The chamber filled with smoke and dust as the stone doors exploded inward. Rebels staggered back, coughing, shielding their eyes.
Ariaxa could barely lift her head. The burning metal of the collar kept searing her skin, every breath a ragged, broken sob. Her vision blurred, but she saw something through the haze—
A silhouette.
Then claws.
Then wings.
Then red eyes burning through the smoke like twin suns of rage.
Kaedan.
But not the Kaedan she knew.
Not the emperor.
Not the tormentor.
Not even the man unraveling in her presence.
This Kaedan was feral.
His pupils were gone, swallowed by a crimson glow that painted the chamber in blood-light. His fangs extended fully, lips curled into a snarl that was not human and not entirely vampire either—something primal, ancient, monstrous.
Behind him, Riven and the Night Guard surged into the ritual chamber like a tidal wave of steel.
“Kill every rebel,” Kaedan growled.
And then he moved.
No thought.
No hesitation.
A blur of shadow and flame.
He seized the nearest rebel by the spine and twisted. Bones cracked, the body collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut.
Another rebel tried to run.
Kaedan caught him midstep, slammed him into the brazier’s rim, and ripped the dagger from his hand before burying it in his chest. The man fell at Ariaxa’s feet.
Riven cut down two rebels in a single stroke, eyes burning with cold fury. “Find their leader!” he barked to the guards.
“Already have.”
Kaedan’s voice held a chilling softness.
Because he held Seren.
Seren screamed as Kaedan dragged her across the floor by her hair. He slammed her against the ritual chamber wall with enough force to crack the stone.
Ariaxa flinched.
Seren’s feet dangled. Kaedan’s hand closed around her throat in a grip that could snap it in a heartbeat. Her white silk dress stained crimson as he lifted her higher.
“You.” His voice was a low growl, trembling with barely contained rage. “You touched her.”
Seren spat in his face.
“You’re already ruined,” she choked, eyes burning with hatred. “She ruined you.”
Kaedan snarled, tightening his grip. Veins pulsed in his temples. His wings flared, the edges glowing blood-red.
Riven stepped forward. “My Emperor—”
Kaedan didn’t hear him.
Didn’t hear anyone.
Seren’s legs kicked, her nails scraping along Kaedan’s wrist, but he only lifted her higher.
“You hurt her,” he whispered darkly. “You dared burn what is mine.”
The word mine echoed like a curse.
Seren gagged, her lips turning blue.
Ariaxa, bound and trembling on the stone slab, felt her throat tighten—not from the collar, but from something else she didn’t want to name.
“Kaedan…” she tried, her voice barely a rasp.
He didn’t turn.
He squeezed harder.
Seren’s eyes rolled back.
“Kaedan…” Ariaxa forced the word out again, pain ripping through her chest. “Let her go.”
Silence crashed into the chamber.
The rebels froze.
The guards stiffened.
Riven looked at Ariaxa in shock.
Kaedan finally turned.
His crimson eyes locked onto hers—wild, burning, panicked. The sight of her trembling, her skin blistered and bleeding beneath the half-melted collar, hit him harder than any blade.
But her words…
Her words chained him.
“Let her go,” she whispered again. “Don’t become what she wanted you to be.”
The rage in Kaedan’s face cracked—just a fracture—but enough.
He loosened his grip.
Seren collapsed, gasping violently, her nails scraping against the stone as she tried to crawl away. Kaedan grabbed her by the back of her dress—not gently—and threw her toward the guards.
“Take her,” he growled. “If she tries to run, break her legs.”
Seren screamed as two Night Guards dragged her away, kicking and clawing.
Kaedan didn’t spare her another look.
His entire world narrowed to one point:
Ariaxa.
Kaedan crossed the ritual chamber in three strides, his monstrous form flickering at the edges. His wings folded behind him as he knelt beside her—gently, too gently for a creature who had just torn rebels apart with his bare hands.
“Ariaxa,” he whispered, and it broke something inside him.
Her breathing was shallow. Her skin was scorched. The collar had melted into her flesh, glowing red at the edges. She whimpered when he touched her cheek.
He flinched as if burned.
“I’m here,” he said, voice cracking. “Open your eyes.”
She tried. Her lashes fluttered weakly.
“Kaedan… it hurts…”
His hands trembled as he reached for the collar. “Riven—water—cool the metal—get me cloth—get me anything—NOW!”
Riven barked orders, guards rushing around them, but Kaedan didn’t look away from her.
Not once.
Blood dripped from his claws as he cradled her jaw. “Who did this to you?” he whispered, voice shaking so violently he almost couldn’t speak.
She gave a broken laugh. “You saw… Seren…”
His teeth bared in a snarl. “I should have ripped her head off.”
“No…” Ariaxa breathed. “Don’t… become like them…”
Kaedan’s entire body trembled.
Riven returned with a bowl of cold water and cloth. Kaedan soaked the fabric and pressed it gently to the collar. Steam hissed upward. Ariaxa screamed and arched off the slab.
“Hold her,” Kaedan barked.
No one moved.
He turned, eyes glowing with lethal promise.
“Touch. Her.” His voice broke into something terrifying. “And you die.”
Silence.
Riven swallowed hard and stepped back.
Kaedan returned to her, voice softening to a level that made even the guards stare.
“Shhh,” he whispered, hands steady despite the tremor in his chest. “It’s over. I’m here. I’ll get you out. Just stay with me.”
Her head fell against his shoulder.
“Kaedan,” she whispered weakly, “I’m… cold…”
He hissed softly, rage and fear tangling in his chest. “No. Not you. Not now.”
He slid his arms under her body, lifting her from the burning sigils, from the slab, from the pain. She whimpered and curled into him instinctively.
The entire chamber watched.
Even the guards held their breath.
Kaedan—Emperor, monster, executioner—held her as if she were the only thing anchoring him to sanity.
He stood, wings trembling behind him, eyes blazing.
“I will not lose you,” he vowed, voice low and shaking with a kind of devotion he could no longer hide.
He pressed her closer, shielding her body with his own.
And the palace trembled with the promise of it.
Kaedan lifts Ariaxa into his arms and vows, “I will not lose you.”