CHAPTER NO 21
The Blood Oath Returns
The night in the Crimson Palace was unnervingly quiet.No wind touched the silver curtains. The moon outside hung full and bright, reflecting in the silent corridors like a cold eye.
The vampire princess stood alone near the window, her hands resting against the glass. Her reflection shimmered back at her — crimson eyes dimmed with exhaustion and something deeper… fear.
The silence was almost unbearable until she heard it — a soft, faint whisper behind her.
"Your Highness… you're awake again."
The voice was trembling, human and fragile.The silver-haired girl stepped into the moonlight, her eyes wide and gentle, her body still weak from her wounds. The princess turned, and for the first time in weeks, her stern face softened.
"You should rest, little one," she said quietly, her voice low and firm but laced with warmth.
The girl smiled faintly. "I can't sleep when you're standing there alone again. It feels like the moon might steal you from me."
The princess almost smiled — almost.But she didn't move closer. Not yet.
Because tonight, something felt wrong.
For days, she had sensed it — a pulse beneath her skin, an old rhythm she thought she'd silenced long ago. Now it throbbed again, faintly glowing under her collarbone — the mark of the Blood Oath.
It had been dormant since the night they defied destiny and bound their souls to each other.Now, it burned like a warning.
The girl noticed it too. Her eyes widened."Your mark… it's glowing again."
The princess turned sharply away. "It's nothing."
But even as she spoke, the crimson light pulsed stronger — a heartbeat that wasn't hers.
Suddenly, the torches along the corridor flared to life. A shadow appeared, tall and cloaked, moving through the smoke like a ghost. The princess immediately stepped in front of the girl, her hand going to her sword.
The figure bowed low. "Forgive the intrusion, my Queen. I come from the Elder Council of Vampyra."
The princess's eyes narrowed. "That council was dissolved a century ago."
"Reborn," the messenger said, his voice cold. "And angered. The Blood Oath you performed — between immortal and mortal — was forbidden for a reason. It awakened the old curse."
The girl's breath caught. "Curse?"
The messenger raised his eyes. They glowed faintly gold. "The curse that once destroyed the first royal bloodline. When a vampire's soul binds to a human's, their hearts no longer beat for themselves. If one dies, the other's heart… follows."
The girl's hand went to her chest. The princess froze.
She remembered that night — blood, moonlight, and tears. She remembered the oath whispered between kisses and the promise that defied the gods themselves.
"Then why is it reawakening now?" she demanded.
The messenger hesitated, then said: "Because the curse is hungry again. A blood debt was never repaid. The one you killed years ago — the warlord who claimed the girl's life — he was not mortal. His soul lingers. And it wants vengeance."
The air grew heavy. The girl stepped back, trembling. "No… he's dead. You killed him. I saw it."
The princess's voice broke, raw and sharp. "Then why do I feel his shadow?"
Thunder cracked outside, and for the briefest moment, the window reflected something behind them — a third figure, smiling in the dark.
The girl screamed. The reflection vanished.
The princess caught her by the shoulders. "Eira! Look at me!"
Her human lover's eyes were wide, glassy — as if she were seeing memories she'd tried to forget. "He's coming back… the one who cursed me… he said I'd never belong to anyone. That even death wouldn't break his claim…"
Her voice broke into sobs.
The princess's grip tightened protectively. "He will not take you again. Not while I live."
The girl looked up at her, trembling, desperate. "And if you die?"
The princess fell silent.The moonlight outlined her pale face, and in her eyes burned the fire of every vow she'd ever made.
"Then I'll drag the world into the dark before I let that happen."
The room trembled. The mark on both their chests flared bright crimson — a twin light pulsing like two hearts beating as one.
The messenger took a fearful step back. "Your Highness, you must end the bond before it consumes you both!"
But the princess only turned to him, her voice low and deadly."If destiny dares to curse us, then destiny will bleed."
She turned to the girl, brushing a strand of silver hair from her face. "No matter what rises, you're mine. Always."
The girl's tears shone, but she nodded — a vow without words.
Outside, lightning split the sky. From the forest below the palace, a whispering wind carried an old, familiar voice — the warlord's voice, dark and mocking.
"Did you think love would save you, little Queen? Blood remembers what it's owed."
The princess's eyes glowed crimson, her fangs catching the light. She drew her sword — the same one that once ended the war.
"Then let blood answer blood."
And with that, the mark on her chest burned brighter than fire — signaling that the Blood Oath had truly returned.