“I heard it all.”
“What?”
He caresses my cheek, tears falling onto my face. “You are my bloodsworn, my chosen one, the woman to whom I have bound my life, for whom I draw breath. No curse, not even death, would take me from you.”
I smile weakly. “And what if death takes me from you?”
“I will not let it…if you permit me.”
“This wound is—”
“It’s too deep, and too magical,” he agrees before I have to say it. “Just having my blood and my power isn’t going to be enough for this. And the curse must be broken, it must claim its price. There is no way to save you without letting you die. However, you could be born again.” His eyes, the same color as sunrise—red and gold—shine over me. “But I will not save you without your permission. I have taken you once from your world. I did so without your permission or your blessing, and I changed your life forever. I will not change your life again without your consent.”
“Ah.” It all makes sense to me, what he’s saying—no, offering. “Will it hurt?”
Ruvan smiles tenderly and caresses my cheek. “My darling, I swore I would never hurt you. I swore it in an oath and as a man. I promise you, it won’t hurt in the slightest.”
I close my eyes and think of home, of Hunter’s Hamlet, of my family’s smithy. I wonder if it will go dark. No…a forge always finds a way to keep warm. Mother will continue to work, and then whatever young woman she’s already no doubt begun training will take over after that.
It will be a new family of smiths, one that doesn’t know forge maidens but just a passion for heat and metal. The young woman will grow up making practical things—locks, horseshoes, hinges, nails. Because there will be no more need of silver or weapons. The long night has ended.
The war of humans and vampir is finally over.
“One other thing,” I rasp.
“We don’t have much time,” he cautions.
“We don’t need much more.” Even though it hurts to move, I grab his hand. “If you do this—wedo this—I will not be hidden. It will be hard, but we will not make the same mistakes as our forefathers. We will live together, out in the open. We try this in earnest, or not at all.”
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.”
CHAPTER48
