"I figured as much," she says, resigned, and retreats back into the house.
I remain outside for a moment longer. Then I follow.
It's time to face her.
It's dark downstairs. The shadows cling to the walls, but they're not what makes the air heavy. Her presence poisons the light. Even restrained, her aura seeps into every surface.
The chains rattle as she shifts, hearing my approach.
"Ah," she drawls. "The ex-fiancé comes. Did you draw the short straw? Why aren't my dearest husbands taking the first turn?"
Her smile is all teeth. Nothing soft in her eyes. Only shadow.
It takes effort not to let it show how seeing her like this wounds me. So hollowed out and crowned with darkness.
"We thought it best for someone who understands you, who's seen you at your highest and your worst, to come first," I say evenly. "Sage, this isn't you. Not fully. The Sage I knew was fierce. Alive. Not… this echo."
She smirks, tilting her head. "Echo's poetic. You always did enjoy your metaphors."
She rattles her chains once more. "Bit kinky, though, don't you think? And you say 'we' so casually now. Teaming up with the vampires who stole your woman. The ones you swore to kill. Is that desperation, or… are you expanding your horizons? Should I expect some group entertainment?"
She licks her lips slowly, her voice low and taunting.
I don't rise to it.
"You're a prisoner to this version of yourself," I say. "It's not a show of strength to lose yourself to hunger. You have to fight it. Find the spark buried beneath the ruin."
She rolls her eyes. "Oh, how touching." Her voice drips with mockery. "You're still trying to dig for fragments of my soul. Clinging to that fantasy of redemption." She leans forward. "Let me be straight with you—there's nothing in there."
"Do you remember? The places we stood together. The things we dreamed. The battles we fought. That's not gone," I press. "There's a part of you that remembers and cares."
Her expression shifts. I can't say what it means.
"Please, Sage," I say, voice quieter now. "Fight it. Forme."
"Blah, blah, blah," she mutters, mouth twisted in a bitter grin. "So tiresome, Darius. You already gave me this speech before. It didn't win me back when I wasn't… this. Do you really think it'll work now?"
Her words hit harder than I let it show.
"I don't expect this to be easy," I tell her. "But I believe in you. In what we were. I won't stop."
She leans forward again, eyes gleaming, chains singing with tension.
"You're pathetic, you know that?" she hisses. "Running after me like some love-sick mutt. I used to respect you. Menacing, powerful, merciless ancient being. This version? It's pitiful. Why did you even follow me? Pride? Ego? Or do my powers mean that much to you?"
Real questions. Beneath the venom, Sage is still there, asking what she never dared to before.
"I followed you because you are mine," I say, "Because even when you told me to leave… even when you married them… I believed you could love me again."
For a beat, there is only silence.
Then she throws her head back and laughs, low and cruel.
"Oh, this is rich," she spits. "Darlene was right all along. I made you weak. And now—" her voice sharpens, "even like this, I'm still your weakness."
My eyes narrow at the mention of Darlene. She sees it.
"Darlene…" she says slowly, watching for the reaction she knows will come. "She thought she was serving you by killing me. She wasn't wrong, I suppose, but she didn't know things would unfold like this, did she?"
