The cold night wrapped around the ruins like a shroud, moonlight flickering through broken stone and shattered stained glass. Noah sat at the edge of the collapsed throne chamber, staring at the ancient mural half-swallowed by creeping vines and centuries of rot. In it, a crowned figure stood above legions of vampires, his eyes glowing red — a mirror of Noah's own when his powers awakened.
The prophecy haunted him. He was the true heir to the vampire throne, not Elias. Not the man who had saved him, bled for him, kissed him like he was the only thing that mattered. He could feel the weight of legacy pressing down on his shoulders, thick and cold as iron.
Behind him, Elias paced like a caged beast, his cloak dragging along the broken marble, his eyes never meeting Noah's. Since the revelation, he had been distant, cold — haunted.
"So, what now?" Noah asked finally, standing and turning to face him. "You going to push me away because of some ancient curse and a twisted bloodline?"
Elias didn't answer right away. His jaw tightened. His fists clenched.
"You belong to something greater, Noah. I... I was a fool to think I could keep you."
Noah stepped forward, his voice low. "You don't get to decide that. I belong where I choose to belong. And I choose you."
The silence that followed crackled with tension. Elias looked up slowly, and for a moment, the centuries in his gaze melted away. He looked like a man who had been drowning and just found air.
"If you stay," Elias said, stepping closer, his voice barely above a whisper, "there's no going back. This world... it'll devour you. It almost devoured me."
Noah cupped his face, forcing him to meet his gaze. "Then let's drown together."
They kissed, a desperate, consuming thing — fire against fire, a clash of fear, desire, and unspoken promises. But the moment shattered too soon.
A sound. Sharp. Foreign.
The crack of a branch. The hiss of something swift.
Elias broke away, eyes flashing red. He shoved Noah behind him just as a figure emerged from the trees, cloaked in black, eyes glinting with a hunter's focus. The figure moved like wind — deadly and silent.
Noah's breath caught in his throat. Recognition sliced through him.
"Julian?" he whispered.
The figure pulled back his hood.
Julian. The boy he once loved. The boy who had vanished without a word years ago. The boy who now stood with a crossbow aimed at his chest.
"You should've stayed human," Julian said, his voice flat, expression unreadable.
Elias lunged, claws out, but Julian was faster. A silver bolt flew — not at Elias, but at Noah.
Time slowed.
Noah turned, trying to dodge, but the arrow found its mark — slicing through his side. A sickening heat spread immediately through his veins. Poison.
He collapsed to his knees, gasping, pain radiating outward like wildfire.
Elias roared, barreling into Julian with enough force to shatter bone. The two collided in a blur of violence, fangs and claws flashing under the moonlight.
But Noah's world narrowed. The poison was ancient, cold and burning all at once. His fingers trembled as he pressed them to the wound, blood bubbling through them.
He could hear Elias shouting. Could hear Julian laughing. But it was all fading.
"Noah!" Elias screamed, shoving Julian aside and rushing to his side.
Noah's body spasmed. His skin had gone pale. His pulse fluttered.
Elias gathered him in his arms, trembling. "Stay with me. Stay. I can fix this."
Julian stood a few paces away, bloodied but smiling, the crossbow still in hand. "You should've let him go. This is mercy, Elias. He's becoming one of us, whether you like it or not."
Elias' eyes glowed, voice a low snarl. "You've just signed your death warrant."
But Noah couldn't hear the rest. The world spun, dimming around the edges.
As darkness claimed him, he whispered only one name.
"Elias..."
Then, silence.