1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Roman

S omething was terribly wrong. I could feel it with every fiber of my body.

Unfamiliar smells assaulted my nose, accompanied by the shrieks of animals running in panic and the air buzzing with power that spread through the forest like a heavy fog. It felt different from before, stronger somehow, and it didn't matter that I was moving away from the ward surrounding the city. Still, it was hard to pay attention to the odd sensation when all I could focus on was the disquieting tightness growing around my unbeating heart.

Searing pain exploded in my chest, and I barely caught myself on a tree before I fell to the ground. I tried to get air into my lungs when I remembered I didn't need air. I didn't need support to stay on my feet, and I didn't get dizzy, least of all from running.

I was a vampire. Magic wasn't supposed to affect my body or mind. Even Celeste couldn't hurt me, and just an hour ago, she had power oozing from her like blood from an open wound. So what could be the cause of this? Was it the spell or…

"No," I whispered as I dragged my nails over the front of my shirt. The fabric tore when I tugged at it, eager to confirm my worst nightmare hadn't come to pass. The last flicker of hope died while I stared at the pale, unblemished skin where my soulmark used to be.

From the moment I marked Celeste, the bond had become a tiny, unyielding flame that tethered my dead heart to the blazing inferno inside hers. So for decades, her fire kept me warm, growing distant only when she perished from the world. But tonight… tonight there was nothing. Not even an ember.

It was all gone. Not faded or hidden. Gone .

"No!" I screamed just as a loud, guttural howl echoed through the trees. Before I knew it, I was running again, my feet barely touching the ground while I devoured the remaining distance to the crypt. When I finally reached the old, dark building, I almost took the doors down in my hurry to get to her.

Silence greeted me as I stood in the middle of the front room, waiting for the sounds of splashing water, soft sighs, or quiet footsteps. Nothing. I could hear nothing. Not her breathing, not her movements, not even the sweet beats of her heart.

"Celeste?" I called, ignoring how my voice cracked. Nothing had changed since we left. She was just… gone. How was this possible? Even if someone took her, she would have fought, she would have left a clue. There were no signs of struggle or blood, even the air didn't taste like fear or rage. So why was the mark gone? What could break a bond that not even death could sever?

I hurried to the other room. There were wet footprints on the floor and a small puddle around the bathtub, but still no blood, no bodies. Not a single soul, living or dead.

Just what the hell happened here?

I grit my teeth, forcing my fists to unclench. Falling into the trap of panic would be useless; there had to be a logical explanation, even if it wasn't obvious to me yet.

The trembling of my hands finally stopped and my weight settled down, with my emotions tightly wrapped in the pit of my stomach. I cracked my neck, releasing some of the tension gathered there, and gave the crypt another look.

‘The woods,' my mind suggested once I was calm enough to think straight. Maybe she had walked outside and someone grabbed her there, so that's why there were no traces in this place. She must have sensed the burst of magic and, as usual, she didn't listen and decided to check on it. Maybe we missed each other on the way.

My fingers rubbed over the cold, unmarked skin, seeking that missing warmth again. A terrifying thought barged into my mind—what if this was happening because her feelings had changed? She just told me she loved me, but her rejection was the only thing that would explain all of this. What if, after tonight, she realized that she only needed him, her mate, and simply left this place to find him? I knew most people she took to bed were nothing more than a passing fancy. They couldn't take her from me; they couldn't provide what she craved. But Isaac was different. He could give her things I never could.

My body moved on its own, and with a roar that shook me down to the bones, I punched the wall. The stone broke along with my fingers, the skin over them tearing and then immediately healing while I stared at the dark hole I had made. If that was her choice, so be it, but I needed to hear it from her mouth. I needed to see she was alive and watch her admit that's what she wanted. She owed me that much.

Spinning on my heel, I was about to sprint into the forest when something clanked under my shoe. My eyes widened with surprise as I picked up Celeste's medallion and turned it over in my hands. The stench of fire and death clung to it like it had been forged in them.

A sliver of hope slipped into my heart again. Celeste would have never left this place without it, which meant she didn't run, and if the medallion was still in one piece, she had to be alive.

‘Unless the medallion is fake,' a small voice in my head whispered, but I silenced it. I needed that hope to keep going.

Whoever took her better pray I find them fast because the longer she was out of my sight, the more pain I was going to inflict upon them. I had waited too long to have her back, to hear her say she returned my feelings, to have her accept me. Nobody was taking her away from me again. No one .

After securing the magical artifact around my neck, I stormed out the door. I had to hurry. If I got stuck in that crypt, alone, for an entire day, I was going to lose my mind.

A sharp sting of pain spread through me when the first rays of sunshine brushed my skin. I moved on instinct, ducking under the light and sprinting to the trees, where the shadows were still thick enough to protect me. The melted flesh quickly healed, but the ache lingered as I glared at the brightening sky.

Never in my life had I hated being a vampire more than at that moment. I needed to get back to the house—at least there I could do something to find her. I just hoped I had enough time .

Giving the waking forest one last glance, I ran.

The sun moved higher and with every fleeting second, my power waned. My flesh melted whenever I passed through a sunlit spot, but I didn't have the strength to avoid those, so I focused on the land, ignoring the pain like I had learned to do for over a century. As long as it didn't reach my heart, I was going to be fine. I just needed to get to safety before that happened.

It felt like it took twice as long to reach the house and the large, old trees that drew me to this ancient forest all those years ago suddenly seemed as small and feeble as saplings. After my legs caught on protruding roots and stones several times, I found myself cursing the damn ball of fire in the sky to slow down its ascent.

The sight of my mansion brought me a sense of relief until I realized that, in order to get inside, I'd have to pass through the exposed front yard. The carefully swept cobblestones, the neatly arranged flowerbeds, and even the small, rumbling fountain in the middle were all basking in the sun's warm, deadly glory. It was just fifty paces across, no distance whatsoever, but I knew that the moment I started burning, I'd lose control over my body.

‘She needs you to find her,' I told myself as I took a step forward, feeling the heat encompass me. ‘You need to get in there now!'

Pain exploded everywhere at once, but I forced myself to keep going. The agony ate at the corners of my vision, the smell of burning hair and sizzling meat making my teeth grind until something cracked. Fear sneaked into my heart, but I pushed it away, leaving space only for iron will.

‘Faster, faster!' I wanted to scream at my legs, but most of my throat had already melted and I couldn't feel my lips.

I was almost at the stairs when my knees gave out, the muscles and flesh too far gone to support the rest of the body. My ribs shattered when I crashed onto the stone steps, but I ignored them, reaching a skeleton hand up to drag myself the rest of the way.

‘Just a little further! Just a few more steps!'

A shadow fell over me and the pain suddenly lessened, so I looked up with what was left of my eyes to see what was blocking the sun.

"Are you fucking insane?" a male voice snarled before a pair of arms roughly picked me up. The agony returned momentarily, but then darkness swooped in just as I was dropped on a hard surface. My relief only lasted a moment, frustration replacing it when I tried to sit up, realizing I barely had a body left. I was still here, which meant my heart was safe, but the rest…

Several blurry silhouettes leaned over me while I helplessly lay there, trying to force my regeneration to work faster. When my eyeballs began to repair themselves, I stared at the three horrified faces above me.

Lily. Chester. Isaac.

My butler said something and ran off without waiting for a reply, while Lily knelt beside me, squeezing my hand. Despite the green tint on her face, she looked more concerned than disgusted while she studied my ruined body. The very fact she hadn't vomited or fainted told me I might have underestimated how much this human girl could take.

I focused my healing on my ears next just as Isaac crawled closer, the skin on his arms and naked chest covered with nasty blisters and fresh burns. He must have been the one to save me because there was no way a human could have moved me without hurting themselves terribly. For some reason, the pain in his gaze only seemed to grow even as he regenerated before my eyes.

"Is she dead?" he rasped. "Is that why you tried to kill yourself?"

I raised my eyebrows in shock—or tried to—but I couldn't feel my face, and I wasn't sure if I even had eyebrows to begin with. If he didn't know whether she was alive or not, he must have felt something was wrong with her as well.

My vocal cords were still too damaged to speak, but I managed a weak shake of my head. Isaac's shoulders drooped, and he ran a hand over his face. His entire body shook like he was about to shift.

"What's going on?" Lily asked in a small voice. "We saw a strange light in the sky not long ago, and then there were alarms about security breaches. Chester took my family to the panic room, but I wanted to make sure…" Her eyes bore into mine again, but when I didn't reply, she turned her attention to Isaac. "Who do you think is dead? You're not talking about Celeste, are you?"

"I can't feel her," Isaac snarled, tugging at the roots of his hair as anguish twisted his features. "I can't feel the damn bond! It just… disappeared! It was so unexpected, it knocked me out for a few minutes, but…" He licked his lips, staring unseeingly at the floor. "I should be dead. Why am I not dead?"

Lily's already ashen face turned a few shades paler, but my chest filled with bitter relief. He should have been dead. I had seen the way he looked at Celeste, the way he acted around her, the way he gravitated toward her like she was his axis. There was no way he'd survive her death. So since he was alive… she had to be, too. The question was, what could sever both our bonds without killing her?

I closed my eyes, focusing on the dull ache that came with the healing. Sensation was creeping into my limbs with the ligaments and flesh slowly propagating, but I could still barely move. A frustrated breath whooshed between my parted lips and I opened my eyes, locking them on Lily just as she winced as if she was the one in pain.

This was taking way too long. I needed to heal faster.

"Bl...ood," I rasped and Lily gave me a dumbfounded look before glancing down at her wrist and gasping with understanding. Her fear filled the air, pungent and deliciously inviting, but she still raised her hand toward my mouth with a determined expression. Before she could get it close enough for me to bite, Isaac snatched her elbow.

"I'm not letting my sister's mate be killed in front of my eyes!" he snapped, pushing her to sit on the floor just out of my reach. "You look like death already. What's wrong with you?"

"I… have a cold," she murmured, dragging her cardigan tighter around her body.

Isaac snorted derisively, surveying her like he didn't believe her. His jaw worked as he turned his attention to me, the struggle obvious on his face, and when he glanced down at my tattered body, something in his gaze shifted.

"Damn it! You fucking owe me for this!" he snarled, his eyes flashing golden as he ran his nail over his wrist, breaking the skin with ease. Balling his hand into a fist, he raised it above my face, holding his breath while he watched the first drop land on my lips.

I thought he'd taste vile, like most shifters I had tried, but when the bead slid over my tongue and down my throat, I realized it was… not bad. The way his power rushed through my body was almost as satisfying as when I drank from Celeste, but his nervousness and hatred for what he was doing made his blood bitter. Still, the more his life essence filled my mouth, the harder it got to resist the urge to sink my teeth into his flesh and suck him dry.

Seconds turned into minutes, silence filling the hall while the quiet drip-drip-drip of his blood and the loud drumming of their hearts kept me from succumbing to the blood frenzy. With every mouthful, I grew stronger, Isaac's own healing factor no doubt aiding my recovery .

Through the haziness of my mind, I saw him sway, his eyes fluttering closed as he took a steadying breath. I tried to get up again and this time, I succeeded. Lily yelped at my abrupt movement, but Isaac just blinked, looking down at his hand, which I was now holding.

"Thank you," I whispered, turning his arm up, so the wound was facing the ceiling, before releasing him. It was an effort not to lick his blood off my fingers, but I had the feeling that might push him a bit too far.

I staggered to my feet and my traitorous legs wobbled, suggesting I was nowhere near as healed as I'd hoped. Lily and Isaac caught me just before I fell, but I gritted my teeth and pushed away from them. I needed to find more blood, and fast. For everyone's sake.

"If you are so thankful, then fucking explain!" Isaac snarled, moving to block me. I was too slow to evade him and too weak to shove him out of my way, but to my luck, the sound of hurried steps that came from the corridor leading deeper into the house stole his attention.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips when Chester appeared, balancing an overflowing pitcher of blood in his stringy arms. He shot Lily and Isaac a wary glance and yelped when I snatched it from him. His expression was tight with worry while he watched me drink.

The room grew eerily silent as I gulped everything down, a stream of red escaping from the corner of my mouth and dripping from my chin. It tasted like nothing, worse than nothing, but I could feel my thirst diminishing and strength returning to my limbs.

Their hearts raced while they watched, but nobody spoke until I finished all of it.

"I don't think Celeste's dead," I said with more confidence than I felt, stripping what was left of my shirt. Isaac's face blanched as he stared at the left side of my chest, while Lily let out a horrified gasp. "The last time she died, my mark didn't disappear, just faded, and I stopped feeling her. Now it's completely gone." I paused to steady myself, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. "And there's this." I raised the medallion by its chain, dangling it until the light from the chandelier caught on its smooth service. "This object is part of her and had she gone back to the earth, this would have vanished with her. "

The others exchanged a glance, their hesitation growing. I could feel my frustration quickly spreading, stealing what patience I had left for explanations.

"If she's not dead, then where is she?" Lily asked in a small voice. "And how did the marks disappear?"

Isaac's face darkened, and his eyes turned golden again.

"What if the witches took her?" he asked, nostrils flaring. "What if they found a way to break the bond so we can't find her? They have been trying to get to her even harder than the hunters. What if that witch…" He snapped his fingers and winced, as if trying to remember something, but then just sighed in defeat. "What if she finally succeeded? We left her alone and—"

"No witch can break such a bond, not even a male one," I snapped through gritted teeth.

"Then what can?" Isaac shouted, throwing his hands in the air.

"I don't know!" My control slipped, helplessness fueling my rage until I was launching the pitcher across the hall, the glass shattering against the wall and scattering all over the marble floor. Lily let out a startled cry, while Chester and Isaac stared at me like they were seeing me for the first time.

I closed my eyes and slowly released a breath in a stupid attempt to calm myself down.

"I might be able to answer that."

My head snapped in the direction of the voice just as a figure appeared through the wide-open doors leading to the parlor. Malakai gave us a weak smile, his skin now back to its normal pale splendor, although his clothes still hung scorched and riddled with holes from Celeste's magic. I hadn't heard him enter the house and judging by the look on Isaac's face, neither had he.

"Explain," I said in a painfully controlled tone, catching my hands behind my back before I did something else I'd regret. Lily stared at me from the corner of her eyes, palm tightly pressed against her mouth as if she was afraid I might get spooked by the slightest of sounds.

"I apologize for inviting myself in, but I had to speak with you," Malakai replied, making his way to us. Despite the mask of unshakable serenity he wore, his purple eyes were darker than I had ever seen them before. "The spell was cast before I reached the grove, so I had no choice but to flee from it. I'm afraid that a barrier of such magnitude is not an obstacle I can overcome by myself, so I ask that you let me—"

"I don't fucking care if you stay! Just tell me what you know!" I snarled. Chester glanced at me with worry, while Lily closed her eyes, her heart galloping so fast, I was sure she'd faint any second.

"I apologize." The Fae inclined his head. "When I couldn't get back to the grove, I decided to return to Celeste's side and help any way I could. While I was following the magic trace she left, I…" He hesitated. "...sensed another presence." Licking his lips, he looked at us as if trying to decide how much to reveal. "By the time I reached the crypt, you were already gone, and she—"

I growled, taking a step toward the prince so I could tear a limb or five until his tongue loosened, but Isaac got to him first. Grabbing Malakai by the collar of his robe, he brought their faces together, golden eyes burning brightly.

"Get to the damn point or I swear to the Goddess, I will let Roman tear you apart! Who took her?"

Malakai gave him a calm, unafraid look, his eyes lingering on Isaac's trembling fingers. He covered them with his long, pale ones, trying to pry them off until, with another frustrated snarl, Isaac released him. Malakai turned toward me and held my gaze.

"Beleth."

Isaac's back stiffened, and he shook his head in disbelief before turning to me like he was waiting for my denial. And I was ready to give it; it was right at the tip of my tongue. Yet, the longer I held Malakai's unfaltering gaze, the deeper the words sank.

A demon who could pass through the crypt wards because they stopped only things that were alive . A soulless witch gone, but not dead. An unbreakable bond, broken.

"Hell," I whispered as realization finally settled in. "If he took her to Hell, she would be neither dead nor alive. Her body won't be on this plane, but since she isn't dead, she isn't one of the damned either." I stood perfectly still until the Fae nodded, as if he had already connected the dots. "But why would he take her? Her deal is not complete… Hell has no claim over her yet!"

Malakai licked his lips, his calm cracking as he shifted awkwardly. I forced myself to be patient, even though my fangs grew, demanding his blood. When a low warning sound reverberated from my chest, he cleared his throat.

"A few days ago, while Celeste was still with me in the grove, Beleth came to visit. He asked to meet with her." I bared my teeth, but he raised his hands defensively. Why would he want to meet her? He never cared about Regina or any of the witches who accompanied her to the Council meetings. "I denied him access to the grove because he seemed agitated, and you know he gets violent when he's agitated. With my sister's wedding approaching, I couldn't afford any… complications." He paused, rubbing his perfectly smooth chin as if lost in thought before he quickly continued, likely realizing he was two seconds away from being torn to shreds. "Before he left, he told me to protect her from the witches, which was a fair warning because they did attack us during the ceremony."

Isaac crouched, grabbing his head with both hands and taking several deep breaths while his body trembled all over. His eyes had turned golden, but bit by bit, he wrestled back for control. I signaled for Lily to move away from him, but she was too busy gawking at the Fae to pay me any mind. Thankfully, Chester still had his senses, so he gently guided her a safe distance away from the werewolf in case he shifted without warning.

Switching my weight from one leg to another, I turned back to Malakai. "How can you be sure it's Beleth? Did you see him?"

"No," he replied softly. "But I'm familiar with his presence and scent, and unlike you two, I'm not deeply unsettled by the broken bond." He gave each of us a look full of pity before adding, "If this is any consolation to you, I do not think Beleth intends to harm her."

"He's a fucking demon!" Isaac jumped to his feet. "He tortures people for a living! So no, this is of no consolation to us!"

Malakai grimaced, saying something about Beleth expressing himself differently from normal people, but I barely heard him. The calm slowly returned to my veins, my back straightening as a sense of purpose filled my chest. Most of my body had healed already, only the insides were still being regenerated, but I didn't have much use for those, anyway.

I had a place and a name—that was enough for a start. I had wasted enough time on rage and speculations. Neither of those things was going to get Celeste back. I needed a clear head for this. For her.

Moving past Chester and Lily, I headed toward the door leading to the lower level so I could get down to business. I was going to need a pentagram, the strongest ward I could find, and a lot of candles. Blood too .

"Hey, where are you going?" Isaac called after me. "We need to figure out what to do!"

"You can't go to Hell unless you cease to exist on this plane," Malakai said, his voice rising with concern. "And you can't kill yourself to get to her, Roman. She won't forgive you." When I turned to glare at him over my shoulder, he was watching me with a surprisingly harsh look on his face. "She doesn't deserve another heartbreak."

"I know that," I snapped. She would never forgive me if I gave up my life before exhausting all other options first. But that wasn't what I had in mind.

"I don't need to go to Hell," I said, tapping my fingers against my leg in an attempt to stifle the urge to throttle someone. "I just need to get Beleth here. Demon or not, he can feel pain, and I'm prepared to teach him a lesson or two about torture until he brings her back to us."

I headed toward the door again, determined not to get delayed any longer.

"Do you know his name? You'll need his true name to summon him!" Malakai said just before I stepped out. I didn't stop, but I had to grit my teeth to stop myself from cursing.

Fuck, I had thought Beleth was his true name. But of course it wasn't. Demons' true names held immense power, so he'd be an idiot to share it so openly. From what I have observed over the time I'd known him, Beleth was many things, but an idiot he was not.

"No," I replied, loud enough for anyone with supernatural hearing to hear me. My brain was already forging a different plan, which I hoped would yield the same results even if it took longer. "But I'll keep summoning demon after demon and sending them back in pieces until Beleth is the only one left and has no choice but to appear before me."