Ruvan chuckles. His smile is brighter than I’ve ever seen. This is the smile I was fighting for. “I do not think I could hide you if I tried.” He’s absolutely right, of course.
“All right then. I’m ready; the iron is hot. Make me into something new.”
“Brace yourself.” He grips the dagger firmly. Running his lower lip along his fangs, he cuts lines into it. Blood dribbles onto my face and lips. Ruvan leans forward and presses his mouth against mine.
My head tilts back as he deepens the kiss. His power flows into me as he withdraws the dagger. Blood pours from the wound, as hot as sunlight. Life leaves my body; my tethers to this world are beginning to fray. All I can do is hold on to him, and hope.
Everything slowly goes dark. It is as if the sun is being eclipsed. I don’t know if this fading is part of the ritual, or if it’s the ritual failing, but either way, Ruvan will be the last thing I see and feel in this life.
As everything dissolves into nothingness, all light gone, a new spark takes hold. As red as the Blood Moon that started it all, a new spark of life rises within me from the ashes of the woman I once was. It illuminates every memory etched on my blood. It burns through my veins.
I inhale sharply and open my eyes to a world tinged in crimson. Everything glows, held together by threads that connect to people long gone, to the blood of those forgotten but not lost. In my mind’s eye, I see my sternum mending. Tissue reconnects in impossible ways.
Thump.
Thump.
Just like when we became bloodsworn, my heart beats anew. Different. Stronger. Deeper. I remember to breathe.
I turn my eyes to Ruvan, still holding me, mouth still bloody but healing. I lean up and drag my tongue along his lips. His blood tastes different now, sharper, even more delicious than I thought possible. Memories flash across my mind, access to parts of his history that I don’t unpack now—that I won’t ever unless he decrees I may.
“How do you feel?” Ruvan asks.
“Like I could conquer the world.”
“Good. We’ll start with conquering the hearts of the vampir of Tempost. Then we’ll discuss the world, my queen.”
