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?”

I spun around.

Darius had appeared silently behind me.

He stood just outside the balcony door, like a figure condensed from shadow, his eyes like chips of ice.

The lingering pain from the energy clash had made me forget—a Prince’s hearing can cut through walls.

Thank the Night Goddess he hadn’t heard everything.

“A healer from the Southern Coven,” I said smoothly, not breaking stride as I walked past him. “She’s leaving for the Amazon to study primal bloodlines.”

Darius followed me, sitting back down. “Which friend?”

“You don’t know her.”

“Her name.”

“Why should I tell you?”

Livia coughed delicately. “Darius, don’t be so hard on Isolde. A girl’s secrets are important.”

Her words seemed to pacify him.

“Sorry,” he said to me, though his eyes were still full of suspicion.

But he didn’t press further, seemingly unwilling to sour the mood again.

His gaze softened as he turned to Livia, pulling a beautiful box from his jacket.

“What’s that?” Livia asked curiously.

“For you.”

Inside was a ‘bond amplifier,’ fed by his own heart’s blood and engraved with complex runes.

I could read them clearly: Darius and Livia, Eternal Blood-Kin.

“It’s exquisite,” Livia breathed, her fingers tracing the runes as she fastened it. “A betrothal gift?” she asked, her eyes wide with a perfectly rehearsed innocence.

“Mmm-hmm.” Darius fastened the clasp for her. “I’ve infused it with my princely power. It will protect your soul.”

He took out his comm and snapped a photo of her in the mirror.

“Smile.”

She smiled like an innocent child, her eyes sparkling with pure happiness.

Darius immediately sent the photo to her with the caption: My soul’s guardian.

“It suits you,” I commented.

Darius looked at me, a flicker of distance in his eyes.

The next afternoon, I went to an antique shop for some last-minute travel supplies.

As I approached the door, I heard a familiar voice from inside.

“Check the bond strength again.”

It was Darius.

Through the glass, I could see Livia lying on a diagnostic table, Darius standing anxiously beside her.

“Everything is normal,” the blood-healer said. “The bond is very stable.”

“Thank you,” Darius said, taking Livia’s hand. “The healer says our power will be very strong.”

I turned to leave, but the bell on the door gave me away.

“Isolde?” Livia called from inside. “Are you here to shop too?”

“Just passing by.”

“Wait, we can walk together,” she said, turning back to Darius. “I’ll be right out.”

Ten minutes later, they emerged together.

“How are the ceremony preparations going?” Livia asked innocently. “I hear it’s going to be grand.”

“The ceremony will proceed as planned,” Darius answered for me. “It’s just been slightly delayed.”

I looked at them and said nothing.

“Isolde, I know you must be terribly upset,” Livia said, taking a step closer to me. “But I hope you won’t give up on Darius. The one he truly loves is you.”

Her voice was sincere, her eyes brimming with tears.

“I don’t deserve a man as good as him. You are his fated mate.”

People on the street started to whisper.

“That girl is so kind.”

“She’s willing to suffer for someone else’s happiness.”

“Why does that Isolde woman look so cold?”

I turned and walked away.

“Isolde!” Livia called after me. “Please don’t misunderstand, I really don’t want to take him from you!”

She ran up, trying to grab my arm.

“I know you’re angry, but please, give us a chance to explain—”

“Let go of me,” I said, shrugging her off.

The moment my hand touched her, her gasp was pure theater. She didn’t just stumble; she launched herself sideways, a missile of calculated fragility aimed directly at the blessed silver crosses hanging from the antique shop’s doorknob.

“Ah!” she let out a piercing scream. Puffs of black smoke rose where her palm made contact with the silver, as if it were being eaten by acid.

It was a holy power a low-level vampire couldn’t withstand.

“Livia!” Darius roared, rushing to her side.

He saw her on the ground, then looked at my outstretched hand, his eyes burning with a rage I had never seen directed at me.

“What the hell did you do?!” he snarled, kneeling beside her. “She shares my blood!” he roared, his voice cracking with fury. “How could you lay a hand on her?!”

“I didn’t—”

“Enough!” Darius cut me off. “Apologize to Livia, in front of all these people! Now!”