Page 15 of Blood Sings (Beyond the Gloom #1)

Childhood memories flickered like candlelight in my mind: sneaking out my window, heart drumming with delicious rebellion, the Eternal Blood National Park.

It had been my kingdom, a silver-dappled wonderland where I reigned as the hero princess. Woodland creatures bowed before me, while guards melted into shadows, their orders to watch but not interfere unknown to my younger self.

Then came the nightmare that shattered everything.

I remembered jolting awake in Father’s lap, his bedtime story dying on his lips. His scent—smoky and sweet—enveloped me as I burrowed into his chest.

“What’s wrong, little bug?” His gruff voice rumbled through me, soothing me.

“Daddy,” I choked out, “the park… it swallowed me alive.”

In my dream, I’d wandered deeper than ever before. The familiar path narrowed, trees looming closer, their branches reaching out like gnarled fingers. A miasma of decay oozed over twisted roots, and then—

The ground had given way.

I’d plummeted into an endless abyss, the stench of rot filling my lungs. Wind whipped past as I clawed at nothing, my stomach lurching with each second of freefall. Alone. Powerless. A harrowing certainty had sunk into my very core that no one would find me at the bottom of that pit.

If there even was a bottom.

Ninety-two years later, I could still taste that putrid air. Father’s kisses never scrubbed away the phantom stench that clung to my skin.

The world had changed. I had changed. But that primal fear, that sense of falling into an inescapable darkness—it lingered, lurking just beyond my consciousness, ready to leap forth at the slightest provocation.

And now, it surged with a vengeance.

The captain’s fury rolled off him like a scorching heatwave, igniting every dormant terror I locked away. My subconscious recognized him as a greater threat, and I stumbled back, my heart racing so fast it felt like it might burst from my chest.

The silk of my scarf chaffed like sandpaper against my skin. I brought my hand to my neck, trying to calm the burning scars. The world around me began to blur, reality slipping away like sand through an hourglass. Deeper and deeper.

Then I wasn’t there anymore. I was falling again, tumbling into that nightmarish pit from my childhood. That familiar, paralyzing fear gripped me, depriving me of oxygen. An endless agony awaited me.

“Aurora? Sweetie, can you hear me?” Sel’s worried voice pierced through the darkness. Her hand brushed my arm, gentle and grounding, her familiar jasmine scent wrapping around me. “I’m right here, A. You’re safe.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, focusing on her touch. But even as I clung desperately to her presence, Lev’s phantom weight crushed me. Her hands were his hands. His fangs buried in my throat, my ragged screams echoing in the void. His scent surrounded me. Shame and hopelessness flooded my mind, as suffocating as they’d been that awful night.

“You bit me, remember?” Harbinger’s growl hammered in my head, making me flinch. His hand caressed his reddening cheek, golden eyes narrowing with a mix of rage and… was that concern?

I blinked, my surroundings snapping back into focus. The sting in my palm registered belatedly. Oh, Sweet Dark Father, I’d hit him.

Pebbles crunched under his boots as he stalked toward me, each step calculated and menacing. His broad chest heaved with angry breaths, shoulders bunched tight beneath his cowl.

I willed my legs to move, to put distance between us, but the lingering torment kept me rooted.

“What the hell was that?” he snarled, looming over me. The scent of freshly brewed coffee and blooming roses on his breath was intoxicating, terrifying. “I’ve had dozens of projectors bite me. But none made me feel that way. What’s different about you?”

A ring of crimson flickered around his irises, tiny red flecks dancing in liquid gold. My heart fluttered, then raced. No. It couldn’t be.

“Who are you?” I gasped, my voice muffled by the roar in my ears.

But I already knew. I recognized the color that ran in the eyes of our Creators. A hue I’d seen in my own eyes every time I looked in the mirror. My stomach roiled, vomit rising in my throat.

I covered my mouth, choking back a sob. It burned like acid, but I couldn’t let it out. Because if Harbinger was a direct descendant of Derzelas, then I had just forced a Blood Pact on him. Just like Lev did to me.

I was no better than him. A monster of my own making.

The awful truth slammed into me with crushing force. Guilt and self-loathing consumed me, turning my blood to ice. How could I have been so reckless? How could I do this to him?

My legs finally remembered how to move, but instead of fleeing, they buckled beneath me. Before I could hit the ground, Harbinger’s muscular arms caught me, his touch sending a jolt through my body.

“Answer me,” he insisted. “What did you do to me?”

I looked up into his turbulent eyes, seeing his frustration reflected there. Didn’t he already know?

A feminine voice, touched with a tinge of fear, called out, “Captain? Are you alright?”

Her scent reached me first—rosemary and honey, like summer distilled. She materialized at my side, a petite figure grasping Harbinger’s forearm. The wind caught her white dress, sending it dancing around her ankles, revealing soft curves and generous proportions. Her body was a far cry from my own. Not that I was jealous. My body served me just fine—it was strong, quick, resilient.

But her hair… that I envied. It cascaded down her back in gentle curls, a shade of gold that defied classification. Not ash, not strawberry, not platinum—but true, molten gold. She fixed me with vivid green eyes, peering down a delicate, upturned nose.

“What did she do to you?” she demanded, her face contorting into a vicious glare.

That look, coupled with her rich contralto voice and its soft, exotic lilt, seared me to my core. I looked away, unable to withstand the intensity of her hatred.

Selena’s whisper sent a shiver through me. It surged hot and cold down my spine. “That,” she hissed, nostrils flaring as she leaned toward Harbinger, “looked too much like a Blood Pact.” Her eyes turned to slits. “You’re not even an immortal. How is that possible?”

Harbinger’s jaw flexed, a muscle twitching beneath his bronze skin. Heat radiated from him like a blazing hearth as his peculiar eyes darted between Sel and me, brows furrowing in a deep slope. Pulling his hood lower, he ran a hand down his head.

“Fuck. I forgot about it,” he growled, the sound a deep hum in his throat. He pivoted toward a man I assumed—from the little information the Commander provided—was Terraknight, folding his arms. “They’re red again, aren’t they?”

Terraknight moved with the same confidence as a seasoned performer or elite warrior and positioned himself behind Harbinger. “Like a decoy flare,” he confirmed.

Selena’s fingers twitched at her sides, her shoulders tensing. I followed her captured gaze to Terraknight, and couldn’t fault her for being this startled. Something about him drew the eye like a magnet—the rich chocolate of his skin, his short-cropped hair, and his rugged handsomeness created a perfect harmony. It wasn’t his individual features that made him attractive, but how everything about him fit together. Especially the way he looked at you, his focus seeming to pierce right through to your core. He wasn’t even my type, and it stirred thoughts of every hot desire I wouldn’t admit out loud.

Harbinger’s gaze held enough contempt to drown me. “Well… damn. Ma’s legacy always comes back and bites me in the ass,” he muttered, his upper lip curling to reveal the tip of his fangs. “But don’t worry, Projector , I have nothing in common with the pigs in your beloved Republic.”

“Thank Goddess for that!” a masculine voice said.

Ignoring the barb, I raised my voice over the ensuing laughter. “What do you mean?”

For a second, I got no reaction.

Then he smiled—a quirky half-smile that tipped up only the right corner of his mouth and revealed a sultry dimple. That sinful, irresistible smile had me clenching all over, a burst of attraction so strong it nearly brought tears to my eyes.

I swallowed it down like a bad gulp of stale blood and looked away, hating myself for my lack of restraint and professionalism. Biting Harbinger had been like the strongest wine in Elena’s cellar while it was on fire. It was pure hunger. Ravenousness. I should have stopped at the first signs of the Blood Pact. I should’ve known, recognized the lust it sparked in me.

But mortal blood wasn’t strong enough to subdue our minds, our bodies. I hadn’t even thought it was even possible.

My breath hiccupped; my windpipe closed in.

His smirk stretched into a full grin, golden-scarlet eyes glinting dangerously. “I mean, I’m special, Projector. Just. Like. You.” He paused, pulled his elbows inwards, and raised his arms, flexing his fingers. “ Precious original blood flows through these veins.” The way he spat out ‘precious’ betrayed a loathing so deep, it seesawed through my thoughts.

“You’re… you’re half-original?” I blurted out the answer my mind refused to accept. “That’s not—how is this possible?” My eyes shifted to Selena. “How is this possible?”

I staggered back, my legs suddenly boneless beneath me. The sky fractured like a broken mirror, and reality fell apart. It shattered into tiny pieces that rained down around me. Even though I’d seen his eyes, hearing him say it aloud made it absolute. Unmistakable.

An original, here? Fighting among the outliers as if he were just another mixed-breed? It erased every truth I’d been taught, every pillar of my understanding. Purebloods weren’t made. We were born immortal. For Harbinger to exist, one of his parents had to be mortal. But that defied everything I knew about our biology—cross-species procreation was supposed to be impossible. Had it been another lie?

My gaze locked onto his eyes again—those impossible, beautiful dual-colored eyes that held the unmistakable mark of our Creators. They were the proof my rational mind needed, yet my heart still rebelled against the truth they revealed.

“How?” I whispered, feeling a little light-headed from the rush of blood to my head.

Jasmine and vetiver filled the air like a dark cloud foreboding a catastrophic storm. Dirt crunched, and before I could react, Selena lunged at Harbinger.

“And you let her bite you?” Her voice rose to a shriek, her eyes wild with panic. “You sonofabitch! She’s been through enough already!”

Terraknight intercepted, grasping her wrists. “What in all the Gods out there is your problem?” he growled.

Clad in midnight black and towering over her by at least a foot, the vice-captain looked like he could chew concrete and spit out gravel. His muscles rippled beneath his tight shirt like steel cords. But with Selena this far gone, she’d face down a raging bull. Height and muscle be damned.

“Let go of me, you bastard!” She thrashed against his grip.

“Sel… It’s not what you think,” I said, trying to calm her down.

The beginnings of a migraine bloomed between my eyes. Harbinger’s revelation had turned our world upside down, but starting a fight wouldn’t solve anything. Underworld’s balls, we probably wouldn’t survive them all. And even if we did, where would that leave our plan?

Sel’s fury was born of love, and I appreciated her fierce loyalty. But in her blind panic to shield me, she’d missed the heart of the issue. The real victim here wasn’t me; it was Harbinger, bound by my reckless actions.

Writhing like a fly caught in a web, she slammed her head back, connecting with Terraknight’s chin. An awful crack echoed above the din.

The vice-captain recoiled, surprise and frustration battling on his face as he released her.

Selena whirled on me, seemingly unfazed by the fact she’d just head-butted a man who could snap her like a twig.

“He let you bite him this close to the Red Moon, A,” she snarled, jabbing a finger at Harbinger. Her glare blazed like the pits of the Underworld. “This close!” She held her thumb and forefinger a hair’s breadth apart, her hand trembling with the intensity of her rage.

I became acutely aware of everyone watching. This was not how I’d planned our first meeting to go.

“The Red Moon is months away,” I said, running a hand through my hair. Then lower, “And, in case you forgot, it takes two to seal the bond.”

“It’s still too dangerous,” she conceded with a frustrated sigh.

Harbinger’s gaze seared into me like morning sun rays, and I forced myself to meet his eyes. The intoxicating scent of him, his blood… I could still taste him on my tongue.

My cheeks flared like embers as I fought to keep my fangs from descending, struggling against the monster inside me that craved more. By some miracle, I kept my voice even.

“I’m sorry for hurting you. I didn’t know…” The words felt inadequate even as they left my lips. Guilt rolled in my gut, warring with the shameful desire for another taste. I straightened my shoulders, ready to face the consequences. “If you want to make a formal complaint, I understand. I’ll take full responsibility.”

Harbinger’s brow furrowed, confusion flickering across his face before he let his stern mask slip back on. A feather twitched in his jaw. He looked at me for a long time, long enough that crickets began to chirp around us.

The silence stretched, growing uncomfortable.

I almost begged him to end it.

Then he blinked, breaking the trance he’d drawn me into. “Projector, let’s just… finish the Initiation,” he said. His voice was gruff but lacked its earlier edge of contempt. Or at least he muted it down. “Everyone, get back in line. Terraknight, you’re next!”

The outliers shuffled into position, footfalls scuffing against the ground. Terraknight stepped forward, halting an inch from my boots. His presence felt as commanding as the captain’s. I looked up, meeting hazel eyes that glimmered like polished agates. No crimson. No sign of immortality.

The thought struck me like a bolt of lightning.

Was Harbinger an immortal? The notion seemed absurd, yet… No. He smelled mortal. Tasted like one too, if I ignored the side of me that wanted to worship his blood. To drop to my knees and beg him to feed me for the rest of my existence.

Derzelas’ fangs. What is wrong with me?

Terraknight cleared his throat, snapping me out of my thoughts. I blinked and focused on his face. His lips quirked, as if he could see the hunger in my eyes. Great.

“May I?” I asked, gesturing to his neck.

He nodded, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Go ahead, Projector. I promise I won’t bite back.”

Rising on my toes, I gripped his broad shoulders for balance. His scent was earthy and rich, like sun-warmed soil after rain. As my fangs sank into his flesh, I braced myself, half-expecting the same overwhelming rush I’d experienced with Harbinger. But there was nothing beyond the usual exhilaration of fresh blood.

No otherworldly connection, no burning desire.

It didn’t sing to me. Or attempt to lure me into his thrall.

Relief surfaced as I pulled back, watching the punctures close before my eyes. I’d gotten through it without incident, thank God. Maybe Harbinger had been a fluke, a one-time anomaly.

Terraknight stepped back and winked—not at me, but at Selena, who scoffed, unimpressed. He laughed it off and walked away, blending into the night.

An iele with silvery-white wings glided into Terraknight’s place, bringing with him the crisp scent of a storm. Hummingbird was… pretty. There was no other word for it. Though not as tall as the others, he still stood half a head above me, lithe and graceful. Eyes of pure marigold peered from beneath waves of chestnut hair, set in a face of perfect symmetry. His smile, framed by a hint of stubble, was all teeth and shone brighter than the moon.

A breeze ruffled the immaculate feathers, and my gaze strayed to his wings. Tucked close to his back, they summoned unwanted memories—ivory feathers torn and scattered, bones crushed beneath Katerina’s savage bloodlust. Too much innocent blood had spilled at my family’s whim on my hundredth birthday. Because even though the Wurdulaks had instigated it, Mother and Brother had to have known about it.

Now, the fresh tang of blood on my tongue felt like tar, turning my insides.

Hummingbird shuffled in place, silver filaments in his feathers catching moonlight. My fingers itched to feel their softness, to reassure myself they remained whole, unharmed.

“Do you mind?” I asked, raising a hand to touch and pulling it back at the last minute.

Hummingbird’s lips curved into a sly grin, his eyes twinkling with mischief. His voice was pure velvet. It promised a messy tumble in black satin sheets and an inevitable broken heart. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re not quite ready for that yet.”

I bristled at the endearment, memories of Elena’s condescending ‘dear’ flashing through my mind. “I don’t do pet names,” I retorted, my tone sharper than intended.

He leaned in, close enough that I could feel the body heat emanating from him, but not quite touching. His words ghosted across my face as he whispered, a hint of challenge in his voice, “Tell me, then… do you do ieles?”

I felt my cheeks flush. Despite myself, I found his boldness oddly refreshing. “Okay, that’s it. I’m done talking to you,” I said, unable to keep the smile from my voice.

“Finish your work, Projector,” Harbinger’s growl cleaved the air. “Dawn’s approaching. Play and flirt as much as you like, but do not endanger my team.”