crimson oath

the crimson truth

The battlefield erupted into chaos.

Hunters charged through the rain, their blessed weapons gleaming beneath flashes of lightning.

Lucien didn't move.

He stood in front of Ethan like a wall between him and the world.

The air itself seemed to bend around him.

"Ethan," Lucien said without looking back.

"Can you stand?"

Pain shot through Ethan's shoulder where the silver blade had pierced him.

He gritted his teeth and snapped off the handle.

"I'll live."

"You sound disappointed."

Despite everything, Ethan almost laughed.

Almost.

Another hunter lunged toward them.

Lucien moved.

One second he was beside Ethan.

The next, he stood several feet away, disarming the hunter before knocking him unconscious.

He didn't kill him.

Ethan noticed.

"You're sparing them," Ethan said.

Lucien glanced back.

"They're your people."

"They attacked us."

"They're still your people."

The words settled heavily in Ethan's chest.

Then—

"Ethan!"

Lily's scream cut through the battlefield.

Ethan's blood ran cold.

"Lily!"

He spun around.

His sister stood near the castle gates.

Two masked hunters had seized her.

"No!"

Ethan started toward her.

One of the hunters pressed a blade against Lily's throat.

"Don't move!"

The battlefield froze.

Commander Alaric stared in horror.

"What are you doing?" he shouted.

The masked hunter ignored him.

"Ethan Blackwood!"

The name echoed through the storm.

"Use the Bloodfire."

Ethan stopped.

"What?"

The hunter pulled Lily closer.

"Destroy the Crimson Prince."

"Ethan..." Lily whispered, trembling.

Lucien stepped forward.

"No."

The masked hunter tightened his grip.

"One life for thousands."

Lightning split the sky.

Ethan couldn't breathe.

His sister.

Or Lucien.

"You have the power!" the hunter yelled.

"Use it!"

Ethan turned to Alaric.

"Stop them!"

Alaric looked stunned.

"I didn't order this."

"You created this!" Ethan shouted.

"You made them believe g******e was justice!"

The masked hunter's patience snapped.

"Enough!"

The blade nicked Lily's skin.

A drop of blood slid down her neck.

Something inside Ethan broke.

Heat exploded through his veins.

He collapsed to one knee.

Pain ripped through every nerve.

"Ethan!"

Lucien caught him before he hit the ground.

The world blurred.

Fire danced beneath Ethan's skin.

Golden light spilled from the cracks between his fingers.

The Bloodfire.

Hunters stumbled backward.

Even vampires stared in horror.

The masked hunter smiled.

"Yes."

"Ethan..." Lucien whispered.

The vampire's voice sounded distant.

"Look at me."

Ethan couldn't.

The power was too much.

It screamed for release.

Kill them.

Destroy them.

End them.

He saw flashes.

Villages burning.

His mother's tears.

His father's blood.

Lucien standing alone beneath a crimson sky.

Thousands of graves.

The Bloodfire didn't care.

It only wanted destruction.

"Ethan!"

Warm hands cupped his face.

Lucien.

Crimson eyes met his.

"Listen to me."

"I can't control it."

"Yes, you can."

"It hurts."

Lucien's expression softened.

"I know."

The world shook around them.

"You have to let go," Lucien said.

"Of what?"

"The hatred."

Ethan stared at him.

"The thing that's kept you alive all these years..."

Lucien smiled sadly.

"...is the same thing that's killing you now."

Tears filled Ethan's eyes.

"But if I let it go..."

His voice cracked.

"Then what do I have left?"

Lucien brushed rain-soaked hair away from Ethan's face.

"You."

Silence.

"You have Lily."

"You have choices."

"You have a future."

Lucien's voice grew softer.

"And if you'll allow it..."

His thumb brushed Ethan's cheek.

"...you have me."

Ethan's breath caught.

The battlefield disappeared.

The rain.

The screaming.

The war.

None of it mattered.

Only Lucien.

The monster he had sworn to kill.

The man who had protected his sister.

Who had shown him truth.

Who had looked at him with gentleness instead of fear.

Ethan realized something terrifying.

He loved him.

Commander Alaric saw it.

His face twisted with disbelief.

"No."

The commander shook his head.

"No."

"Ethan!"

"Kill him!"

Ethan looked at Lucien.

"I don't want to."

Lucien's eyes widened.

"Ethan..."

The confession slipped out before fear could stop it.

"I don't want to lose you."

For the first time in centuries...

Lucien looked completely undone.

Then—

A sharp laugh echoed across the battlefield.

Everyone turned.

The masked hunter slowly removed his hood.

Silver hair.

Cold blue eyes.

A cruel smile.

Commander Alaric's face drained of color.

"No..."

"Impossible."

The stranger grinned.

"Did you miss me, brother?"

Ethan frowned.

"Who is that?"

Lucien's expression darkened.

"The reason this war began."

The stranger bowed dramatically.

"My name is Cassian Blackwood."

Ethan froze.

Blackwood.

His surname.

Cassian's smile widened.

"And Ethan..."

His gaze lingered on him.

"...I'm your uncle."

The world stopped.

Lily gasped.

Commander Alaric looked horrified.

"What are you doing?" Alaric demanded.

Cassian laughed.

"Finishing what should've been done years ago."

He looked at Ethan.

"Did they tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Cassian tilted his head.

"Your parents didn't die protecting you."

He smiled.

"They died trying to protect Lucien."

Silence crashed over the battlefield.

Ethan's knees nearly gave out.

"What?"

Cassian's eyes glittered with satisfaction.

"They chose him over their own family."

Lucien's expression went pale.

"Ethan—"

"Don't," Ethan whispered.

His voice shook.

"You knew?"

Lucien couldn't answer.

And that silence hurt more than any blade ever could.

Cassian's smile widened.

"There it is."

The Bloodfire around Ethan flared brighter.

Golden flames consumed the rain.

The truth had finally surfaced.

And Ethan no longer knew which betrayal hurt more.

The hunters who had raised him.

Or the vampire he had fallen in love with.