He let out a long, deliberate sigh, signalling that he had found the source of my condition. The sound of his breathing, carefully controlled but heavy with frustration, was enough to make my stomach churn. Zaydon Icarus didn’t panic. He wasn’t the type.

As the High Commander of our kingdom’s army, Zaydon had built his reputation on ruthless efficiency and unshakable control. He was the kind of leader who stood at the front lines and inspired unwavering loyalty in his soldiers. Not once in all the years I had known him had I seen him falter—not from fear, not from panic, and certainly not from love.

“That little leech got you good, didn’t he, my poor little sweetheart?” he murmured, his voice low and raw, the words so soft they almost sounded accidental. His breath, warm and dangerously close to my skin, sent goosebumps racing down my arms. “I’ve failed you yet again.” His tone shifted then, his frustration and regret unmistakable—a rare glimpse of vulnerability piercing through his usual stoic facade.

The heat of his breath mingled with the venom's icy chill coursing through my veins, and the pain in my throat faded into a dull echo. My heart pounded with a chaotic mix of fear, despair, and something else I couldn’t name.

My gums tingled as my teeth began to grow and sharpen unnaturally, the early signs of my transformation. The maddening dryness in my throat burned like a fire, and a gnawing hunger stirred within me, dark and insatiable.

I wanted to scream, to lash out at the universe for this cruel fate. The thought of becoming a vampire, of losing control and turning into something I despised, gnawed at my insides. It wasn’t just terrifying; it was soul-crushing. My dread hit me like a sledgehammer, leaving me gasping for air that I couldn’t seem to draw.

The silence between us stretched unbearably, and for the first time, I couldn’t stand it. It gave my thoughts too much room to spiral, to sink deeper into despair. The stillness felt like a cruel joke—Zaydon, the all-powerful dragon-shifter, was powerless to fix this.

“Well, now that you know,” I managed to rasp, my voice weak but laced with bitter humour, “I’m sure you’re just waiting for me to die so you can finally be free.”

I felt his frown against my neck before I saw it. His body tensed, a subtle but unmistakable reaction to my words.

“You forget,” he said, his voice cold and cutting, “that I took the Dragon’s Bond willingly.”

The weight of his words hit me like a physical blow.

“Trust me, Zaydon,” I replied, my heart clenching painfully, “nothing could make me forget.”

He hesitated, his body still but his tension visible. Then he pulled back slightly, just enough to meet my eyes. His expression was intense, his red-tinged gaze searching mine as though trying to find an answer.

“Let me save you from this fate,” he said, his voice steady but laced with a barely concealed desperation. “I can take in the poison, stop the transformation. There aren’t many poisons or venoms that can kill a dragon.” His tone darkened, his gaze intense. “But it’s risky. I would have to drink from you—like he did—taking more than is safe.”

The fragile flicker of hope he had sparked within me died as quickly as it had ignited, extinguished by the weight of his words.

When I didn’t respond immediately, he drew a slow, deliberate breath, the strain of his frustration visible in the tension of his jaw. “You know the alternative,” he said, his voice a low, gravelly murmur edged with pain. “If you refuse, you’ll be bound to him. But if you let me do this, you’ll be bound to me. On a level deeper than I can explain right now.”

I stared at him, my heart pounding as my mind raced. There was something he wasn’t telling me, a truth hidden beneath the surface of his words. The Varagons were secretive by nature, guarding their lore with fierce devotion. Whatever “binding” he spoke of wasn’t just some superficial mark or temporary connection. It felt ancient, primal—something that would alter me forever.

Feeling drained and overwhelmed, I forced myself to speak, my voice barely a whisper. “There’s more to it, isn’t there?”

He hesitated, the brief silence more telling than any words. When he finally spoke, his voice cracked, betraying the vulnerability beneath his resolve. “Yes,” he admitted, his green eyes flashing with a fleeting brightness before the ominous red overtook them once again. “But we can worry about the cost later. At least if you’re bound to me, it would be no different as we are now and you won’t be a vampire’s slave.”

His voice hardened, his expression fierce as he leaned closer. “And that’s better than the alternative, isn’t it?”

The thought of being bound to Zaydon on a deeper, more intimate level was horrifying. It felt like trading one form of torment for another. But as time slipped away, I knew I couldn’t avoid the choice much longer.

A bitter laugh bubbled up within me, only to be silenced by the crushing weight of my reality. If the gods existed, they must have taken a perverse pleasure in my suffering, orchestrating a cruel game of fate where every choice led me deeper into darkness. No matter which path I chose, horrors lay waiting at every turn. The more I considered my options, the more it felt as if I were trapped in an endless spiral of despair.

Each heartbeat stretched into eternity, a relentless reminder of the battle raging within me—the fight between life and a fate worse than death. Desperation clawed at me, raw and unfamiliar, but even more startling was the glimmer of that same desperation in Zaydon’s eyes. It was a rare vulnerability piercing through the layers of his formidable exterior. For a fleeting moment, I saw the boy I once knew buried deep beneath the man he had become.

A sudden, sharp pain stabbed through my heart, a white-hot agony that made my chest seize. If I hadn’t been paralysed, I would have curled in on myself, trying to escape the torment. The final phase of the venom was coming. I was out of time. If I died with the venom still in me, there would be no turning back. I would wake as one of them—a vampire, bound to Prince Darrin forever.

“Do it,” I whispered, the words trembling on my lips. My voice was weak, but the gravity of my decision weighed heavier than ever. “Do what you must. Just… don’t let me become one of those blood-sucking creatures.”

Once I gave my consent, he didn’t hesitate. Moving quickly to my neck, his lips hovered over the mark Prince Darrin had left, his sharp teeth barely grazing my skin. For a heartbeat, he paused as though finding the exact spot and then bit down.

His teeth slowly sank into my flesh, piercing over the wound that should had sealed my fate, and immediately, a strange sense of relief began to wash over me. The sensation spread slowly, starting from where his mouth met my skin, chasing away the venom’s icy grip.

His mouth felt larger than Darrin’s, his bite firm yet somehow controlled. Unlike Prince Darrin’s greedy, punishing pulls, Zaydon’s were deliberate, as though he were holding back the full force of his power. It was different. Everything about this was different.

At first, the pressure of his bite was steady and unyielding, but then, with a sudden shift, his grip on me tightened. His teeth sank deeper, and the pain spiked, sharp and unrelenting. Yet, beneath the pain, something dark stirred inside me. 

Too weak to cry out, all I could manage was a soft, involuntary moan that slipped past my lips before I could stop it. The sound embarrassed me, but I was too far gone to care.

I had no idea why, but the sensation was starting to feel good—perhaps too good. It wasn’t just the relief of the venom leaving my body; it was something deeper, darker, and infinitely more confusing.

The pleasure was disorienting, an unexpected and unwelcome addition to an already horrifying situation. I tried to convince myself it was a side effect of the venom being drawn out, nothing more. Surely, that was the only explanation for the way my body responded to him, the way it didn’t care whether his touch was gentle or harsh, so long as he didn’t stop.

My thoughts blurred, tangled in a storm of fear, pain, and yearning that I couldn’t untangle. The truth loomed over me, undeniable and terrifying.

If I survive this, I am so fucked.