I slowly sat up from the bed, my thoughts still spinning endlessly inside my head.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Not Aurora.
Not Lucien.
Not this world.
Everything felt wrong—like I had stepped into a version of my novel that someone else had rewritten while I wasn’t looking.
I let out a frustrated breath and stood up, trying to clear my mind for even a moment.
But the second I turned—
I bumped into someone.
My breath caught instantly.
Kael Thornridge.
I frowned immediately.
“What is your problem?” I asked, stepping back slightly.
“I said I need to be alone.”
But Kael didn’t move.
If anything, he stepped even closer.
The air between us shifted instantly—heavier, tighter, suffocating in a way I couldn’t explain.
“Kael,” I said again, firmer this time.
“Leave.”
Still, he refused.
Instead, his eyes drifted toward the small table beside my bed.
Then slowly, deliberately—
He picked up the table knife resting there.
My heartbeat stuttered.
“What are you doing?”
Kael said nothing.
He just started walking toward me.
Slowly.
Calmly.
As if nothing about this situation was unusual at all.
The knife caught the dim candlelight, flashing dangerously.
Fear surged through my body instantly.
“Drop the knife,” I demanded quickly, my voice sharper than before.
But he didn’t stop.
Step by step, he kept advancing.
Until I was forced backward.
And backward.
Until my back hit the wall.
A sharp breath escaped my lips.
Trapped.
Kael lifted the knife slightly.
For one terrifying second, I thought he was going to stab me.
Panic exploded through my chest.
I didn’t think—I just reacted.
I screamed.
The sound tore through the room.
But instead of anger… instead of violence…
Kael smiled.
Just slightly.
Like he was satisfied.
Then—
Bang.
He slammed the knife into the wall beside my head.
The impact echoed sharply.
I flinched hard, my breath shaking uncontrollably.
Kael leaned in slightly, his gaze locked on mine.
Then quietly, almost curiously, he asked:
“Why are you scared of me?”
My chest rose and fell too fast to control.
I shoved against him immediately, trying to create space, trying to breathe again.
But Kael caught my wrist before I could escape.
My eyes widened.
“Kael—”
Before I could finish, he pulled me closer.
Closer than before.
Too close.
I could feel the heat of his body, the tension in his grip, the unnatural calm in his breathing.
“Let go of me,” I said sharply.
But he didn’t listen.
Instead—
His left hand shifted.
Something unnatural rippled beneath his skin.
Dark fur spread rapidly across his arm.
Claws extended from his fingers with a sharp, metallic gleam.
Tiger claws.
My breath hitched instantly.
“What…?”
Before I could process it, Kael dragged one claw lightly across my right hand.
A thin line of pain bloomed instantly.
I winced sharply.
“Kael, stop!”
But he didn’t.
Instead, without hesitation, he turned the claw toward himself.
And dragged it across his own arm.
Blood appeared immediately.
Bright.
Real.
Stark against his skin.
I stared at him in shock.
“What are you doing?!”
Kael didn’t answer.
His golden eyes stayed locked on mine—steady, unreadable, almost searching.
Like he was waiting for something.
Like I was supposed to understand.
And somehow, that unsettled me more than anything else.
Then slowly—
He lifted my injured hand toward his lips.
“Wait—”
Before I could react, his tongue brushed lightly over the blood on my skin.
My entire body froze.
Shock shot through me instantly.
“What are you doing?!” I shouted, yanking my hand back instinctively.
But Kael tightened his grip.
Not painfully.
Just firmly enough to stop me.
Then, without hesitation, he lifted his own injured arm toward me.
“Your turn.”
I stared at him like he had completely lost his mind.
“What?”
“Lick it,” he said quietly.
My expression twisted instantly.
“Are you insane?” I snapped.
“Why on earth would I do that?”
Kael didn’t respond.
He just watched me.
Completely still.
Completely serious.
I pointed at him, voice rising.
“You just licked my blood, and now you expect me to lick yours?!
Do you even hear yourself?”
Silence.
Then,
Something shifted in his expression.
Not anger.
Not irritation.
Confusion.
And beneath it… something almost like hurt.
“Why are you rejecting me?” he asked softly.
I blinked.
“What?”
“You never reject me,” he continued.
His voice lowered slightly.
“We do this often.
So why are you acting like this now?”
My mind stopped.
Completely.
Excuse me?
I stared at him in utter disbelief.
“Lick each other’s blood?!” I repeated loudly.
“Why would we ever do something like that?!”
But even as I said it.
A terrifying thought crept into my mind.
Wait.
When did I write this?
My brows furrowed immediately.
No.
No, I definitely did not remember writing anything like that.
Seraphina and Kael?
Blood rituals?
No.
That was never in the story.
So then,
Why was Kael acting like this was normal?
His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
Then he muttered under his breath:
“Maybe Sylas was right.”
My heart stopped instantly.
Kael stepped closer again.
Slow.
Certain.
“Maybe,” he continued softly, “you really aren’t our master.”
Cold fear shot through my chest.
No.
Don’t say that.
Before he could continue
I grabbed his arm suddenly.
And without thinking twice, I leaned forward and licked the blood from his scratch.
The moment I did,
A faint glowing mark flashed across both of our arms.
Bright.
Brief.
Strange.
Then,
It vanished.
Silence.
The scratches disappeared completely.
No wound.
No blood.
Nothing.
I stared at my arm in shock.
“What…?”
Kael looked at me strangely calm.
Like this only confirmed something for him.
Like he had been waiting for that exact reaction.
My thoughts spiraled violently.
What even was this?
What kind of relationship did Seraphina and Kael actually have?
And why… why didn’t I know about it?
I stepped back quickly, my breathing uneven.
“I’m leaving.”
I turned toward the door.
But the moment I did
I froze.
Lucien Draven was standing there.
My breath caught instantly.
How long had he been there?
His eyes moved slowly between me and Kael.
Silent.
Unreadable.
Cold in a way that made my stomach tighten.
Not anger.
Not surprise.
Something worse.
Then, without a single word
He turned and walked away.
“Lucien, wait!”
Panic surged through me instantly.
I ran after him immediately, footsteps echoing down the hallway as he disappeared into the distance.
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