A few hours later, the fire had burned itself out by the time Asis regained consciousness, leaving behind a skeletal frame of the bed and blackened walls that reeked of charred wood and magic. Her throat was raw, her limbs heavy as if weighed down by invisible chains. The last thing she remembered was the heat unbearable, consuming heat that had erupted from her palms as grief and rage tore through her like a storm. And then, nothing.
Now, she lay on a velvet chaise in a different chamber, one draped in deep crimson silks and lit by flickering candlelight. The air smelled of lavender and something metallic, blood, perhaps, though she couldn't be sure. Her head throbbed, her vision swimming as she tried to sit up. A cool hand pressed against her shoulder, forcing her back down.
"Easy," Vlad Calin murmured, his voice smooth as poisoned honey. "You've exhausted yourself." Asis recoiled from his touch, her stomach twisting. His violet eyes gleamed with something akin to triumph, and it made her skin crawl. "What did you do to me?" she croaked.
Vlad chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "I did nothing, my dear. You did this. That power has always been inside you, dormant, suppressed by your grandmother's spells. But grief has a way of breaking even the strongest barriers."
Her hands trembled as she stared at them, half-expecting flames to burst forth again. Witchblood. The word echoed in her mind, a curse and a revelation. All those years, Nano had hidden the truth from her. All those years, she'd been something other, something dangerous. And now Vlad wanted to mold that danger into a weapon. "Why are you keeping me here?" she whispered.
Vlad's smile was razor-sharp. "Because you're wasted on that Lycan king. Harald Dyre sees you as a mate to claim, a queen to leash. But I see that you truly are powerful. Raw, untamed, glorious." He reached out, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "With me, you could be so much more."
Asis wanted to spit in his face. To scream. To ignite the room again and watch him burn. But exhaustion pinned her in place, and worse, a treacherous flicker of curiosity. If she could control this power, if she could wield it instead of fearing it, she could escape.
The thought took root, cold and calculating. Vlad was a monster, but he was right about one thing: she was tired of being powerless. Tired of being torn between Harald's possessiveness and the vampires' schemes. Tired of losing everyone she loved. So she swallowed her pride and met Vlad's gaze. "Teach me."
His eyebrows lifted, surprise flickering across his flawless features. Then, delight. "Oh, Asis. I knew you'd see reason."
*****
Across the continent, the Sinha family moved through their days in a haze of uneasy normalcy.
Aarav and Itzel had returned from their honeymoon to a home that felt emptier without Asis's sharp wit and stubborn presence. Mihika flitted between wedding thank-you notes and hushed phone calls to relatives, insisting that Asis was simply "taking time for herself" at her grandmother's estate. Avi Kian Sinha buried himself in work, though the lines around his eyes deepened each time Asis's name was mentioned.
Only Itzel knew the truth—or part of it. She had sensed the tension between Asis and Harald Dyre long before the Alpha King had whisked her away. But even she didn't know where Asis was now, and the lack of answers gnawed at her.
Riya, Asis's cousin, had left for her home days after Asis's disappearance, convinced her friend was merely being dramatic. "She'll turn up when she's ready," Riya had said with a shrug, oblivious to the storm brewing beneath the surface. And Mateo was drowning in guilt.
He paced the sleek confines of his Bo Liv penthouse, his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling windows a ghost of the man he'd once been. Vlad's compulsion had faded the moment Asis vanished, leaving behind only the crushing weight of what he'd done. He'd pushed her away. He'd been a pawn in Vlad's game. And now she was gone, and he had no way to fix it.
His phone buzzed, another message from Aarav. "Have you heard from her?" Mateo tossed the device onto the couch without replying.
*****
Harald Dyre's claws tore through the throat of the last vampire scout, the creature's gurgled scream cut short as he ripped its spine free. Blood dripped from his fingertips, steaming in the cold night air. "The Luna Queen is not here, Your Majesty," Anders said grimly, wiping his blade on the grass. "This is the fifth outpost we've raided. If Vlad has her, he's keeping her close."
Harald's growl vibrated through his chest, his Lycan form barely restrained beneath his skin. "Find. Her." The words were less a command and more a primal snarl, edged with desperation. Ingolf, his wolf, paced restlessly in his mind. "She's ours. The vampire will pay for this."
But Harald's fury was tinged with something darker, fear. Asis had run from him once. What if, this time, she didn't want to be found?
*****
Back in Vlad's castle, Asis stood in the center of a candlelit ritual chamber, her arms outstretched as Vlad traced ancient runes onto her skin with a silver dagger. The blade stung, but she refused to flinch. "Again," Vlad ordered, stepping back. "Call the fire." She closed her eyes, reaching for the ember of power that now lived in her chest. It responded sluggishly, a flicker of heat in her palms.
"Faster," Vlad snapped. "Magic is emotion. Use your anger. Your pain." Ayaan's face flashed behind her eyelids—his laughter, his warmth, the way he'd looked at her like she was the only star in his sky. Then the crushing weight of his loss, the betrayal of Vlad's confession.
The flames erupted, swirling around her in a cyclone of heat. Vlad's laughter rang out, triumphant. "Yes! This is what you are, Asis. Not some Lycan's pet. Not a grieving girl. A force." As the fire died down, Asis sagged, sweat slicking her brow. But for the first time in months, she didn't feel helpless. She had a plan.
Learn. Control. Escape. And then?
Then she would decide her fate.
*****