Chapter four
1430 Words
The doors had barely closed behind Kael when the weight of what I had done crashed over me like a tidal wave of blood and shadow.
Silence settled over the tower, vast and suffocating.
I stood frozen in the center of the chamber, my chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. My lips still tingled from where his had brushed against mine. Almost unconsciously, my fingers drifted upward, tracing the faint warmth that lingered there. My heartbeat refused to slow, echoing loudly in the enormous room until it felt as though the walls themselves could hear it.
The kiss should have meant nothing.
It should have been another weapon.
Another manipulation from an immortal king who had spent centuries bending people to his will.
So why couldn’t I stop thinking about it?
The enchanted ceiling continued its slow dance above me. Stars drifted across an endless midnight sky, constellations shifting into unfamiliar shapes before dissolving into brilliant streaks of silver. Every so often, a shooting star crossed overhead, vanishing before I could make a wish.
The fireplace crackled softly, its blue and gold flames casting restless shadows across polished marble floors. They climbed the towering bookshelves, stretched across velvet curtains, and danced over the enormous four-poster bed standing like a silent monument in the middle of the room.
I couldn’t stop staring at it.
One year.
One year inside this tower.
One year pretending to stand beside the man I had sworn to destroy.
One year learning his habits.
His weaknesses.
The exact moment his guard slipped.
My hand instinctively slid beneath my skirt until my fingers found the familiar hilt of the dagger strapped against my thigh.
Still there.
Still mine.
The cold steel grounded me.
“I haven’t forgotten,” I whispered into the empty room.
Whether I was reminding myself or the tower itself, I wasn’t sure.
Leaving the bed behind, I crossed to the towering windows. The glass felt cool beneath my palms as I looked out over the kingdom swallowed by eternal night.
The academy stretched below like a city carved from obsidian and moonlight. Lanterns floated above winding pathways, illuminating students who wandered between ancient buildings, their laughter carried upward by the wind. Beyond the academy walls lay forests darker than ink, their endless canopies hiding creatures that only emerged after sunset.
Farther still stood the jagged mountains surrounding Draven’s domain.
Immovable.
Ancient.
Almost as eternal as the man who ruled them.
Somewhere among those lights was Lily Voss.
Probably laughing with classmates.
Probably complaining about professors or tomorrow’s lessons.
Completely unaware that the girl she’d met only hours ago now belonged,at least in the eyes of the entire kingdom,to the immortal vampire king.
A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.
Three measured taps.
“Enter.”
The heavy door opened cautiously.
A young woman stepped inside, no older than nineteen, dressed in the crimson and black robes of the academy servants. Her auburn hair was tied into a neat braid, and she carried a polished cedar trunk with surprising ease.
She bowed deeply without raising her eyes.
“My lady,” she said quietly. “Lord Draven sent your belongings. He asked that I assist with anything you require.”
My lady.
The title made my stomach twist.
“I’m fine,” I replied. “Thank you.”
She hesitated.
“If you need clothing, books, food, or anything else… simply ring the silver bell beside the fireplace.”
I followed her gaze.
A delicate silver bell rested on the mantelpiece.
Even that looked expensive enough to buy a village.
“I understand.”
Another bow.
Then she disappeared as silently as she’d arrived.
The door clicked shut once more.
Alone again.
I knelt beside the trunk and lifted its lid.
My possessions looked painfully small against the grandeur surrounding me.
A handful of dresses.
A worn leather cloak.
Two pairs of boots.
My mother’s silver hairpin.
A weathered journal whose pages contained years of plans, observations, and names of everyone the curse had stolen from me.
Beneath a false bottom rested three throwing knives, spare daggers, lock picks, and small vials of poison carefully wrapped in cloth.
My real belongings.
The things that mattered.
As I placed the journal on the nearby desk, my fingers lingered on its faded cover.
The memories came without warning.
I was seventeen again.
Rain soaked my clothes as I knelt beside a simple stone grave overlooking the cliffs of my homeland.
Elias.
The first boy who had ever looked at me like I was something worth loving.
His smile had been crooked.
His laugh terrible.
He’d promised we’d leave together once winter ended.
Instead, disease stole him before spring arrived.
I remembered holding his hand as it grew colder.
Remembered begging every god who would listen to spare him.
Remembered watching years pass while his grave slowly disappeared beneath wildflowers.
I had remained exactly the same.
Untouched.
Unchanged.
Cursed.
That day I had made myself a promise.
No one else would die because of this curse.
No matter what it demanded of me.
The sharp click of the door opening snapped me back to the present.
This time there was no knock.
Kael entered as though the room naturally belonged to him.
Perhaps it did.
He had changed from the elaborate ceremonial attire he’d worn to the ball. Now he wore only a fitted black shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms and dark trousers tucked into polished boots. The simpler clothing somehow made him more intimidating.
Less like a king.
More like the man beneath the crown.
His dark hair was slightly disheveled, as though he’d absentmindedly run a hand through it more than once.
For just a heartbeat…
He looked tired.
The illusion vanished the moment his crimson eyes met mine.
“You’re unpacking,” he observed, quietly closing the door behind him.
“I don’t have much.”
His gaze swept over the neatly folded clothes.
“You brought only what mattered.”
“I wasn’t planning on staying.”
“No,” he said with the faintest smile. “You were planning on killing me.”
Neither of us looked away.
“I still am.”
“I know.”
The calm certainty in his voice irritated me more than if he’d laughed.
He crossed the room with measured steps until only a few feet separated us.
The firelight caught the silver embroidery at the cuffs of his sleeves.
“Tell me about your family.”
The request caught me completely off guard.
“My family?”
“The ones you’ve lost.”
I studied him, searching for mockery.
There was none.
Only quiet patience.
“My mother,” I began carefully, “used to sing while she cooked.”
The words came slowly at first.
Then faster.
I told him about my younger sister chasing butterflies through wildflower fields.
About my father teaching me to ride.
About birthdays that no longer mattered because I had outlived everyone who celebrated them.
About Elias.
About every funeral.
Every goodbye.
Every year the curse reminded me that I remained while everyone else disappeared.
Kael never interrupted.
He simply listened.
Really listened.
When my voice finally fell silent, the room seemed strangely heavier.
His eyes had softened in a way I hadn’t thought possible.
“I never intended for any of that to happen,” he said at last.
“I know apologies don’t erase centuries.”
He took another step.
“But I will end it.”
His voice carried no pride.
No arrogance.
Only certainty.
“I will break the curse.”
“For me?” I asked bitterly.
“For all of you.”
Silence stretched between us.
The fire crackled softly behind him.
Outside, the wind whispered against enchanted glass.
For one impossible moment, neither assassin nor king existed.
Only two people carrying the weight of centuries.
Kael reached out slowly, giving me every opportunity to refuse.
His fingertips brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face before his hand fell away again.
“You should rest,” he said quietly.
“The days ahead will test us both.”
He held my gaze for one lingering moment before turning toward the door.
As it closed behind him, I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
The tower fell silent once more.
I looked down at the dagger hidden beneath my skirts.
Then toward the door through which the immortal king had disappeared.
The mission remained unchanged.
So why did it suddenly feel so much more complicated?
- Writer
