Darius didn’t come back to our chambers that night.

I knew where he was.

The next morning, I opened the Coven’s internal feed.

The top post was a new announcement.

Prince Darius has taken a priceless Soul-Crystal from the Coven’s vault to maintain his blood bond with Livia.

The comments exploded.

“Our Prince forged an Eternal Bond with someone else?”

“But isn’t Isolde his fated mate?”

“I heard that woman, Livia, moved into the Prince’s Chambers.”

“Isn’t the blood-oath ceremony next week?”

I shut off the comm.

At noon, I met my best friend, Chloe.

“You what?” Chloe’s voice was so sharp it nearly shattered her wine glass. “You’re calling off the ceremony?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you insane? He’s your fated mate!”

“A fated mate doesn’t forge an Eternal Bond with someone else right before the ceremony,” I said calmly, sipping my blood-substitute. “And he certainly doesn’t get another woman’s name tattooed on the sacred sigil meant for me.”

Chloe gasped. “The sacred sigil?”

I slid my phone across the table, showing her the picture I’d taken of the sigil on Darius’s chest.

“That manipulative bitch!” Chloe slammed her hand on the table. “She played you!”

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “But it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Isolde, you can’t just give up. Darius loves you.”

“Loves me?” I gave a bitter laugh. “Does someone who loves you complete an Eternal Bond with another woman behind your back?”

Chloe fell silent.

“I’ve accepted the offer from the Vienna Academy.” I said, standing.

“So soon?”

“If I stay any longer,” I told her, “I’m afraid I’ll do something I won’t regret.”

At eleven that night, I returned to our suite after an ancient texts symposium.

The gathering had been a success.

I’d met several vampires from Europe, including a few Princes I’d never seen before.

When the elevator doors opened, Darius was standing there.

His eyes were cold, his nostrils flaring slightly. “Where were you?”

“A symposium.”

“With who?” he pressed.

“Some colleagues.”

Darius stalked toward me like a predator closing in on its prey. “Don’t lie to me. I can smell another man on your soul. A Prince.”

His hand shot out, cupping my chin and forcing my head up, his lips almost touching mine.

It was a punishing, possessive gesture.

“So what if you can?” I stared right back at him.

A dangerous light flashed in his eyes. “Get away from him,” he snarled, his eyes flashing. “And go wash that Prince’s stench off you before you come near me again.”

“You have no right to order me around.”

“I am your fated mate!”

“No, you’re not,” I pushed him away and walked past him. “You’re Livia’s.”

I headed for our chambers, Darius close behind.

But he didn’t argue. He went straight to the armchair by the fireplace, sat down, and closed his eyes.

I knew what he was doing.

A mental link.

His expression softened, and through our strained bond, I could feel his whispered thoughts.

To Livia.

Our power will grow stronger. Healthier.

Our power.

He was already looking forward to it.

I turned to go back to my room.

“Isolde.”

His voice stopped me.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about. Regarding the ceremony.”

I stopped and turned, my face an icy mask. “What now?”

“It’s about the Rite of the Crimson Fountain.” He opened his eyes, and they held an unquestionable command. “I need to postpone it.”

“Why.” It wasn’t a question.

“Livia’s soul is still unstable with the bond. The blood-healer said the pure energy of the Crimson Fountain would be good for her.”

He paused, seeming to search for the right words.

The Rite of the Crimson Fountain. The highest honor. The moment we were supposed to receive the blessing of our ancestors in the clan’s sacred blood pool.

“So I’ve decided… she will undergo the rite in your place.”

If she undergoes the rite.

He said it so casually, as if he were rescheduling a meeting.

It was the highest honor for a Prince’s mate, the moment you received the blessing of the entire Coven.

A sacred moment we had dreamed of together.

My heart was numb.

I couldn’t even feel the pain anymore.

I answered in the calmest voice I could manage. “Fine.”

My silence seemed to unnerve him more than any screaming match would have. “You… have nothing to say?”

“No.”

“…Good.” A flicker of relief crossed his face, as if he’d been expecting a much bigger fight.

He continued in a business-like tone. “I’m taking Livia to a private estate outside Seattle. You handle the ceremony preparations. And don’t bother me with the details unless the sky is falling.”

He cut the link.

I walked to my alchemy lab.

It was once filled with vials of Eternal Blood I had carefully brewed for our ceremony, stored in precious crystal decanters.

I had imagined using them to fortify our bond, to protect our eternity.

Darius had never once set foot in here.

He’d said he wasn’t interested in “all these bottles and jars.”

Now, they were meaningless.

With a strangled cry, I grabbed the first precious vial—a potion of stilled starlight—and hurled it against the stone wall.

The sharp crack of shattering crystal and the rich scent of precious elixirs filled the air.

It was a funeral for a future that had already died.

Each one represented a betrayed hope.

When the last shard of stardust potion had settled, I took out my phone and opened the calendar.

Over the date I had marked countless times for the Rite of the Crimson Fountain, I drew a heavy, red X.

Countdown: twelve days.

For the next week, my comm feed was flooded with rumors.

Livia’s social media was on fire.

A picture of her lying in bed at the luxury Seattle estate, Darius sitting beside her, feeding her his own blood from his wrist.

A picture of her undergoing a strengthening rite in a blood pool, Darius at the edge, watching over her with a focused gaze.

A picture of her during a bond-strength test, Darius holding her hand tightly.

And the captions, dripping with false sweetness: “My Darius takes such good care of me. I’ve never felt safer.”

I didn’t need to read the comments.

“The Prince is so good to her.”

“This is what eternal mates look like.”

“Where’s Isolde? We never see her.”

“I heard she’s busy with her career.”

I turned off the comm and went back to packing.

On the third day, I drove to my parents’ estate.

“Isolde?” my mother said, surprised, as she opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you both.”

In the living room, my father put down his ancient tome and looked at me.

“What is it?”

“I’m going to Europe.”

“For a trip?”

“For work. The Vienna Coven Academy invited me to join a research project.” I took a deep breath. “I might be gone for a long time.”

My mother’s face fell. “What about your ceremony?”

“It’s been postponed.”

“Postponed?” My father frowned. “Why?”

“Darius has some things to take care of,” I said, feigning calm. “We decided it would be better to hold it later.”

My parents exchanged a look.

“Isolde.” My mother’s voice was gentle, but her grip on my hand was firm. “We’ve known you for five hundred years. Don’t lie to us. We can see the fracture in your soul from here. Tell us what he did.”

I closed my eyes. “It’s nothing, Mother. I just want to learn more while I’m still young.”

“Does Darius approve?”

“He’s very supportive of my career.”

Another lie.

My father was silent for a long time before finally nodding. “If it’s for your career, we support you.”

“But you must stay in touch,” my mother said, her eyes glistening with tears. “And take care of yourself.”

After leaving my parents’ house, I sent a message to Chloe.

“Can you help me pack?”

An hour later, Chloe appeared at the door to my chambers.

“Gods, what happened here?” she asked, staring at the empty living room.

“I’m moving.”

“Moving where?”

“Austria.”

Chloe sat on the sofa, studying my face. “Okay. Now tell me the truth. What the hell happened?”

I told her everything.

From Darius’s demand to forge the bond, to the defiled sacred sigil, to the cancelled Crimson Fountain rite.

When I finished, the room was dead silent.

Chloe’s face grew darker and darker.

“That bastard!” she suddenly exploded. “How could he do this to you?”

“He has his reasons.”

“What reasons? A life debt?” Chloe shot to her feet and began to pace. “Even if he owes her his life, he has no right to trample all over you like this!”

“Chloe—”

“No, I won’t accept this!” she whirled to face me, her eyes burning. “Five years ago, on the night of the Blood Moon, you reversed your own life force—nearly burned your soul to ash to save him from a hunter’s blade! And he has the audacity to forget that, all for her supposed ‘favor’?”

I turned my face away and said nothing.