CHAPTER 9
1288 Words
I picked up the rings and texted Elena to ask if I could visit her grandmother.
Granny Bia was home. She didn’t go out much on snowy days.
I went alone this time.
“Come in, child,” she said, opening the door before I even knocked twice. “You sounded troubled on the phone. I assume it’s urgent.”
“Granny Bia… I messed up. I lied. The ritual didn’t work. And now he’s everywhere. He looks just like us!”
“Sit down, Kira. Breathe. He can’t come into my house. You are safe here. Tell me everything.”
I told her. All of it.
The shame made my voice break. I couldn’t look her in the eye while describing the things that happened… things I hadn’t even been able to control.
“He’s not just feeding on you,” she said quietly. “He will seek to turn you.”
“What?” My voice cracked. “Turn me?!”
“He marked you, sweetheart. The moroi, the strigoi… they don’t just mark random humans. They mark the ones they want to bind. The ones they want eternally. This means he has been looking for you.”
“But how? Why? If I hadn’t done the ritual—”
“Oh, it would have happened anyway. Not as fast. But he was already searching for a way in. The ritual simply opened the door wide for him.” Her shoulders sagged. “I’m sorry, child. I should have warned you. I let you girls play with things older than light, thinking it was harmless.”
“Then how do I stop it? There has to be a way!”
She hesitated. Her eyes filled with guilt.
“You have to kill him,” she whispered. “Only you can get close enough.”
I stared at her, horrified.
“I can’t kill someone! Do you even hear yourself? That’s murder!”
“Do you understand what will happen if you don’t?” Her voice turned cold. “It’s not human, Kira. It feeds on fear and despair. Your vulnerability makes it stronger. And you’re running out of time.”
I didn’t want to hear that.
I didn’t want any of this.
“It’s insane,” I sobbed. “I can’t live with that on my conscience—”
“It’s not a person,” she cut in sharply. “And it won’t spare you. Or the boy you care for.”
My tears fell harder.
“How do you expect me to kill something like him?”
“I will help you,” she said. “They are weakest when mating—when the bond is fully open. That is when you strike. This silver knife will sever the connection. If you stab his heart while he’s embodied, he will break into shadow. That’s when you use this mirror. It will trap him. Bring it to me after.”
I walked out trembling.
Snow was falling again. The city blurred around me.
People lived normal lives. They smiled, bought pastries, played with their kids.
And I… I was preparing to kill a monster who had marked me like a possession.
Damn you, Dragomar, for ruining my life.
On my way home, I called my mom. Told her the rings were ready and that I couldn’t wait for their anniversary. Their 30th wedding celebration was coming up, and they always made a big deal out of it. I wanted Michael to meet them… if I was still alive by then.
By the time I got home, he texted me asking if I’d eaten. I hadn’t. I offered to cook. He loved the idea.
But cooking didn’t calm me. My hands were shaking the entire time. Dragomar was haunting me even when he wasn’t there. How could I let Michael into my home?
A knock at the door nearly made me jump.
“You look stressed,” Michael said as he stepped inside. “Everything okay?”
“I just… I have things going on. I wish I could tell you, but it’s too soon. I don’t want to scare you.”
“That bad, huh?” he asked softly.
“You have no idea…”
“Kira, everyone has skeletons in their closet. I have mine too. A lot, actually. And I’m still learning to live with them.”
“You’re my unicorn,” I muttered, “and I’m sure my skeletons are worse.”
“Let’s not compare them,” he smiled. “Let’s take things one step at a time. If there’s any way I can help you, just tell me.”
I hugged him. I didn’t want to let go.
He comforted me all night.
We watched a movie, ate popcorn, and at some point exhaustion dragged me under.
Around 5 AM, I woke up with a jolt. For a heartbeat I was certain someone was watching us.
“Stay,” Michael murmured into my ear, pulling me back into the warmth of his chest. “It’s freezing out there. No sane person would leave this bed unless it was life or death.”
“You’re right,” I whispered. “I’d rather hibernate here with you.”
“So can I assume we’re not getting out of bed?”
“At least not for the next few hours…”
I didn’t sleep right away. I was listening—waiting—for Dragomar. But eventually my body gave in, and I drifted off again.
I woke to a slow, delicious warmth spreading between my thighs.
Michael’s mouth was already there, kissing me softly at first, then deeper, his tongue drawing slow circles that sent every nerve alight. His hands slid up my thighs, holding me open, grounding me in the moment even as my mind threatened to crack.
A low moan escaped before I could stop it.
My hips rose instinctively.
Heat coiled inside me, rising fast. I reached for him, fingers tangled in his hair as the pleasure surged too quickly to fight. It broke over me in a wave that made my whole body tremble.
He didn’t stop until I was gasping.
He wiped his mouth, gave me that wicked smile, and crawled up my body slowly — deliberately — letting heat and skin slide against me until I shivered.
“Kira,” he whispered, voice rough, “I need you.”
He entered me in one deep, steady thrust that stole my breath.
My body arched, my arms closed around him, and for a moment I forgot the world.
But Dragomar slammed into my mind like a cold wind.
Obsidian eyes.
Whispers that weren’t human.
Mine.
Michael’s hands anchored me.
His breath warmed my neck.
But Dragomar’s presence pressed into my skull, possessive and suffocating.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Not him.
Not now.
I grabbed Michael’s face and kissed him hard, pouring every bit of fear and longing and desperation into it — trying to drown the shadow inside my mind.
My body loved him.
God, it loved him.
His rhythm grew frantic, overwhelmed with need, and the pleasure built again, sharp and blinding until it broke in a cry I didn’t recognize as mine.
We collapsed together, breath tangled, hearts racing.
For a few seconds… Dragomar went silent.
Michael left the bed to start his coffee ritual. I headed into the bathroom, letting the hot water relax the last tremors out of me. Steam filled the room like a fogged sanctuary.
I reached for the shower gel.
The door slid open.
Cold air brushed my back.
Smiling, thinking it was Michael, I turned—
And froze.
Dragomar.
Materialized.
Perfect and terrible.
“Good morning, my beautiful Kira.”
- Writer
