Bound by blood and fire
822 Words
Hallowstone City – A few days later
Smoke still lingered in the wind, curling above the charred skeleton of what was once a library. Ivy Miller stood frozen amidst the ash, her palms scraped and blackened with soot. Her breathing came in short, shallow bursts, and her eyes brimmed with tears. She hadn’t meant to destroy anything. She hadn't meant for any of it.
“Fire magic,” came a voice behind her, calm and unsettling. “Uncontrolled. Untrained.”
Ivy spun around to find Elysia standing at the edge of the ruin, her long coat catching in the breeze, eyes glowing faintly in the haze.
“I didn’t— I didn’t mean to do this,” Ivy said.
“I know,” Elysia replied, walking toward her. “But intent doesn’t stop the damage. You’re a witch, Ivy. And this is what happens when a witch doesn’t know who she is.”
Ivy stared. “A witch? That’s not real.”
Elysia stopped just inches from her. “It is. And you just proved it.”
Ivy’s lips trembled. “What happens now?”
“You make a choice,” Elysia said. “Embrace your power… and follow me. Or let it consume you until someone else stops you permanently.”
There was silence between them, heavy and raw. Ivy didn’t understand who this woman was or what exactly she meant. But she’d seen the flames. Felt them.
“I’ll follow you,” Ivy whispered.
“Good,” Elysia said, but her tone held no comfort. “You’ll regret parts of it. But not this.”
—
A few nights later, Elysia entered the cave where Kieran lay, his transformation slowed but incomplete. Bones still cracked faintly beneath his skin, though he was conscious now—barely.
“You’ve held up better than most,” she said, kneeling beside him.
He grunted in reply.
Elysia pulled out a small, glowing vial and held it up between two fingers. “This will give you control. No more broken bones. No more full moon agony.”
Kieran took it, and for a moment, their eyes met—his full of suspicion and hope, hers unreadable.
He drank.
Pain gave way to stillness. Peace. Relief.
And then she said, “One more step remains. I’m a blood demon. I must bond with a beast. Magic demands it.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” she said, “if I bleed, so will you. If I die… so will you. But I am immortal.”
He hesitated. “And I’d live forever?”
She nodded. “Forever.”
Kieran stared at her—this powerful, terrifying, magnetic being. He didn’t owe her… but something about her drew him in. Maybe it was that she’d taken his pain. Maybe it was more.
“I agree.”
Elysia leaned in slowly, placing her lips against his. The kiss ignited the bond instantly. Magic sparked through them both.
Kieran’s body jolted. His cheeks flushed.
Elysia pulled away, unfazed. Her eyes burned brighter now—not from the kiss, but from the hunger building within her.
—
She wandered to the cliffs just outside Hallowstone, where a lone hiker sat with earbuds in. He didn’t see her approach.
She didn’t like hunting. Not anymore. But the hunger was gnawing, and she had no choice.
She leaned in—then paused. Vervain.
It didn’t affect her physiology, but it blocked her ability to cloud his mind. He turned sharply, fighting against her command.
Annoyed, she grabbed him by the collar, and with one swift motion, shoved him off the cliff.
He hit the rocks below. Bones shattered. Blood spilled.
Elysia appeared beside him in a blink. “Do you want to live?” she asked, kneeling beside his broken form.
His eyes flickered.
She fed him her blood. Snapped his neck.
—
When he woke, gasping and starving, Elysia was ready.
She tossed him a blood bag. “Drink.”
He did, and the change consumed him.
After the panic passed, he stood.
“I’m Elias,” he said, voice steadier than expected.
“You’re mine now,” she replied.
He didn’t protest.
—
At school, Elysia passed the library where Lily was sorting books—again. She lingered near the doorway but didn’t enter.
Lily looked up, surprised. “Hey… weren’t you at orientation?”
Elysia offered a faint smile. “I was. You’re the girl who dropped that entire box of books on herself.”
Lily blushed. “In my defense, they were classics. Very heavy classics.”
Elysia chuckled softly. “I’m Elysia.”
“Lily,” she said, brushing dust from her knees. “Nice to meet you.”
They didn’t talk long. Just a few minutes. But Lily had a warmth Elysia hadn’t felt in centuries.
And as she walked away, Elysia found herself slowing her steps—just a little.
- Writer
