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.

Five days until the ceremony.

Dressed in a formal black suit, I walked into the Coven’s council hall.

All the elders were waiting for me.

“Isolde, are you certain about this?” the Head Elder asked, his voice grave.

“I’m certain.” I placed the formal request on the table. “I am requesting to suspend the blood-oath ceremony.”

A hush fell over the hall.

“Why?” asked the Second Elder.

“Personal reasons.”

“Personal reasons?” The Third Elder stood up. “This concerns the alliance between two ancient houses!”

“That is a matter for the two houses,” I said, my voice echoing in the silent hall. “But my bond is my own. And my decision is final.”

A heated debate erupted behind me, but I didn’t look back.

When I returned to my residence, I saw the familiar black car.

They were back.

The elevator doors opened to reveal Darius and Livia inside.

Livia looked radiant, a healthy flush on her cheeks.

Darius’s arm was still protectively wrapped around her waist.

“Isolde?” Darius’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw me. “Where have you been?”

“Taking care of some things.”

The elevator rose in a tense, suffocating silence, the air thick with everything left unsaid.

“You emptied the alchemy lab?” Darius asked as he pushed open the door to our chambers and saw the barren room.

“I gave it all away.”

“Why?”

“I don’t need it anymore.”

Darius frowned but didn’t press further.

Livia walked out onto the balcony, feigning surprise. “Wow, it’s so empty. I bet it was beautiful before.”

“It was fine.”

“Isolde, I just want to thank you for being so understanding,” Livia said, her voice like honey laced with poison.

“How about we all have dinner together tonight? I’d like to thank you properly.”

I just stared at her.

At my coldness, Livia’s expression immediately shifted, and tears welled in her eyes.

“Did I… Did I say something wrong?” She turned to Darius, her voice trembling. “I just wanted to show my gratitude…”

Darius’s face instantly darkened.

“Isolde,” he growled, his voice edged with his princely command. “Get a hold of yourself. Livia is our guest. You’re making her uncomfortable.”

I looked at him calmly. “Fine.”

At dinner, a goblet of Sanctified Blood was served.

Darius had ordered it especially for Livia.

I recognized the botanicals immediately—their power only awakens when shared between two souls linked by an Eternal Bond.

He poured me a glass. “You should have some too. It’s good for you.”

I took the goblet and took a sip.

A foreign, nauseating energy immediately clashed with my own soul’s essence.

My body instinctively rejected it—a physical, painful proof of his betrayal.

Darius froze.

He’d forgotten.

That kind of Sanctified Blood was useless to me now.

My comm chimed.

Ignoring Darius, I walked out onto the balcony, sliding the glass door shut behind me before answering in a low voice.

“Miss Isolde? It’s the secretary from the Vienna Academy. Your passage on the ship has been confirmed.”

I hung up, my heart hammering. Just as I turned, a low voice cut through the darkness behind me, cold and sharp as a shard of ice.

“Who’s leaving?”