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LUKE

I’ve lived for centuries, but moments like these still test my patience. My academy lies in shambles, my students have turned feral, and the woman I’m desperate, madly in love with has a sword that could remake vampire society and stands beside me, waiting for guidance I’m not entirely sure I can provide.

That moment of self-doubt creeps in, but I shove it forcibly aside. We don’t have time for this.

“Professor Wilkes,” I call, maintaining my authoritative tone as we stand at the entrance to the eastern courtyard. “We need to move the ferals to the containment cells beneath the academy with the others. They’ll be safer there, and so will everyone else.”

Wilkes nods, her composure admirable despite the chaos surrounding us. “Sir, we’ve secured most of them, but the containment spells are weakening. We need stronger barriers to transport them.”

“I’ll handle that.” I step forward, summoning power that feels different now, wilder, less controlled since Gaida severed my bond with Lucius. The magick responds eagerly, almost too eagerly, surging through my veins like liquid fire.

I close my eyes briefly, forcing the power to bend to my will. When I open them again, I cast a transport spell around the courtyard that will allow us to move the ferals as a group rather than individually.

“Professors Wilkes, Burdock, and Havelock will escort the ferals to the containment cells,” I instruct. “Professor Flora, you’re in charge of maintaining the academy wards. Professor Kendrick, gather the remaining staff and sweep the buildings for any stragglers or infiltrators.”

The faculty respond to my directives without question, splitting off to handle their assigned tasks.

I turn to Gaida, Felix, and Dante. “The crystal orb shows the remaining Equilibrium members retreating into the forest surrounding the Academy. We need to intercept them.”

“Why not let them go?” Felix asks. “We could use the breathing room.”

“Because they’ll return with reinforcements,” I respond sharply. “And I have no intention of allowing anyone who threatens my academy, who threatens Gaida, to leave this campus alive.”

‘Fair enough,” he mutters.

A tremor runs through my body, quick but unmistakable, gripping my insides like a vice before releasing its hold on me. “Let’s move,” I state curtly, ignoring the hollow feeling spreading through my chest where the bond with Lucius once existed.

I lead them through the academy grounds, staying alert for any remaining threats.

“Keep close,” I order, scanning the tree line ahead. “Trapped rats fight viciously.”

“Trapped?” Gaida asks. “They have the entire forest to disappear into.”

“No, they don’t,” I reply but don’t elaborate.

The crystal orb in my pocket vibrates, alerting me to movement ahead. I raise my hand, signalling for the others to stop.

“Five of them, fifty metres ahead, moving east along the boundary,” I whisper.

“How do you want to handle this?” Dante asks, pulling out my stake again. I really need to get that back off him. It’s a wonder he can even touch the damned thing without it burning his hands off.

But now isn’t the time. He is an asset with it.

“Eliminate them,” I reply without hesitation. “They threaten Gaida, they threaten my academy, they die. Simple as that.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Gaida murmurs.

The power building inside me responds to my rage. The emptiness where my bond with Lucius once was aches, but I channel that pain into focus.

“Stay behind me,” I instruct them. “Dante, guard Gaida’s left. Felix, her right. If anything happens to me, get her back to the academy immediately.”

Before they can respond, I step forward into the small clearing where the Equilibrium members have paused. They sense my presence immediately, turning with their hands raised, ready to strike.

“Blackthorn,” one says, voice muffled by his hood.

“You attacked my academy. You endangered my students. You came for what isn’t yours to take.”

“The Blood Sovereign must fulfil her purpose,” another argues, pulling back his hood to reveal a young face I don’t recognise. “The old order must fall.”

“Not today,” I growl, unleashing a blast of pure energy that illuminates the forest in brilliant blue light.

Two of the Equilibrium members raise shields in time, but the other three aren’t so fortunate. The blast hits them directly, their bodies disintegrating into ash before they can even scream. The remaining two scatter, disappearing among the trees.

“Stay with Gaida!” I shout to Dante and Felix as I pursue one of the fleeing figures.

My target zigzags through the forest, throwing destructive spells behind him that shatter trees and tear up the ground with temporary magick that they have borrowed. Mine, on the other hand, is inherent and more potent than all of these idiots lumped together. Whoever sent them is either stupid or… not so stupid.

The hollow feeling in my chest aches, ready to disrupt my control, but I push through it, focusing on the threat ahead.

I catch a glimpse of Dante pursuing the other Equilibrium member to my left, his movement fluid and predatory. Good. The boy is proving more capable than I initially gave him credit for.

My victim reaches a small clearing and turns, apparently deciding to make his stand. He throws back his hood, revealing a face I actually do recognise. Once a student here, now my sworn enemy.

“Blackthorn,” he snarls. “You’re interfering with inevitable change. The vision will be fulfilled.”

“Sorry, John. You won’t live to see any vision fulfilled.”

He smirks, raising his hands as dark energy gathers around them. “The Blood Queen rises whether you want it or not. Better to join us than die opposing us.”

“I’ve heard similar speeches for centuries,” I reply coldly. “Yet here I stand, while those who threatened me are dust.”

He strikes first, hurling a barrage of spells that are weak. However, something feels off with my magick. It responds differently, more erratically, with fluctuations in power that I struggle to control. A spell that should have been a focused blast becomes a wild explosion of energy, obliterating not just my target but several trees around him.

The forest falls silent as the dust settles. Where the Equilibrium member stood, nothing remains but scorched earth and ash. Raw power flows through me. Without Lucius’s bond to temper my abilities, my magick has become dangerously volatile. Or was it more than that?

A crash from my left draws my attention. Dante emerges from the trees, dragging the limp body of the final Equilibrium member. His eyes are dark with bloodlust, the stake in his hand dripping crimson.

“Got mine,” he announces, dropping the body unceremoniously. “Though I think I was meant to leave something for questioning.”

“There’s nothing to question,” I reply, striding over to examine his captive. The vampire is still alive, barely, gurgling through a throat wound. “They came for Gaida and the sword. That’s all we need to know. Have you ever killed your own kind, Mr DuLoc?”

“Once or twice,” he says steadily.

“Make it thrice.”

He grins; it’s bloodthirsty and savage and sparks something inside me that I have kept under control for so long. He rams the stake into the vampire’s heart and steps back as the vamp explodes in a cloud of ash.

“Where are Felix and Gaida?” I ask, suddenly alert to their absence.

“Back that way,” Dante points. “Felix created some kind of barrier spell when the fighting started. Gaida wasn’t happy about it.”

I can imagine. That woman has never been one to stay safely on the sidelines. We make our way back through the forest, finding Felix maintaining an impressive dome shield with Gaida glaring at him from inside it.

“Let me out of here, Felix!” she demands.

“Sorry, Headmaster’s orders,” Felix replies calmly.

“It’s clear,” I call as we approach. “You can drop the shield.”

The barrier dissolves, and Gaida immediately stalks toward me, fury in her eyes. “You had no right to lock me away like some helpless child! I could have helped!”

“You could have been captured or worse. Severed their bonds and tied them to yourself with that fucking thing!” I counter, gesturing to the sword as sweat beads on my forehead.

Gaida, Dante and Felix stare at me in shock.

“Language, Professor Blackthorn,” Felix drawls, making me want to punch him.

Unfortunately for me, luckily for him, if I did that, it would knock his head off, and Gaida would never forgive me.

“So instead, you risk yourselves?” she challenges. “How is that any better?”

“Because we’re expendable,” Dante says bluntly. “You’re not.”

Gaida looks stunned by his words, then shakes her head vehemently. “No. None of you are expendable. Not to me.”

Something warm and unexpected stirs in my chest at her fierce loyalty.

“The threat is eliminated,” I say, changing the subject. “For now, at least. But they’ll send more.”

“Then we’d better be ready,” Felix says. “They got through the wards with Founder’s blood. So, we reinforce them without that weakness. You game, Prof?”

I glare at him. “Are you?”

He grins. “Always ready to test the boundaries. It’s part of my charm.”

“Charm,” I mutter, trying not to roll my eyes. “Arrogance, you mean.”

“This or that. Whatever you want to call it, I’m the best sorcerer in this academy right now, except for yourself. So, are we doing this or not?”

Well, he has me there. Despite his young years, he is a master sorcerer that has a unique talent for dark magick. Not many hold that gift, curse, maybe.

As we turn to head back to the academy, another tremor runs through me, stronger than before. I stumble slightly, catching myself against a tree. The hollow space in my chest throbs painfully, as if the absence of Lucius’s bond has created a vacuum that’s trying to collapse in on itself.

“Luke?” Gaida is at my side instantly, her anger forgotten in the face of her concern.

“It’s nothing,” I lie, forcing myself upright. “Just the aftermath of expending so much magick.”

She doesn’t believe me, but she doesn’t press the issue. Instead, she walks closer to me as we make our way back across the academy grounds, as if ready to catch me should I falter again.

“We need to find a way to separate you from that sword,” I say, instead drawing her focus back to the silver blade fused to her hand.

“Yeah, I don’t think showering with that thing attached to you would be fun,” Dante says. “Although, that means you would need help, and I have two hands that are free.”

“Fuck off,” she growls, but it’s good-natured, light and shows me more about their relationship than any other interaction between them thus far. It’s honest. Fun. Young love. Exactly what she needs and deserves instead of being stuck with me and centuries worth of baggage, the likes of which would horrify her to her core if she ever knew the extent of it.

Again, I find this self-doubt clawing at my insides, but I take a deep breath and ignore the voice in my head that sounds remarkably like Lucius, telling me I’m not worthy.

The containment operation is well underway when we return. Professor Wilkes reports that all identified ferals have been moved to the cells beneath the academy, where they’ll be secure until we can determine how to help them.

“The academy perimeter is clear,” I tell the assembled faculty in the great hall. “The immediate Equilibrium threat has been eliminated, but we must assume they will return in greater numbers. I will work on the wards, we need to restrict access to all non-essential areas and implement emergency protocols.”

They nod, accepting my directives without question, though I notice several casting curious glances at Gaida and the sword she still carries. News travels fast, even during a crisis.

“Professor Kendrick, conduct a thorough audit of all staff,” I continue. “We had at least one traitor in our midst. There may be others.”

Another vibration runs through me, stronger than the previous ones. I disguise it by shifting my weight, but I can tell by Gaida’s narrowed eyes that she noticed.

“Dismissed,” I tell the faculty. “Report any unusual activity immediately.”

They disperse and I motion to Gaida to follow me to my office. Dante and Felix follow, as expected.

I close the door and walk around to sit on my chair, ready to grab the under-the-desk athame if need be, to compose my shaky control. “Drop the sword,” I instruct to Gaida.

She nods and opens her hand, turning it over but the sword refuses to part ways with her, instead sticking to her palm, even when she shakes it. “It won’t drop.”

“This isn’t good,” I mutter.

“You think?” she snaps and shakes her hand harder. “Okay, I was all for keeping hold of this thing in the beginning but now that the threat is over, I want it gone. I don’t want to sever any more ties, and I definitely do not want to be sire to a bunch of feral vamps!”

“Makes two of us,” I mutter and end up on the receiving end of her glare. But she doesn’t understand the consequences. Where I come from the sire bond is strong, in most cases, loving and affectionate. The charge is in awe of their sire to the point where only sex and intimacy are acceptable forms of appreciation. I don’t know about this world, but if it is the same, the last thing I need is thirty-seven vampires trying to get between her legs, regardless of whether they are male or female. Wanting desperately to drown myself in a vat of aged whiskey, I inhale deeply and stand up again. I cast a heavy defensive spell over my hand and hope for the best when I reach for the untouchable sword.

My fingers wrap around the blade, and immediately, a searing pain races up my arm. I clench my teeth, determined not to release it, but the sword’s power surges against my spell, overwhelming it within seconds. Gold light erupts between our hands, throwing me backwards across the room. I crash into my bookshelf, ancient texts tumbling around me.

“Luke!” Gaida cries out, rushing toward me.

I wave her away, struggling to stand. “Stay back,” I warn, examining my hand. The skin is blistered and blackened where I touched the sword, the wound already festering with golden light within the damaged tissue.

“Ouch,” Felix mutters. “That’s some serious rejection.”

Dante holds out his hand for me, his expression grim. “I’m guessing that means the sword is pretty set on staying with Gaida.”

“It would appear so,” I mutter, ignoring his offer for help and get swiftly to my feet, casting a healing spell on my hand. The magick sputters and fails, the wound refusing to close. “Interesting. It’s resistant to my healing.”

“Let me try,” Felix says, “and then we had better get started on the wards.”

I nod briskly. He is right. We are wasting time.

Felix moves closer, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he examines my injured hand. Unlike my currently chaotic magick, his dark sorcery flows in controlled, precise patterns. The darkness wraps around my wound like ink in water, seeping into the damaged tissue.

“Fascinating,” he murmurs. “The sword’s energy is actively fighting the healing process. It’s almost sentient in its response.”

“Can you fix it?” I ask impatiently.

Felix’s lips quirk into a half-smile. “Of course I can. I’m not top of my class for nothing.”

His magick intensifies, the darkness deepening until it completely envelops my hand. For a moment, the pain increases tenfold, and I barely suppress a grunt of discomfort. Then, gradually, the burning sensation recedes as Felix’s sorcery overwhelms the sword’s resistance.

“There,” he says, releasing my now-healed hand. “Good as new. Though I wouldn’t recommend touching it again.”

“Noted,” I reply dryly.

Gaida watches this exchange with wide eyes, her gaze flicking between Felix and me. “So, what now? I’m stuck with this thing forever?”

“Certainly while there are feral vampires in your sphere. Perhaps we should start there, Mr Davenport? Try to cut them off completely from the rest of the academy.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Gaida mutters. “Go!”

She gestures for us to move, which we do without question.

I turn back to stare at Dante. “Take her back to her room, and do not leave her for anything.”

“I won’t,” he says with a nod. “Vampire’s honour.”

I roll my eyes and lead Felix away from the office towards the underground containment cells. This day is only going to get more irritating.