “On the grander scale, save some isotopes, almost every other element in the universe comes out of hydrogen or helium. In a sense, it’s the progenitor of everything.”

Another wild claim. Eva would’ve accused him of toying with her, but his voice was far too earnest. “Surely not,” she teased anyway, giving him a half-smile of her own.

Now it was Rick’s turn to scoff.

“If you collect enough hydrogen in one place, gravity pulls them closer together. Pressure increases, temperature rises. Bump it high enough, and you get yourself nuclear fusion.” His tone grew mildly manic as his heart beat with more determination. “The hydrogen atoms smash into one another under the immense heat and pressure, creating helium. Increase pressure and temperature further, and you can get helium to smash into carbon. Carbon into oxygen, and on and on.”

Eva rolled her eyes in exaggeration. “And I am sure you can prove this process is possible.”

“If the sky is clear, you can see it, no matter the time of day.” If his grin were any wider, it would’ve split his head in two. “Every star in the sky, the very sun, they are the same thing. Just gigantic pressure cookers smashing things together to get new things and releasing a bunch of heat along the way.”

Her steps came to a halt again.

“You spoke about this before.”

It wasn’t a question, nor did she expect an answer, but she remembered how she’d dismissed his words at the time. Who could believe a madman’s claim that they knew how the center of the sun worked? But it’d been that same madman whose impossible purple-dyed cloth she wore, that very madman who’d smashed a feral horde using compounds snatched out of the very air they breathed.

What if his insights weren’t just madness? What if there was wisdom in this knowledge that could apply to more than just the sun and the stars?

Eva thought back to Kiara’s words, about how to achieve ascension into a Vampire. Power and… pleasure, ecstasy, mixed with the satiation of her hunger. An acceptance and indulgence, rather than a denial of the thirst. All of it balled together until it triggered the process. Was part of the process not that different from Rick’s own words?

“I must be going insane,” she blinked rapidly, turning to continue towards their destination.

> [[Break point 1]][🍋]

Rick appeared to have caught on that this was not a time for words. Eva’s thoughts kept churning, chewing, putting together everything that she knew. She’d filled herself from Monica a few hours prior. She could still feel the power in the Sabertooth’s blood within her belly. Would this be enough?

Even if it was enough energy, would the rest be possible without Kiara? Rather than doubt, she planted her feet firmly on the ground, spun around, and pulled Rick into a kiss. She took his lips hungrily. The smoldering coals within her exploded as he replied with the same intensity.

Rick spun her against the wall, her feet leaving the floor for half a second. The maiden left with naught but her cape to protect her from the cold bite of stone. His hands held her firmly in place, her own digging into his hair.

With a groan, they both parted, drawing breath and staring into each other’s eyes.

“Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but are you feeling better?” He squeezed her hips appreciatively.

She was.

She wasn’t.

In the span of a heartbeat, she’d reached the conclusion that she didn’t want her humanity back, even if it was possible.

At the same time, she was growing concerned about whether it was possible to ascend without having to strike a bargain with Kiara.

Eva shot him an apologetic look. Tonight shouldn’t be about her. This was not what she’d wanted to dwell on. “I want this to be special, and I’m just so full of…”

“Doubt?”

Her answer came as a tiny nod. It was doubt and about two dozen other emotions she couldn’t quite label. Was she trying to push things out of fear that she’d lose the nerve by morning?

“Want me to take the lead for a bit?” He closed the distance; she closed her eyes.

Rick kissed her forehead.

She recovered from the momentary surprise, fighting the fire in her cheeks. She hurried ahead once more, taking the final turn of their journey. “Not yet.”

Her face burned brighter as she promptly snuffed out the magelight. In doing so, Rick had been successfully rendered blind, and she could safely lead him past the double doors. “Eva?”

The room was the Lord’s sleeping chamber, with a large four-poster bed on the far wall, a study desk, and chair… and a mountain of books and clothes littering just about every inch of available space. Eva hadn’t thought anyone would come here, let alone that she’d bring Rick, but nowhere else was suitable for what was to come.

So she began to hastily rearrange as much of it as she could, emptying the bed of discarded dresses and books. She took scrambling steps to shove everything away to keep the disaster hidden from immediate view, at least so long as she kept a single source of light.

“Just a moment.”

In preparing for tonight, she had made one massive miscalculation.

Mainly in that she’d expected to head back to Rick’s abode.

“Is this where you’ve been all these days?”

To say Eva’s face was about to ignite would be an understatement. “I thought you couldn’t see in the dark.”

“As a former bachelor, I can recognize the sound of desperate cleaning anywhere.” He leaned back against the closed door, chuckling in amusement. “So this is how it feels to be the hot date. Should I put on something sexy too? I don’t think I’ll be able to beat what you’ve got on right now.”

She glowered, dropping the heavy tome on proper court etiquette with a thud. She dared not look down at herself; just being reminded of the presence of the lurid attire made her skin tingle. “Must you toy with me?”

“Does the beautiful maiden desire for me to halt my verbal transgressions?”

His question left her face warmer. “Your sense of propriety is horrid.”

“My lack of a sense of propriety allows me to tell you that you shouldn’t worry.” Rick chuckled darkly. “If your goal is to get me into bed, then I’d probably take a running start.”

“That’s… you…” she stuttered, now openly glaring.

She refused to think of her intentions in such terminology.

“Why must you say such things?”

He took half a step forward, his foot tentatively feeling out of the space ahead of him. Despite his clear blindness, his eyes locked on her. It was as if he could actually see, but only her. Exclusively her. The thought sent a fluttering through her insides.

“Because ‘unsaid’ things only work when both parties come from the same baseline.” He’d moved his way towards the massive bed; he was halfway there. “Since the tent, you’ve been flipping back and forth between this gut-wrenching anxiety and the stuff from the kiss back there. I’m not sure what’s going through your head, but the only time I’ve ever felt remotely similar was when I was trying to get this…” Blinking twice, he stopped, dismissing the thought. “Anyway, having the reassurance would’ve helped me a lot back then.”

Of course, he could tell what she’d sensed through the bond. On second thought, it made sense he’d be paying close attention throughout this time. She should’ve better handled her-

The bond…

The bond!

That was the answer!

She hurried to jump off the bed and cover the distance between them, tossing the cape aside and grabbing his hand. “I think I just found a solution to… everything.” Pulling the stumbling man forward, she hastily seated him at the edge of the massive bed before he fell. The kiss that followed was brief, a peck of gratitude, if she could name it such. “I need your help with something.”

Her gaze lingered on his body; she sensed the veins and arteries in a slightly elevated pulse as they ran under his shirt. Her own heart was rushing, excited to have finally found a solution. There might still be some apprehension, but she focused on the warmth of Rick’s presence.

“Shoot.”

It was one of his expressions. Eva smiled a little. “I’m not sure if it’s possible, but I would need you to do what you did back when…” Her eyes traversed to his throat, pausing at the scars that were peeking from under his shirt. Unable to finish the words, she reached out, touching the irregular surface of the deformity she’d put upon him.

Did she truly deserve this?

“You mean this?” Rick hurried to ask before the hesitation took hold again.

His words came with a shift, barely imperceptible. It was a tug at his shoulders, a seriousness in his eyes. His breathing stilled, and his body tensed. Rick’s heart slowed half a beat, and then redoubled as he leaned marginally closer. Black eyes betrayed a flicker of blue as they locked onto hers.

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Suddenly, Eva couldn’t look away; fear gripped her drumming heart. She inhaled sharply, leaning away as the predator reached out towards her.

Every instinct in her body screamed he was about to eat her alive.

Rick sighed, and the oppressive fear vanished as quickly as it came.

Eva’s heart was galloping against her ribs. She swallowed, thankful she’d been sitting. She recognized the threat was not real, but it didn’t make her body any less startled. What she couldn’t entirely fathom was why this cold dread had immediately led to a burning heat. Her skin was flushed at the thought of the human subduing her. The thought was taboo, and that had turned the apprehension into oil for the fire.

Flushed, she squeezed her legs together, the image of his mouth on her throat sending shivers across her skin.

“Oh wow,” Rick’s eyes widened ever so slightly, brows rising, a playful disbelieving smile on his lips. He’d likely heard her little gasp, or maybe the bond had betrayed her again. “Was… is this…? Do you want me to…?”

“No!” she rebuffed quickly before he flustered her any further and lose herself. There was something she needed to focus on. “N-not that,” she swallowed air, clenching the sheets under her fingers. “I was talking about when you… took my hunger away, and then gave it back.”

If he did the same but with other things, then…

“I think you’re going to need to be more specific.”

Eva tried to coalesce her thoughts into words. Why was it that she could blurt out the most torrid things when she lost control, but couldn’t put together a coherent sentence when she tried? There was something to the idea that felt taboo, and for reasons far different from the act itself. What if this worked? What if it didn’t? Either prospect terrified her. Failure meant she’d have to ask Kiara, and she couldn’t fathom what that debt might manifest as. Success meant…

She didn’t want to think about the implications.

“Make me a star.”

Rick chuckled, fingers caressing her very exposed knee but not moving further her very exposed thighs. “Are we talking about making you famous as an actress?” His tone was light, full of amusement, a joke, if one only he understood. The intent all too clear: to tease her.

“I-It’s…” Eva shivered, her voice warbling. “It’s… you talked about stars and fusion!” She desperately waved her hands around. “I… I want you to…” She swallowed, her voice low, barely a whisper. “I want you to make me hot, hot enough to… ignite.”

Her face was probably going to ignite right now. She was thankful she had not summoned another magelight; otherwise, the embarrassment would have been that much more public.

“I see.” With no shortage of smugness, Rick leaned closer. “And you want this because-”

“I just want this to work!” she proclaimed, clenching her eyes shut, unable to look his way. It was unfair to expect this from him. But if this was real, if it was possible, then… then it just might work. “And for once I don’t want to be overwhelmed by guilt just for enjoying something!” She’d blurted the words, not sure where they’d come from, but unable to deny them either.

Eva’s eyes snapped open, ready to apologize, or correct herself, anything other than letting that be the last thing out of her mouth. Yet she didn’t speak, couldn’t. Rick was there, looming over her as if he’d become larger than any mountain, larger than life.

He was doing it again, staring down, pinning her in place with that unspeakable threat.

Eva had fought the Seraph, she’d survived Monica, and yet this, this she couldn’t struggle against. Couldn’t so much as lift a finger.

No.

She realized she didn’t want to.

When he reached out to her, warm fingers caressing her cheek, lightning bolts ran through her whole body. Eva swallowed, pressing her shoulders back for him, futilely trying to draw his attention to her aching chest. Breath caught in her throat. This was her fantasy, a world where Rick was the predator and she his prey.

“Two rules.” His voice was a growl, the heat of his body washing over her. “You say stop, and I will stop. No questions asked. No judgment. No fault. Do you understand?”

What could she do? She nodded. The sound of both their hearts flooded her ears, racing each other.

“Second rule.” Somehow, his voice reverberated over the deafening rush of blood. He scooted closer. “If I say to stop, you stop.”

That one stung, but she couldn’t deny the reality underlying the fantasy. As much as Rick could confuse her instincts, the scars upon his chest were a reminder of what was at stake. He needed to feel safe as much as she did.

Fortunately, she’d prepared for this. Eva summoned a small light, enough that it wouldn’t let him see past the edges of the bed and the disaster of books and clothes that lay beyond. Waiting for him to adjust to the light, she held her hand out, holding a glass vial. “Test me.”

Words were cheap; she would prove she would not hurt him.

“Urtha taught you that one?” He reached out not to the vial but to the light, engulfing it in his hand.

Eva got the message, cutting the spell off right as he reached out to caress her wrist.

Shivers coursed up her arm. “She… ah… made it a test for all Orcs. Insisted I take it as well.” Eva’s voice trembled, her eyes fluttering shut as he leaned closer, raising her chin, meeting his lips with softness. His other hand coursed against her back, pulling her closer. She breathed out, shuddering again, goosebumps trailing through her body, feeling as-

Rick’s hand lifted her diminutive skirt, gripped her exposed ass, and squeezed. There was no softness to be found there; the force under his fingers would bruise if she were anything but a maiden. Eva’s squeak turned into a full-throated moan. Her tongue thrust hungrily into his mouth, her free arm hugging him closer.

Her lungs burned for air, but she didn’t care, embracing the desire of his touch, molding herself to it.

They pulled apart, breathing hard. With one hand still gripping her rear, he used the other to remove the spittle from her lips. Eva bared her fangs, following instinct and biting the digit playfully, but not drawing blood.

Her gaze fluttered to her outstretched hand; the vial was intact.

“I… passed.” She swelled with pride, pressing her chest against his shirt, friction eliciting tingles through her breasts.

Rick was unwilling to let go of her body, one palm firmly glued to her rear while the other continued caressing her arm. There was a flash of concern in his eyes as he shifted his grip, lifting her just enough that she hopped onto his lap, her back pressed against his chest, facing the door.

Eva immediately became aware of two things.

One, Rick’s body was boiling, enveloping her from all sides like an oven. His pulse was raging through his veins, the scent of his desire assaulting her from every direction.

Two, there was something poking her rear where his hand had been a moment prior.

Emboldened, or perhaps drunk in sensation, she wriggled closer. The idea of driving him wild was making her head spin. She was in a desperate thirst for him, his touch, his scent, his attention, his blood. And best of all, her emotions were being reciprocated. It left her breathless and her imagination full of possibilities..

What if he lost control? What if he went all out and didn’t take no for an answer? What if he paralyzed her in fear and jumped her? The images left her biting her lip and grinding against his lap.

“Don’t drop the vial,” he commanded right as he bit her ear, one hand reaching for her chest, the other gripping her thigh.

> [[Break point 2]][🍋🍋]

Rough fingers lifted the feeble cloth that was her “bikini”. The string of the net containing her chest pinched at her pink nipple, and Eva’s thighs snapped together as she moaned again. “Is this what these clothes are for?” she begged the question out. “To drive me mad?”

His hand grasped at her breast, and she used her free grip to maul the other. It was a stark contrast. Rick was teasing her now, slowly drawing sparks of magma across her breast and inner thigh. It was full of desire, but in control. Her own touch was crude and desperate, barely able to compare or register in her mind.

He licked her neck, breathing cool air against the inflamed skin, and another firestorm rolled across her.

Was this really what she’d been denying herself?

Rick was all around her, overpowering her ability to keep track of any one sensation. Moaning openly, she leaned her head back against his shoulder. “Claim me,” she sang between gasps, slowly dancing on his lap, pressing her rump against the hardness, the silk thong tugging at her loins in delicious friction.

Spreading her legs wide, she invited his touch further up her thighs, the proof of her arousal dampening the diminutive piece of cloth. “I want you.”

She was a fledgling, a creature of the dark, a terror, and a nightmare for any seeking to keep themselves pure of corruption. This human was toying with her. Her own instincts kept pushing her to turn the tables on him, but she would not, could not. His touch chased away every attempt to gather strength. It was revenge, deliciously taboo. Such a scene would surely make any vampire rage.

“Make me yours,” she begged, trembling. The hand holding the flask hovered in front of her obediently, smiling at the tormentor that had haunted her nightmares. “Stain me, please!” Her lover twisted her head just enough that he could gnash his teeth against her jugular, and she froze.

The image played out across her mind, the nightmare that had haunted her for months. The red-eyed monster that had paralyzed her, frozen her in place, sank its teeth into her flesh and robbed her of all she had. Now the monster sat on the human’s lap, helpless, thrashing, snarling, baring her fangs, and seeking escape from the assault.

“Please… please, my wildling king!” she whimpered.

Rick tightened his bite, cutting off her air, reaching up to her breasts, and mauling them. It was aggressive, violent, dominating, humiliating.

It was perfect.

‘Rick!’ she screamed inside her head even if the voice came out choked. The more she felt, the looser her tongue became, the less she could hold back her words. They streamed through her mind in a cascade. ‘Take me… oh, please, I can feel her dying, kill her, kill her, kill her!’ The more she tried to speak, the less air there was; her head spun, collapsing towards an inevitable finale, fantasy and reality twisting together. ‘Let it out, I’m… I’m…’

The hand upon her thigh moved further up, pressing a singular thick, scalding digit against the dampness of her sex. Eva tensed, entirely immobile, every muscle taut like a wire, the fire tumbling through her into—

Sweet air broke into her lungs; she gasped, blinking teary eyes.

The precipice was no longer there, her release gone, her legs trembling.

“Whu?” A confused sound escaped her. Her body tingled, hot and shuddering, but the promised release had not appeared. Skin prickled with goosebumps.

Rick chuckled darkly. “Isn’t this what you wanted?” His voice was strained, the hardness pressing against her naked ass had grown. “So I’m a ‘wildling king’ now?”

Partially freed from the dizzying sensation, Eva’s face reddened. “I-I… don’t know what you mean…”

“Mhm…” He flicked her nipples. “So what is, exactly, a ‘wildling king’?”

She bit her lip. “You are.” The admission was better than revealing that the term came from a book. It wasn’t the wildling king, but the queen. It was a story of a noble forced to run from her uncle after he’d murdered the king. Only to return decades later, emerging from the wildlands, wielding the fiercest maidens in the realm, taking it by storm.

It was a lurid thing, something no noble would admit to having read. Particularly because the book ended with her laying claim to a husband through her wild, domineering ways.

Apparently content with her answer, he huskily whispered into her ear. “Don’t forget the vial,” he grunted. “Break it, and I stop.”

His promise was punctuated by a return of his finger to the front of her thong.

Eva groaned as he pushed against the slickened fabric and sent a jolt through her flesh. “I didn’t agree—AH!” A second, more insistent push choked out her voice in a moan, her body ramping up at an impossible speed, melting back into his chest. “Oh fuck, don’t stop.”

A second finger joined the first, the caressing of her loins trailing in slow, grinding lines, coercing her hips to hump with promises of ecstasy. Up and down, up and down. Her body followed the rhythm to draw out the sensation. A gooey warmth trailed its way through her core, yet his skin was hotter. The only protection from his devilish touch was a thin piece of sodden silk. It clung to Rick’s fingers; the string grinding against her rear urged her thoughts to ground themselves on the carnal hardness in his pants.

“You feel so good,” Eva whimpered, finding a rhythm to quicken her own arousal to race back to the edge. “I’m so close. It feels so good. Please, please let me. Rick, please, please let me, please!”

And in the next gasp, it was gone.

The edge was gone, vanished despite every nerve in her body singing out. “No!” she screamed, crying as her release was taken from her, thoughts popping away like bubbles, desperation and craving eating at her. Breathing heavily, Eva’s hand shot down to force his fingers into her drenched thong to get that torturous release. “Pl—”

Rick growled into her ear, the sound carrying an icy dread upon it, his eyes showing flecks of gold and blue. Suddenly, she couldn’t move; anger, fear, dread, it washed over her. “No.” She couldn’t stop him from pulling her hand away, her body entirely unresponsive, limp to his touch, compliant beyond conscious capacity. “If you want to stop, then say it.”

There was no struggle to be had; the deathly chill running through her was stoking the flames harder than her own fingers could. Domination turned into humiliation, humiliation into pleasure, pleasure into more humiliation. The cycle trapped her in the spiral; the heat came out redoubled.

Eva moaned wantonly. This was it, this was it, ffffuuuuck. She stole a kiss from his lips, twisting her body just to get a taste. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

“Keep talking.”

As if to contradict his command, he pulled his hand away from her loins, pressing them against her lips. Whatever compunctions she might have had about the gesture, they were drowned within the scene that was unfolding in her mind’s eye. Eva opened her mouth to taste herself, the sheer utter audacity of being made to taste herself redoubled her fantasy. A vampire fed not on blood, but on sex. The blush of humiliation was extreme.

She wanted more.

With her tongue cleaning off every inch, she bit playfully into the flesh. Her denial of her instinctual need to draw blood only pushed her higher. She would taste his blood when he wanted her to, and not a second sooner.

“Good girl.”

As if he had read her thoughts, Rick rewarded her, puncturing his digit against her fang and flooding her mouth with delicious euphoria. Sparks swam through her vision. Eva mewled, nursing eagerly as his other hand returned to her chest to give them some much-needed attention. Her arms dropped limp at her sides, incapable of fighting against the thunderstorm.

Never had being this helpless felt so intoxicatingly good. Everything was spinning. More. She wanted more! Her thoughts were battered, barely coalescing. Eva’s fingers brushed against Rick’s legs, and something felt… off.

She was so close… Just a little more and everything would be satiated.

Rick grunted, the sound a half-choked moan. Through the pink fog assaulting her mind, Eva dimly realized he was… tense. Impossibly tense. His heart was hammering so loudly it deafened her own; she could actually feel his pulse against his thighs.

A mild sense of alarm pierced through.

She stopped sucking on his finger, on the delicious blood. Blinking teary eyes, she tried to turn to get a better look at him.

The instant she tried to move, Rick locked into place, yanking her back onto his lap. His fingers clawed at her stomach, at her chest, tangled with her shirt, and the thin thread pinched every inch of her torso.

There was no pain, only an eager moan; sparks danced across her vision, realization struck.

“I can feel it,” the words spilled out of her. “Let it out.” She ground her backside against him, against the hardness that had been teasing her for what felt like an eternity. “You’re a feral beast. Let it out, give it to me, let me sate you. Let me take you.” She twisted to kiss him again, nipping at his chin. “I want you to feel good, too.”

Rick moaned, the sound halfway turning into a guttural growl. The sound sent ripples through Eva, emboldening her to grind harder. Her arms might have been useless, but her hips couldn’t stop. Each tiny thrust caused her thong to stretch and squeeze against her loins while the hardness pulsed, caught between her cheeks.

The cloth of his pants was the only thing in the way to the ultimate conclusion.

Inch by inch, they were moving closer to the edge again.

“I’m your prey,” she whined, reveling in the wrongness of speaking such words to a human, to a being whose blood she had just been drinking from. “Consume me, eat me, bite me, taste me!”

Her instincts thrashed. They insisted on her fangs, her strength, her power. She should be the one on top! She should be the one steering this ship. It should be him begging, not her!

Yet it was she who was thrown down onto the bed, bent over the edge. It was her thong that was ripped off with a feral snarl, the savage king pinning her head against the sheets. It was she who eagerly raised her hips in defeat, eagerly begging him not to stop.

It was her inflamed wetness, teased by the cool night air, inflamed with desire, that parted for his invader. In one smooth, slow motion, her core was pierced wide by a rod so hot it threatened to burn her from the inside out.

There were no more thoughts to be had.

CRACK

Both their moans froze in their throats at the sound of shattering glass. The vial’s pieces crumbled to dust in her grip.

Rick throbbed within her, so close to the edge, to the cliff, to delicious, delirious obliteration. One more touch, and they would explode, she knew. Yet, while his breaths came fast and short, Eva barely moved. If only her wobbly legs and stony arms would respond…

Something nudged her slightly away from the climax she deserved, and Eva found the strength to shove her hips upwards, to impale herself deeper. But it was too late; the void was laying claim to her pleasure again, robbing her of escape or release.

“No!” she shrieked, trying desperately to get it back, hands clawing at the sheets.

“Stop.” Rick was practically hyperventilating, body drenched in sweat, hands gripping her hips with enough ferocity that it hurt. “I...”

Neither moved. Eva lingered, titillated once more, but was unable to move by his command, unwilling to break the spell. A thousand delirious thoughts stormed through her head, threatening to make it explode. Had she screwed up? Her own breaths were shallow, holding back groans as the invader currently within her pulsed and throbbed.

“I’ll... I’m yours. I’d never hurt you, never again,” she whimpered, looking over her shoulder at him. “Please, don’t stop.” With a slow, long groan, she released her grip on everything. The threads that pulled at her release took the edge and shoved it past the horizon, and Eva’s eyes teared up at it.

The further away from her pleasure went, the tenser Rick became. He whimpered, bowing over and biting her shoulder needfully. The man snarled, pushing himself deeper into her. His cock throbbed, and she had a fleeting concern over being split in two.

“Just. One. More.” He was holding on to her body as if to life itself; the sound of his breath was that of a beast. All thought slipped from her grasp; they shared a moan. “So... fucking... tight,” he spoke between grunts.

Eva swelled with pride. “Just for you,” she coaxed him on, delirious, claws tearing at the cloth. “Claim me, let it all out, let the monster out. It’s yours, I’m yours, all yours.” The words were driven out of her, lungs empty from the power of his thrust. “Fuck me, kill the monster!”

Everything was jumbling together. Fantasy, nightmare, fear, pleasure.

Rick pulled out, then pushed back in. It was a penetration that reached deeper into her than before, a place her own touch had never discovered. Eva’s body was beyond control at this point; she pressed her head against the bed and gyrated her hips. Her reward was another thrust, one that touched another deliciously secret place within her, sparks flying across her vision.

The maiden sought the words, but they eluded her. Another thrust. She moaned, then squealed, then gasped.

“More!”

That was all she could say before devolving into unintelligible sounds. Rick complied. The controlled movements lost any coordination as they devolved into rutting. Eva’s body was an inferno, but it might as well have been ice compared to her partner’s. Every inch of his skin sweltered and burned, every muscle coiled. Over and over, he thrust into her, desperately racing to the top, seeking to go deeper.

The thought of her body being molded to fit him was fuel to the fire. One final giant middle finger to the nightmare. Eva moaned, even as she sensed her mounting pleasure being robbed once more. The touch through the bond was lashing out, desperately grasping at anything she might give.

So she gave Rick everything.

She didn’t fight it; she surrendered. Completely, every sensation and emotion fully open to be plundered, screaming out. Her body pushed back, adding heat faster than it could be removed. Every bucket taken had two to take its place. The more he took, the more she had to give.

Rick’s rutting was reaching a crescendo, heart hammering with the ferocious speed of a galloping Centaur. His breathing was erratic, his thrusts unrelenting. There was nothing but the lustful animals they’d become. He leaned closer, looming over her, pinning her shoulders for better leverage. Eva’s body bent to comply, and her reward was discovering a new place for him to hammer and mold inside of her.

“M...ore!” she heaved, nipples rubbing against the bed to add just a little more, to push a little further.

A hand reached for her throat, leaning back and away, squeezing it and pulling her head back. Her body stretched into a singular curve, lifting off the bed. Her only points of contact were her hips and his grip, air cut off. Her unfocused gaze met those of her lover.

Rick’s eyes were red, his face twisted into a vicious, hungry snarl. All thought lost to the pleasure and hunger he’d taken away from her.

Eva’s eyes widened.

He’d been feeding off her.

She was the prey.

Her hands reached up, pulling him into an upside down kiss.

‘All this pleasure is mine. You are mine, Rick Cross, forevermore,’ she proclaimed into the void of her thoughts.

The dam broke, unleashing a storm of lightning through her.

Immediately after, Rick released his heat into her innermost core. Rope after rope of magma, pooling and coalescing into a heat that burned everything away. The firestorm hit her, driving all thought into a blinding white noise, sparks flying across her vision, drowning it all in ringing moans.

Rick pushed deeper, and he pressed his lips to her fangs.

In a rush of blood, the storm became a cataclysm.

She screamed without air. Every inch, every hair, every curve, everything roared up to the heavens. Ice, fire, lightning—every nerve in her body was alight. Her mind was deluged under raw sensation, gulping everything in and drowning in it.

All around them, shadows danced and screamed, spinning and swirling. The unrelenting heat of her body was escaping in hot pulses of pleasure. Each one made her spasm and groan. She was choking on his blood and couldn’t find it in herself to care.

Eva was no more an entity than she was a concept, forgotten and lost in instinct.

Was this how it felt to be feral? To go insane?

Rick’s fingers released her, and reality came down upon her like a hammer-blow. Eva coughed and sputtered, spitting out blood as she collapsed onto the bed. The exhaustion was extreme, her body unresponsive. Every sensation caused a quiver, her nerves hyper-responsive to any stimulation.

Next to her, her lover barely moved, having similarly collapsed.

His heart pounded; there was no serious injury. The relief that washed over her was like a secondary, reassuring, tiny orgasm. She barely summoned enough strength to reach out and entwine her fingers with his.

One very slow blink later, and the room had shifted slightly.

> [[Break point 3]]

Her body was cocooned in warmth, encased in several blankets.

Gentle fingers combed her hair idly.

With a grunt, she rolled over to look at Rick’s amused face.

“You make an adorable Eva burrito,” he proclaimed, leaning closer to kiss her. It was tender, but so was she. Her whole body shivered at the contact.

“I don’t know what a burrito is, but I hope it’s not derogatory.”

Rick laughed, his fingers not stopping in their idle twirling of her hair. “Doubt it can get any worse than ‘I’m your slutty blood-sucker’.”

That couldn’t be something that had come out of her mouth. “I never said such a thing.” A slight grin curled her lips in amusement. “Even if it might be correct.”

His eyebrows rose in shock. “You still cum-drunk?”

“I am merely certain no one will ever believe you,” she continued, leaning closer to rub her cheek against his chest. Then she paused. “Well, no one that you’d tell it to.” A little mirthful laugh followed. “I need you to hug me.”

Rick joined in the laugh, lighting the room with the music of the sound. “Never going to turn down a hug,” he proclaimed, adding to the warmth of her cloth cocoon in his embrace. “By the by, did it work?”

She stilled, smiling lazily. “I think so.” Everything in her was still raw. Just moving felt like a chore; it was hard to tell anything at this point. But the glow that permeated every inch was nothing but bliss. “I guess we’ll see in a few days if I’ve begun my ascension or not.”

The idle musings against her hair halted. “Ascend?” He asked. “That’s what this was for?”

Realization and horror dawned on Eva, a splash of icy water through her system. “I thought-!” She stopped, and carefully looked back at the moments leading to their time shared in the bedroom. The horror grew. Her request had been not to feel regret! She hadn’t told him! Had she really been this stupid? What had she been thinking? Of course, he’d-

“Stop.”

Eva swallowed, futilely fighting the cloth wrappings. “I didn’t-“

She flinched when he flicked his finger against her nose.

“You’re digging into your head again.” He took a long breath; his eyes were turbulent. “I can at least tell you didn’t intend it this way.”

“I’m sorry,” she quickly declared. “I want you. Blood or no blood. I want this. I really do. I… I messed up. I should’ve-“

A finger gingerly pulled her chin up. Their eyes met, and she fell quiet, waiting for his words.

“It’s ok.” He kissed her forehead, letting out a groan. “But I would appreciate at least an explanation. I feel like Urtha ran me over.”

She expected herself to falter, but there was no more hesitation to be found. “I have to become a Vampire.”

The words hung in the air for an uncomfortable eternity.

“You’re the one that’s going to spend the rest of your life with yourself.” Rick squeezed her closer. “If you’re going to do something this important, then it should be because you want to.”

She nodded, but felt a little turbulence within herself. This was, perhaps, one thing Rick could never truly understand. Even she had trouble properly grasping it. To be a maiden was to be bonded. Your partner was a part of yourself. The mere idea of solitude was anathema; it was insanity.

To live without this feeling of something indestructible to lean on was no life at all.

“Urtha told me about your past. Of your relationship.”

He remained still, quietly waiting for her to continue.

“We’re roughly the same age, you and I.” she breathed out, staring into those deep eyes that held so many mysteries. “Ten of my thirty years I spent in a loveless marriage. My days were gray, my work was the only escape from a cold bed.”

Rick’s touch reached her thighs, and Eva sucked in sharply. “Didn’t you have anyone?”

“I had a seraglio, like any other noble. A court of maidens.” She shook her head. “They were little more than an extension of my late mother’s will. They ensured I would not forget my role, my duty.”

“That… sounds awful.”

“It wasn’t bad. I had everything I could want so long as I fulfilled my duty to the Bavtha household. Just not… this.” Eyes closed, she breathed in, the scent of their lovemaking thick in the surrounding air. “Not once, not for an instant, have I felt as I do here and now.” Eva chided herself. She should’ve had the courage to tell him everything before pulling him into the room. The strength to express this without needing to have half her mind drunk in this wonderful warmth. “I want to be strong.” She whispered. “I want to protect you. I…” She swallowed. “I don’t want anyone to ever take anything from me ever again.”

No more flicking fingers came. Only a light chuckle. “So I’m ‘yours’ now?” His voice was thick with amusement. “How selfish.”

Selfish?

Yes, she was selfish. She wanted to be selfish. “And I am yours.” The proclamation was firm, even if her face burned.

Their gazes sought each other. His fingers caressed her cheek with a feathery softness. They kissed, the most perfect kiss, with just the right amount of tingling and fluttering within herself. She wanted the moment to last forever.

But eternity was not so kind. They finally leaned away.

“If I am to become ageless, then let it be for us. Let me be the voice that forever spreads the tales of the King of Alchemy.”

Rick grimaced, shuddered, and recoiled, all at the same time. “Oh God, no.” He gagged on the words. “I don’t do alchemy. It’s chemistry.”

Eva would’ve purred if she could, squirming her way closer. “Would transmuting a Fledgling into a Vampire not be Alchemy?” She teased with a whisper.

“I will call it magic.”

Magic!?

She glowered, recoiling away from him. “Ascension has nothing to do with magic!” She glared, nose wrinkling at the thought. “Magic is one of the energies of the world! To call ascension ‘magic’ does not differ from claiming a loaf of bread to be lightning.”

“Aha!” He pointed the incriminating finger. It was annoying how well he could pinpoint her, despite the darkness. “See? You don’t like it when someone mislabels things.” He smugly poked her cheek. “If or when I throw ‘magic’ with my chemistry, then and only then will I call it ‘alchemy’.”

“Elemental energies power the compressor you used in your process.”

Rick opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. “No.” He finally declared. “The formula didn’t change. The chemistry happened as it should have. It was not alchemy.” He waved his finger at her. “And I don’t plan to die anytime soon, so you’re not getting any chances to sing ballads about.”

“Surely.” The sarcasm was thick in her voice, gaze unamused.

As if the man hadn’t clothed a city with imperial purple.

Eva snapped forward, taking the offending finger and bit it, this time just enough to scrape and draw a bit of blood.

“Ow!” He pulled the hand away, suckling on the wound.

“Hey!” she complained, wriggling up at him. “That’s mine.”

“Nope, you bit me without proper cause. No blood for you.”

Still wrapped in cloth, she pushed onward to the wounded appendage. Halfway to success, she realized she’d crawled over Rick, leaving him on his back. In the darkness, their eyes met, and she caught dim speckles of red light floating within the black pools. They froze, trapped in each other’s gaze.

His warmth was still inside of her, a tiny sun right next to her core. “There was one more thing I needed to do tonight.”

It took a little effort and a lot of wriggling. Mostly because Eva wanted to avoid tearing her way through the sheets. Carefully, she straddled his naked stomach, grasping his hands, entwining their fingers together. She took a deep breath to calm her fluttering heart.

“I, Evangeline Darkbloom, swear myself to you. I swear upon my blood, upon my flesh, upon every beat of my heart. To you and those who inherit your name, now and forever, until I breathe my last.”

Rick grimaced a little. “Eva…”

“I’ll remind you, this is the second time I pledge my oath.” She didn’t open her eyes, squeezing his hands, smiling slightly, fangs peeking over her lips. “The first time was lackluster, but you accepted it. You have no grounds to deny me.”

“This sort of thing isn’t exactly comfortable, you know. I don’t like to think of you as…”

“I know.” She nodded, meeting his eyes. “But you do not get to refuse what I want.” She chuckled. “Besides, I kept to the brief version.”

“And a lot less gloomy and self-deprecating than last time.” He acknowledged in defeat. “Still, ‘Darkbloom’?”

“The surname I have chosen for myself.” It also happened to be a modification of the name of the noble the wildling queen recruits within the story. It wasn’t exactly the most elegant option, and still a bit too broody for her tastes, but it felt right to say it out loud. “Now, something I-” She turned her attention to his right hand; the prickled digit had dampened her skin, its sweet scent lingered in the air.

“Eva?”

The blood was there, crimson, a droplet staining her hand. Delicious and fresh.

Yet she… didn’t feel the immediate urge to drink it. There was no desperate urge to lean closer.

Nothing she had to hold back.

Every day and every night, the hunger had gnawed at her like some flea she couldn’t get rid of. But it was gone… no, not gone. Changed. Now that she was looking for it, she could feel it inside, deep down, sated for the time being. It was different.

Trying to summon the hunger up left her with a sensation of… heat. Her eyes flickered at Rick’s naked figure beneath her, and she swallowed hard. Was this, perhaps, a side-effect of how her ascension came to be? Surely it would go away once it concluded.

Her instincts were quiet as well. There was no wrongness to be on the lap of this human, to be cradled against him. Eva pulled Rick’s hand so that it pressed against her cheek, and there was a rightness to his touch. The part of her that saw him as a meal, as food, as something to be consumed… the voice wasn’t there. What had taken its place was a protective glow that swelled from inside her chest.

It renewed the warmth still pulsing through her and expanded her smile. Was that instinct or just her honest feelings? Would it be possible to always feel this way? She’d heard maidens acting oddly during their ascension, new instincts kicking in along the way. This was likely exactly that.

“It worked.”

Her ascension had begun, instincts had crumbled away. Something new would take its place, but for now, there was nothing to fight against. There was no dissent within her, no mixed intentions, no confusion.

It would take a few days, maybe a few weeks. She’d need to… Her gaze sharpened, focusing on Rick.

“Do not tell a soul about how this happened.”

The man looked more amused than concerned. “I’m not one to kiss and tell.”

It made sense; he likely didn’t understand the scope of this. Hundreds of years theorizing over why the historical texts detailed battles involving dozens of champions. Now she was living proof of the theory. The bond was more than merely a defence against the feral curse. It was clear now that a strong enough bond could also aid in a maiden’s ascension.

No one could know about this. Rick might be safe, but he’d mentioned there were others. If Eva had her way, there would be no need to add to the burden on his shoulders.

She squeezed, “Especially not to Kiara.”

The Succubus would use it as a way to guarantee those loyal to her became a true powerhouse within the city. She would muscle out Monica and Urtha if given the opportunity.

“Sure.” He raised his hips slightly.

Something poked at her rear.

“RICK!?” Eva warbled in a shrill voice, feeling a very definite pressure building through the cloth. This soon? This quickly!? “What are you doing!?”

Rick stared at her with smouldering eyes. “I just thought you might want to try again. Just to make sure this whole ascension thing takes.”

The Vampire shuddered at the desire hidden under the smugness. With a deep breath, she pulled her stained hand back and lapped at the droplet of blood, savoring the delicate balance of spices. Slowly, she returned the smirk, removing the wrappings, exposing herself fully to him, enjoying how his eyes focused on her and nothing else.

Eva took a second breath, reaching into her hunger. It was like wearing the ‘slutty’ clothes; the desire wrapped itself across her body, teasing her in deliciously intoxicating ways.

“That does appear to be a proper course of action. We should be thorough.”

There would be no sleep to be had that night.

Evangeline still had plenty to learn about herself. And about Rick.

Neither of them noticed the pair of gray eyes peeking at them through the half-open window shutters. Nor did they hear the squeak as it closed shut, the lock clicking back into place, leaving no evidence it had ever been disturbed.