“It’s now or never,” Viktor murmured. “As soon as we get the chance, I’m going to get you and Able outside. We’ll head for the fountain and…”
Ant nodded once. “That’s all you need to do. Let me take care of the rest.”
Chapter Sixteen
Viktor gripped the heavy dresser he’d shoved against the door and pulled it aside in one smooth motion, the wood scraping against polished floorboards. He was tense, already anticipating a fight. He grabbed at the remnants of the door in the frame and set it aside, making sure he was standing so he was blocking sight into the bedroom.
Claudius was waiting in the hallway, framed by guards, his hands clasped behind his back as though he had just stepped out of a painting and forgotten modern life existed and people had moved on.That was always your problem,Viktor thought as he glared at his former coven leader.
“Viktor.” Claudius offered a thin smile. “How kind of you to finally grant me an audience.”
“Cut the shit, Claudius. You were here less than half an hour ago, yelling about a siege at the time.” Viktor positioned himself directly in the doorway, blocking any clear view of Ant behind him. “That didn’t last long, did it. What do you want?”
“What I’ve always wanted.” Claudius stepped closer, until only a few feet separated them. “Order. Tradition. Respect for the laws that have kept our kind safe for millennia.” His sharp eyes flicked past Viktor toward Ant. “And the removal of any threat to our security.”
Claws extended from Viktor’s hands, and he didn’t try to hide them. “Ant’s not a threat. He’s a Justiciary investigator doing his job.”
“Hisjob,” Claudius repeated mockingly, “is to destroy everything we’ve built here. To expose centuries of careful work to the modern world’s judgmental gaze.” He straightened, his voice taking on a formal cadence that Viktor remembered all too well from coven meetings long past. “Which brings me to why I’mhere. I am invokinglex antiqua- the ancient right of an elder to command obedience from those who once dwelled under his protection.”
Viktor went very still.Fuck.If he gave a shit about such a thing, that would be a serious accusation. As it was…
“You lived in this coven for nearly forty years,” Claudius continued smoothly. “You benefited from our wards, our resources, our knowledge. Under the old laws, that creates a bond of obligation that does not simply vanish because you chose to abandon your heritage and slum among humans.” He gestured dismissively toward Ant. “I am commanding you, as your elder, to surrender the human to my custody for disposal.”
Viktor didn’t move. In that moment, he couldn’t move. Because for just that moment, Claudius’s invocation had dragged him back through centuries to a version of himself he’d thought he’d left behind.
“You will learn your place, boy.”
The memory hit Viktor like a physical blow. He was younger then - not even five hundred years old, still learning to navigate vampire society in an archaic coven after decades of isolation. He’d sought out the Raven Estate, believing it would offer community, structure, and guidance from those who’d survived longer.
Instead, he’d found Claudius, who was only a few decades older than he was, yet had already styled himself as an elder.
Viktor could still feel the cold stone floor of the coven’s great hall beneath his knees, still taste the humiliation of being forced to kneel before the assembled vampires while Claudius lectured him about hierarchy and obedience. His crime? Questioning whether it was wise to drain a merchant’s daughter when herfather was actively searching the woods around the estate, looking for her.
“You dare question my judgment?” Claudius had circled him slowly, each word loud and cutting in tone. “You, who stumbled into our civilized society, barely able to control your own hunger? You are here by my grace alone. Remember that.”
But what Viktor remembered most clearly was the screaming that came later that night - the merchant’s daughter, begging for her life while Claudius made an example of her. Not because he needed to feed, but because Viktor had dared speak up.
Claudius had made him watch.
Viktor’s vision cleared, snapping back to the present. Claudius stood before him now, wearing that same expression of smug certainty, absolutely confident that his ancient authority could and would bend Viktor to his will.
He thinks I’m still that uncertain young vampire, desperate to belong.
Something hot and vicious unfurled in Viktor’s chest. “No.”
Claudius blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I saidno.” Viktor’s lips pulled back from his teeth in something too sharp to be called a smile. “You want to invoke ancient law? Fine. Let’s talk about ancient law. TheVinculum Animarum- the soul bond between fated mates – that predates your precious coven and any of the bullshit laws you dreamed up one night when you were drunk. It supersedes any oath, any obligation, any authority you think you have over me.”
“Soul bonds are fairy tales…”
“Soul bonds,” Viktor interrupted, his voice dropping to something dangerous, “are the oldest magic in existence. Olderthan your estate, older than your bloodline, and definitely older than you with your antiquated ways.”
He took a step forward, forcing Claudius to either hold his ground or retreat. Claudius stepped back. “I never held any loyalty to you. All you taught me was an example of who not to be. But the moment I tasted Ant’s blood - given to me willingly - and recognized him as my mate, any other loyalty I ever held became meaningless. He is myonlypriority.”
Claudius’s expression twisted with contempt. “You would choose a fragile human over your own kind? Over centuries of vampire tradition?”
“He’s not human, you arrogant bastard. He’s a Level Twelve mage who could atomize you with a thought.” Viktor felt his control slipping, felt his second form pressing against the edges of his skin. “And even if he wasn’t - even if he was a simple academic with no magic at all - I would still choose him. Every single time, without hesitation.”
