25. Bella

Iawoke warm and pressed against a rigid body in the early morning hours. The small window in the room filtered in the early morning rays, and the male behind me must have just snuck back into the room because I knew he couldn”t stay the night with me.

His dragon needed to be released at night. A fear hit me, and with the dragon”s memory loss, it seemed that one night, he would fly away and be unable to find his way back. I quickly brushed it aside, knowing the curse would not allow that.

I nestled closer to Lore”s warmth, wishing time would freeze us in this perfect cocoon. Reality waited just beyond our doorway, ominous as the blood-red full moon that would crest tonight.

A sacrifice was coming. The prophecy foretold it, though its exact meaning remained shrouded in secrets. Lives lost centuries ago cried out for justice. The decaying curse sank claws deeper into Lore”s soul with each passing day.

Tonight, the crimson moon would rise. With it came a reckoning written in the stars before my birth. I could only grasp tendrils of hazy intuition, unable to pierce the veil of hidden truth. Unease slithered up my spine as I gazed at Lore”s beloved face. Sometimes, I caught him watching me with infinite sorrow as if memorizing each detail before losing me forever. It stirred nameless fears in my heart.

I shook off the ominous thoughts as Lore”s eyes fluttered open, crystal blue in the muted dawn. He offered a drowsy smile that made my pulse quicken. ”Did you sleep well?”

”Well enough,” I lied.

Lore saw through it, frowning.

I forced brightness into my tone. ”Just bad dreams. I”m sure it”s nothing.”

Lore pulled me close, voice muffled against my hair. ”Whatever comes, we will face it together.”

I fell into silence, wishing I could just spend the day in his arms, but something was pushing on the back of my mind, a feeling of infinite doom coming. It was as if the end were nearer than we realized. What end, I wasn”t sure.

Lore softly kissed my bare shoulder, nestling closer to me. ”Let”s pretend it isn”t daytime yet, that the sun hasn”t risen, and that I do not turn into a dragon that can”t remember his name. Let”s lose ourselves in each other”s arms one more time.”

I rolled over, a grin stretching my face, all thoughts of doom gone as I pulled him to me and lost myself in the feel of his arms and the sweetness of his kisses.

“Did you enjoy bouncing?” Alysha cackled as I walked into the kitchen with my hair still mussed. My stomach protested louder than my lack of propriety. She was busy kneading some bread flour all over her body and a little on her nose. Her deep blue eyes, far darker than Lore’s, sparkled in the dark as she pressed her lips together as if barely containing another laugh.

I grinned back at her. “I did, actually.” Though I felt the blush spreading across my cheeks and knew I was as red as the tomatoes settled next to her cutting board awaiting their fate.

“Well, at least some good has come out of all this thickness in the air,” Alysha mumbled as she kneaded the bread and placed it in a bowl with a cloth to watch it rise and bake later.

“You feel it too?” I asked as I sat across from her, taking a bowl of her special porridge as I began eating it.

Billy walked in and sat beside me, taking his bowl, only to groan a second later. ”Ugh, this stuff again?” He tilted his head back in exasperation, sighed deeply, and shoveled the porridge into his mouth.

”It”s good for you. It”ll stick to your bones,” Billy”s mother chided.

”I could eat the entire pantry and nothing would stick to my bones,” he muttered around a mouthful of food, much to his mother”s dismay. She narrowed her eyes at him. After a moment, as they stared each other down, Alysha merely sighed, shook her head, and made another batch of dough.

”Where are Alastair and Lore off to?” I asked but already knew the answer. They were most likely training at this time of day, honing skills they had once needed in battle. Or at least Lore had. Alastair, from what I could gather, had been a hunter.

I finished my meal, and Alysha gave me a sly wink as I headed out the door. Billy”s grumbles filled the space as I left. I was sure some of the grumbles were meant for me since I missed our morning perimeter check.

I moved toward the training ground, already hearing what I knew I would: the sound of clanking steel against steel. As I turned the corner of the castle, I saw them there. Both had their shirts off and were sweating heavily. It was Lore where my eyes traveled to, and I couldn”t look away. I thought about what we shared late in the day yesterday and this morning, and I felt my face heat as it spread through my body. I no longer sought a way to escape or kill him.

If I had to spend centuries stuck with him in a curse, I would endure it for him. I knew we didn”t have the luxury of that. Something was changing, and it wasn”t for the good. I watched from a distance for a bit, watching as his muscles rippled and caught the sun, how his body moved with fluid, graceful steps. How he was a weapon himself. The way he moved so naturally. I envied that ability.

It was Alastair who gave my presence away. ”Look who”s come to gawk at us,” he teased, a sparkle of humor glimmering in his eyes. ”Do you think she likes my muscles?” His lips stretched in a big grin as Lore slammed his sword into his with more force, causing Alastair to fall backward. Lore stood over him, sword poised at his neck.

”Yield,” Lore growled with deadly intent as if their fight had been real.

Alastair”s eyes flared momentarily as he stared up at him, quickly throwing up his hands. ”I yield.”

I marched over, grabbing a sword from those propped and ready for use. The months of training with them both had made me an adequate fighter. I was not even close to being as good as them, but I was better than I had been when I’d started.

Lore turned toward me, preparing to begin training with me, but I shook my head, pointing at Alastair. ”I”ll fight him.”

Alastair smirked. ”Told you it was my muscles she was staring at.”

I rolled my eyes at him and got into position to fight. The clang of steel on steel echoed through the yard as we practiced until sweat dripped off our brows and down my back. Lore was quiet and seemed lost, deep in thought, and plagued by worries.

I wanted to ask him what was wrong, to reach out and take some of the burden from his shoulders. I knew it would be like all the other times. He would push me away, and I”d have to chase him down again. Instead, after my arms grew weary, I excused myself from training, ready to do some light reading and hoping I found some answers this time.

So I escaped into the library I now felt I could claim as my own.

The stillness of the castle grated on me as I restlessly paced its empty halls. After a month of being here, I”d searched every inch of this place. There was nothing here. Yet, as I lit the candle and began my search, my mind kept returning to the chilling prophecy I had uncovered months before.

”When crimson blood stains the silver moon, the end shall come. Only the sacrifice of the cursed fated love will renew...”

I shuddered, the cryptic words echoing through me. Lore was convinced the curse was unbreakable, our fate doomed. If that was the sacrifice required—the life of his true love in exchange for the kingdom”s freedom. We were doomed before we had even started because if one thing was sure, a half-vampire like me was not his fated love.

What if it was wrong? I refused to accept just one fate, one finality, when there could be a better ending.

I sank down amid the shelves, wrestling with the terrible proposition. Could I willingly lay down my life, even for Lore? Unbidden images of our passion flashed through my mind. I recalled the silken warmth of his skin pressed to mine, the exhilaration of our bodies joined in sweet harmony.

Yes, I realized with dawning certainty. I could sacrifice everything for one more stolen moment in Lore”s arms. Without him, life held no meaning. That realization made me drop the book in my hands, and horror washed over me. Somewhere along the way, I”d begun to love Lore.

The creak of a floorboard startled me from my brooding. I hastily composed myself before facing Lore, hiding the turbulence within. His eyes pierced mine, azure orbs reflecting the same hidden burden.

At once, I knew with resounding clarity that our fate had been sealed long before this night. I would gladly embrace the fire and ash to save him, even if it meant defying the bitter prophecy written in my blood. Lore was my destiny, and I was his.

Though I had vowed once to take Lore”s life, now the thought of losing him ripped my heart to shreds. How had this callous dragon shifter breached my defenses? I knew, with resounding clarity, that I would give my life if it spared him endless torment. When had his fate become so entwined with my happiness? Our story could only end in tragedy, yet how could I turn my back on my sworn enemy when he desperately needed me?

I would find a way back to him, I silently swore. Let the moon goddess rage—she could not keep us apart.

The die had been cast. When the time came, I would offer my life to free Lore”s kingdom. For him, any price was worth paying. Tonight, I would reclaim my fate.

The air was thick with tension as Lore and I checked our weapons for the third time. We both felt it—the sky darkened as something wicked approached, and tonight”s blood-red moon rose.

Lore had gathered swords, axes, and bows in grim preparation. His mouth was set in a tight line, his eyes steeled for the coming battle. He refused to tell me why he was sure an attack would come that night. I could see the concern etched in the corded muscles of his back as he stared out the narrow window.

Something had shifted these last months, and an unspoken understanding was passing between us. Enmity had turned to friendship and something more. An undercurrent of heat was now charging our every interaction. My feelings ran more profound than mere attraction. Lore remained stoic, keeping himself barricaded away despite the pull between us.

Even with the tension in the air, his nearness pulled my thoughts back to the moment we were in each other”s arms. How it felt to be one with him and lose myself in his touch, and the feel of him as he moved within me.

It felt right, like some piece of myself I never knew had been missing had finally found where it was meant to be.

As if he had heard my thoughts, Lore flicked his eyes to mine, our gazes locking together and holding as if our hearts were calling out to each other through the windows of our souls. For a brief second, his eyes flashed crimson as if his dragon was also answering the call. He tore his gaze away, and I felt a coldness creep in.

”We need to be ready,” Lore said for what felt like the twentieth time.

Alastair merely grumbled in agreement. His own sword clutched in his hand as we stood outside the keep nearest to the worst of the decaying vines—those closest to the moon. Which seemed to loom larger than usual, an eerie shade of crimson outlining it like a death omen ready to strike us all down.

I knew wolves were already turning and prowling the land around my village. The humans were tucked in tight for the night, knowing instinctively the dangers of a night like this. The vampires would be out, ready to take a new meal and maybe even a life. The night was just beginning as the sun set. The last moment of light sank into the distant horizon as the land plunged into darkness.

Fear sent a lance of trepidation and anxiety through me. My gaze flicked to Lore, expecting him to change into his dragon. He didn”t. Instead, he was powerless on the full moon. Helpless against the coming attack.

I longed to reach out, to bridge the gaping chasm of his self-imposed isolation. Tonight was not the time. Foreboding crawled across my skin as the moon rose higher in the sky, and the sun and moon held the sky together for the briefest moments. We needed to be focused on the trials ahead.

Still, I ached to offer him comfort. I knew now I could never take Lore”s life, curse or no curse. I would stand with him against the bitter end if need be. He was no longer just my captor—he had become my reason to keep fighting, my light in the darkness.

An eerie crimson glow spilled across the land as the last golden rays faded. The moon took its place high, swollen and bloody, seeming to bleed malevolence into the night.

Lore turned to me, features carved from stone. Under the surface, a storm raged in his wintry eyes. He stepped close, grasping my shoulders almost fiercely. His voice was gravel and smoke. ”Stay near me.” It was a command laced with barely restrained fear.

I covered his hand with mine, imbuing my words with all my heart. ”Always.”

He flinched at the contact, eyes sliding away. He still struggled to accept what shone so clearly to me. This was not the time to push.

In unspoken accord, we moved to the courtyard, weapons poised as we took our positions. The empty night stretched before us, silent and foreboding. We waited, united in purpose if not yet entirely in trust. The battle ahead would forge us, one way or another.

When the first ululating shrieks split the air, Lore”s hand found mine, gripping fiercely. The horde approached. We would face them back-to-back. The curse”s hourglass trickled down as the dead descended under the scarlet moon. May the goddess have mercy—for we would show none tonight.

With blades singing death”s song, we charged forth to meet our destiny. If this was our end, we would greet it without fear.

Only what came over the wall first was not the undead that I had expected, but a different kind. It was my father.