Chapter 10 - The Price of Devotion

  ***Sivren's POV***

  The grand hall of Sivren’s court was silent, save for the slow, deliberate tapping of his fingers against the arm of his throne. The weight of the night pressed against him, the distant echoes of footsteps from departing guests fading into the shadows. Leo and Cassian had left, but Raze remained, standing stiffly before him like a petulant child caught in the act of mischief.

  Sivren’s fury simmered beneath his composed exterior, but his crimson eyes burned with barely contained rage. The heavy silence was suffocating, stretching between them like a blade poised to strike.

  “You are a fool,” Sivren finally said, his voice like a blade cutting through the quiet. Raze flinched but did not speak. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

  Raze clenched his fists, his defiance wavering under Sivren’s scrutiny. “I did what I thought was best,” he murmured, though his voice lacked its usual arrogance.

  “What you thought was best?” Sivren’s voice sharpened, his fury laced with disappointment. “You have never thought before acting, Raze. And your impulsiveness has cost us more than you will ever know.”

  Raze’s shoulders stiffened. “I was protecting our kind. That woman—she wanted to infect me, to harm us. I was right to kill her.”

  Sivren shot from his throne, crossing the space between them in a blink. He grasped Raze’s chin, forcing the younger vampire to meet his gaze. “And yet you didn’t stop to question why, did you? Didn’t stop to consider that we could have used her, interrogated her, learned something valuable before you mindlessly tore her apart?”

  Raze’s lips parted, but no words came. Guilt flickered across his sharp features.

  “This is not the first time your recklessness has cost us,” Sivren continued, his grip tightening just enough to make his point. “Or have you forgotten your greatest sin?”

  Raze inhaled sharply, his entire body going rigid. He knew exactly what Sivren was referring to.

  “The girl,” Sivren whispered, his voice like a phantom of the past. “You turned a child, Raze. Because you wanted something that was never yours to have.”

  A shudder ran through Raze’s body. “I—I wanted a family with you, Sivren. I wanted—”

  “What you wanted was to steal something that nature did not give you,” Sivren snapped. “Humans, rare as they are, can give birth to halflings. But instead of finding a mate, instead of respecting the natural order, you played god and turned an innocent girl into something she never should have been.”

  Raze’s throat worked around a plea, but it never fully formed. His legs buckled, and he dropped to his knees before Sivren, clawing at the fabric of his pants rubbing his cheek against his thigh, desperation lacing his every breath.

  “I love you, Sivren,” he rasped, his voice breaking. “I have loved you since the moment you made me. I would burn this entire world down if it meant keeping you.”

  Sivren exhaled slowly, his anger battling against something deeper, something he had never fully allowed himself to acknowledge. He bent down, catching Raze’s neck in a gently hold, forcing his gaze upward.

  “I love you,” Sivren admitted, his voice softer, but no less firm. “But your childish outbursts end now, or we end.”

  Raze’s eyes widened, horror flashing through them. “No.”

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  Sivren ignored his protest. “I created you, but I have never marked you. You know why.”

  Raze trembled, his hands still fisted in Sivren’s clothing. He did know. It haunted him every night.

  Sivren was a king. And kings had duties beyond their desires.

  “One day, I will take a human mate,” Sivren said, voice impassive but laced with finality. “One day, I will continue my lineage, and you can either be there with me to help foresee this and protect my offspring or I will give you your true death... So fucking help me.”

  Raze made a choked noise of protest, his jealousy, his possessiveness, his very nature roaring against the words. He was a vampire. He was made to conquer, to own, to possess. And yet, Sivren had never truly been his to claim.

  Sivren watched the turmoil in his progeny’s eyes before tilting Raze’s head to the side, exposing the curve of his neck. He leaned in, his tongue tracing the spot he had favored for over a century.

  Then, without hesitation, he bit down—hard, forcefully, running his free hand through Raze's course hair.

  Raze gasped, his body arching against Sivren’s hold, the sharp pain melting into something deeper, something dark and intoxicating. Sivren drank, his punishment laced with possession, with dominance, with love. He knew Raze would never stop wanting him.

  And for now, he allowed it.

  But the warning had been given.

  Things would change. Or they would end. He would end.

  ___________________

  Sivren strode through the desolate streets, the echoes of his boots against shattered glass the only sound in the night. The vampire den Raze had spoken of lay in ruins, a once-thriving sanctuary now reduced to a wasteland of debris and blood. The scent of death clung to the air, a mixture of decay and something far more unnatural.

  He turned to Raze, who stood at his side, eyes sharp with predatory instinct. "We split up. Keep your wits about you. We don’t know what else might be lurking."

  Raze scoffed but nodded before vanishing into the shadows. Sivren took a deep breath, centering himself, and moved forward through the carnage. The city had fallen into chaos—broken windows, overturned cars, and lifeless bodies scattered across the streets. Some were human, others... something else. He crouched near one corpse, examining the vacant, clouded eyes and the unnatural stiffness of the limbs. It was not a zombie, nor was it turned. This was something different—something final.

  He rose and made his way toward the capital building, the largest structure still standing amidst the destruction. The barricades at the entrance had been hastily constructed—metal beams, sandbags, and abandoned vehicles stacked together. With a single, powerful strike, Sivren sent the makeshift blockade crumbling, stepping inside with cautious ease.

  The interior was eerily silent, abandoned in a hurry. Paperwork littered the marble floors, chairs overturned in a rush to escape. Sivren moved methodically, searching the presidential office for anything of value. He rifled through desk drawers and cabinets until his fingers brushed against something substantial—classified documents marked with the government seal.

  He scanned them quickly. A secret facility, hidden away from the public. A location where survivors—key personnel—might have fled. His eyes narrowed as he flipped through the pages, landing on a calendar entry from the day after the world meeting. A meeting scheduled at a research facility next door.

  Sivren tucked the documents into his coat and left the capital building, his pace quickening. Outside, he made his way toward the research center, the wreckage around him barely an obstacle with his enhanced speed and strength.

  Inside, the scent of chemicals and scorched metal filled the air as he breached the facility doors. Overturned lab equipment and scattered papers told the story of an abrupt evacuation, same as the other building. He navigated through the ruined halls until he found what he was looking for—a hidden panel behind a collapsed bookshelf. Pressing against it, he revealed a stairwell leading underground.

  The lab below was untouched by the destruction above. The air was sterile, the faint hum of still-active machines echoing in the vast space. Sivren moved through the rows of research stations, scanning through the notes and samples left behind. He quickly gathered what he could—research files, test samples, anything that could offer answers. He pulled out his communicator and dialed.

  “Raze,” he said, voice low. “Get to my location now.”

  Within moments, Raze arrived, stepping through the debris with ease. "Find anything?"

  Sivren handed him a stack of documents. "More than enough. But we’re not alone."

  A sudden rattling noise came from beneath a nearby desk. Both vampires turned sharply, senses on high alert. Sivren moved first, flipping the desk aside to reveal a trembling woman in a lab coat, her wide eyes filled with terror. A scientist.

  Sivren’s gaze locked onto hers. "You’re coming with us."

  Raze grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to her feet. She struggled, but there was no escaping a vampire’s grip.

  “Let’s move,” Sivren commanded, leading the way back toward their territory. The night was far from over, but for now, they had what they came for. And soon, they would have answers.