CRIMSON MOON

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER 18: SHADOWS STILL LINGER

(Damian’s POV)

Devereaux’s body had turned to ash.

But his curse remained.

I could feel it—coiled deep in my bones, clinging to my skin like an iron brand. My beast was still there, simmering beneath the surface, watching. Waiting.

It should have ended when he died.

But it hadn’t.

And that meant there was something worse at play.

Selene pulled away from me, just enough to meet my gaze. Her eyes were stormy, calculating. Even with her wounds, even after the battle we’d fought, she was already thinking ahead.

"We need to move," she said quietly.

I looked around. The manor was still standing, but barely. The floors were littered with bodies, the walls cracked from the fight.

The stench of death clung to everything.

The vampires that had fought for Devereaux were either dead or gone. But that didn’t mean more wouldn’t come.

Ravenshade belonged to no one now. A city without a king.

And a city without a king meant chaos.

I exhaled sharply, forcing my claws to retract. The last thing Selene needed was to see me lose control. Not after what we’d just fought for.

"Where do we go?" I asked.

She swayed slightly, exhaustion finally catching up to her. But she straightened, pushing past the pain. "Somewhere safe. We need time to regroup. And I need to fix your damn curse before it—"

She didn’t finish.

Because she knew as well as I did: time was running out.

The longer the curse stayed, the deeper it sank its teeth into me.

I rolled my shoulders, trying to shake the heaviness pressing against my chest. "I know a place. A few hours outside the city."

Selene’s brow arched. "Secluded?"

"Very."

She gave me a slow, tired nod. "Then let’s go."

I should have argued. She was still bleeding, her wrist still swollen from Devereaux’s attack.

But one look at her face told me she wouldn’t stop.

So I did the only thing I could.

I helped her up, keeping my grip steady as we moved toward the shattered doors of Ravenshade Manor.

The night outside was thick with fog, the moon casting pale silver light over the city below.

Everything was too quiet.

As if Ravenshade itself was holding its breath, waiting for the next battle to come.

And I knew—

This war was far from over.