Scarlet
I woke to warmth.
Not fire. Not sun. But the heat of someone holding me like the world depended on it.
Damien.
His arms were wrapped tightly around me, his scent grounding me when everything else felt like it was spinning out of reach. The air still crackled with the remnants of magic, but there was no chaos anymore. No wind. No thunder. Just silence.
The ritual was over.
I blinked up at the clearing sky, stars scattered across the darkness like salt. The moon had pushed past the clouds, pale and bright, watching.
“She’s awake,” Evelyn breathed.
I turned my head slowly. Marie stood beside her, her long hair wind-blown, her eyes glassy with emotion. She stepped forward, voice resonant and clear.
“We have a true blood among us,” she said. “For the first time in centuries.” H
