Page 73 of Haunted Crowns
"Are you scared?" His voice was quiet, threaded with tenderness.
Eris hesitated. The Crimson Vow was binding, irreversible. It would tether her to the Firstbloods, forever bound to their laws, their power, their scrutiny.
"I am,” she whispered. “But not if you are by my side."
Stephan exhaled softly. He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, light as breath. "I will never leave you, Eris. Not in this life. Not in the next. Wherever you are, that is where I will be."
A soft smile bloomed on her lips, radiant. His words had landed somewhere too deep to name. They stood there, eyes locked, a silent promise passing between them. Then his gaze shifted, and his smile faded. He noticed how she clutched her coat, shielding herself. She had not taken it off once. She did not want him to see, even though he already knew. His jaw tightened.
Eris felt the shift and looked down, her fingers curling into the fabric.
“Stop looking at me like that,” she murmured.
“Eris. Let me see.”
She stiffened. “Why are you doing this to yourself?” Her voice cracked, raw with exhaustion and pain.
Stephan exhaled slowly. “I need to see.”
“It won’t change anything.”
But he didn’t move away. He reached forward, his fingers brushing the edge of the coat, a silent request. Eris hesitated, drew a breath, and let him. The coat fell open, and Stephan saw.
The lace of her blouse was torn. Bruises marred the pale skin of her arms, blooming in cruel purple. But it was the deep bite marks at her neck that undid him. His breath left him, ragged. His fingers hovered, trembling, afraid even air might hurt her.
Rurik.
The name burned through his chest like poison. Eris would not meet his eyes.
"He’s a sick bastard," Stephan said, seething. "And I swear to you, he will pay."
He hesitated, his fists curling. “Did he—?” His voice broke off, unable to finish the question.
“No, he didn’t.”
Relief slipped past his lips, but it did not still the storm inside him. His jaw clenched until it ached.
Avaristo. Rurik. Their empire.
"I will end them," he said, his voice final. "I will burn everything they have built to the ground."
Eris lifted a hand to his cheek, her touch soft and grounding. "Don’t," she whispered. "Don’t let this darkness swallow you. Don’t let them turn you into something you are not." She leaned in, pressing her palm firmly to his face. "I am here. With you. That is all that matters."
His hand caught hers, pressing it tighter to his skin, anchoring himself to her. He drew a slow breath as a silent understanding passed between them. They stood still, gazes tangled, caught in a pull neither dared to sever.
The current between them hummed, familiar and magnetic. It had always been there, even before they could name it, and now, after everything, it remained, unshaken.
Stephan broke the silence first, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "As much as I would love to stand here staring at you all night…" He squeezed her fingers. "You need rest."
Before she could protest, he swept her into his arms, lifting her effortlessly against his chest.
"Stephan—" she blinked up at him.
"Too late," he said with a smirk. "No escaping now."
Eris shifted in his hold, her body flush against his. "You know," she murmured, "I always knew this would happen."
"What would?" he asked, one brow arching.
