Mia gradually regained consciousness, her head throbbing more and more, creating a migraine that momentarily clouded her thoughts. Before she even opened her eyes, deafening noises reached her: roars, explosions, cries... She had no idea where she was, and her memory continued to fail her several seconds after waking up.

A gunshot sound echoed to her left, startling her enough to abruptly open her eyes and focus on the source of the noise. It was a slender woman in her forties, with severe features and brown hair tied up in a tight ponytail. In her hand, she held what looked like an old musket and alternated between shooting and reloading, mimicked by two other men whose firing rhythm was slightly offset from hers, ensuring that there was always someone ready to fire.

Where am I? Back on Earth? No... she realized as she saw their opponents. Where did these guns come from?

"Mia! Are you awake?" Andrei shouted over the gunfire.

She nodded, still stunned by the war scene unfolding before her eyes. Why had she fallen asleep, and what was she doing in the middle of a battlefield? And, most importantly, where was Ethan?

Andrei put his hand on her shoulder as she slowly sat up. Her migraine was starting to subside, allowing the fog covering her memory to lift.

"Get up! We're about to retreat. You need to prepare to calm Ethan down before he turns against us," he ordered.

Ethan? Where is he?

She placed both palms on the ground to help herself stand. Her balance was shaky, and the exercise was more challenging than expected. Andrei had shifted a few inches away to push back a vampire, allowing the woman by their side to shoot him in the jugular. Mia winced as she realized that she had only grazed him, and he came back enraged. This time, he decided to try a different target. Andrei propelled himself in front of Mia to protect her, but he was quickly pushed aside before he had time to cast a spell.

Mia's heart raced, threatening to burst out of her chest as the vampire prepared to launch himself at her throat. Terrified by fear, she didn't even dare to attempt dodging the creature's superhuman speed. Her brain had emptied of all extraneous thoughts, focused solely on the motion of her attacker who was now only inches away from her body. He never reached her.

Claws pierced the vampire's heart, impaling through his chest to stop him dead in his tracks. A few drops of blood splattered onto Mia's face, horrified by the scene unfolding before her eyes. The vampire's vital organ had been ripped out and was now crushed in the palm of his assailant. The creature let go to withdraw his hand from the body and growled in contentment.

Something inside her urged her not to look up, not to meet the gaze of the one who had launched such an attack, but she didn't heed that small voice. The creature in front of her, staring at her intensely, was unlike anything she had encountered during her time on Istarea. It was frightening and demonic, more so than anything she had seen before. Although Mia considered herself an atheist, she was well aware of how demons were represented in various religions in her world. There was no doubt they must have been inspired by the creature before her. The memories of that theological upbringing compelled her to instinctively think that it was dangerous and that she needed to distance herself from it as quickly as possible.

However, the creature didn't seem to be trying to attack her. After one last intense look, it turned to fight a few other assailants, always staying within Mia's vicinity, as if protecting her.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

A different explosion than the others snapped her out of her daze as a smoke bomb soared into the air. Mia finally decided to take in her surroundings, which was quite a challenge since chaos reigned in the arena. Spells, fangs, claws, blood—this was all she could process at the moment as her memories returned in fragments. The immobilization spell, the cellar, the cold creeping into her clothes, the confusion... and Andrei, her kidnapper.

"You!" she threatened Andrei, pointing her finger at his face. "This is because of you!"

"We don't have time for that, Mia," he told her, crouching down and touching the ground with both palms, murmuring a few words that transformed the earth around their opponent into quicksand. "The retreat has been announced. As soon as the others arrive, you'll have to go get Ethan."

"Where is he?" she immediately reacted.

Deep down, she already knew the answer. When Andrei pointed to the creature, it only confirmed her suspicions.

"Why... why is he like that?" she stammered.

"He must have lost it and let his vila take control to protect you," he explained, breathless, as he stood up to observe the divisions from the stands and the castle rushing through the arena gates. "Listen, you're his soulmate. He won't hurt you."

"But..."

"I thought you trusted him! Now is not the time to doubt him! The other divisions will cover our retreat. Go before he turns against us!" he snapped, pointing his finger at the vila.

Uncertain, Mia took a step forward, then another. Her limbs trembled, and her mind was tormented by conflicting thoughts. Her heart was torn between the desire to flee and her feelings for Ethan. If she didn't calm him down, what would happen? Would they have to kill him? Would she then be free to make her own choices?

This is my last chance to choose a different path. This time, the choice is mine... she repeated to herself as she slowly moved towards the vila. Really? Spending time with him, having to bond, starting to like him... I didn't choose any of this. But it's too late now... Maybe it's time to accept all of it...

"Ethan!" she shouted to get his attention.

The vila turned to his soulmate with a growl after tossing his assailant a few meters away. The attacker quickly met his demise when the soldiers in the back riddled him with bullets. They had formed a defensive wall, protecting the couple and the first division from the last opponents.

Mia's steps brought her within a meter of the vila, who was breathing heavily, consumed by the rage within him. When he fixed his fierce gaze on his soulmate, she could have sworn he had softened. It was hard to tell as the entirety of his eyes was black, making it impossible to read his gaze. She swallowed hard, terrified, and then exhaled slowly to calm her mind, taking a few more steps forward.

It's Ethan, not a demon. It's Ethan, she repeated to herself, wrapping her arms around the vila's chest. In this form, he easily towered over her by about fifteen centimeters.

The creature froze at Mia's gesture and lowered its head to observe her, uncertain. The effect was immediate. Hesitatingly, it raised its hand to gently and slowly place its palm on her cheek, careful not to harm her with its claws. Its mouth was slightly open, taking in deep breaths, revealing its sharp teeth that strongly resembled those of a shark. This sight momentarily shook Mia's determination. Nevertheless, she rested her head against its chest and forced her eyelids to close, trying to calm the frenetic pounding of her body.

"B-bite me," she asked softly, attempting to control her voice to conceal her fear.

The vila's hand gently gripped her chin to lift her head and meet her gaze. It was staring at her, waiting for something. For a few seconds, she locked her eyes with his and felt her body gradually relax. Ethan's expression, still unreadable, had considerably softened, sweeping away the fury that had consumed him just minutes before.

"Bite me," she commanded with more confidence.

When his fangs brushed her throat, she shivered in anticipation. As they sank into her flesh, a dull pain spread. She heard herself screaming from a distance, as if the cries didn't belong to her. The surroundings seemed to fade away little by little as her mind focused entirely on the vila's bite. Soon, the pain was replaced by a feeling of absolute serenity.

A single word came to her mind in that moment. She felt...

Whole.