Rain fell in sheets over the ruins of Elarian Temple, the ancient stone pulsing faintly with residual energy. Somewhere beyond time, beyond mortality, another story—another life—unfolded.
Kael stood barefoot in the temple's moonlit heart, his body draped in a dark crimson robe, woven from starlight and shadow. He looked younger, yet infinitely older. His eyes shimmered with golden fae fire. Around his neck, a black sapphire pendant throbbed like a second heart.
Across from him, Elias stepped out of the shadows—bare-chested, his body marbled with glowing tattoos that coiled and moved like serpents. His fangs were visible, his presence magnetic.
The moment their eyes met, the tension ignited.
"You remember it too," Elias said, his voice rough velvet. "Every touch. Every promise we made under this cursed moon."
Kael's voice shook. "I tried to forget. It only ever brought ruin."
Elias stepped closer, power humming off his skin. "We were lovers before empires. I claimed your blood, and you claimed my soul."
Kael's lips parted, trembling with unshed desire. "And yet we burned the world."
---
The vision bled deeper into their shared memory. A night centuries ago—when the pact moon hung high in the sky, full and red as blood.
Kael lay bound in silk threads on a dais carved from obsidian, moaning as magical cuffs seared gently into his wrists. Around them, runes pulsed with erotic energy.
Elias, his eyes pitch black with ancient hunger, knelt between Kael's thighs, trailing slow, burning kisses along pale skin. "Tonight, I mark you in flesh, not just soul."
Kael writhed. "Then take me."
Elias growled. He bit into Kael's thigh, drawing a gasp of exquisite pain. Blood welled—and with it, magic flared, sending shocks of lust through Kael's body.
Then Elias moved—sliding deep inside him in one smooth, commanding stroke.
Kael screamed. Not from pain—but from memory, from the bond snapping taut between them. The rune-circle erupted in light.
Every thrust sent magic ricocheting around them—orgasmic, chaotic, raw. Kael gripped the obsidian as Elias claimed him with immortal hunger. Sweat beaded down their bodies, mixing with blood and heat.
As Kael came undone beneath him, Elias roared—and sank his fangs into Kael's throat, completing the pact.
Fire exploded in Kael's chest. The bond sealed. Eternity became theirs.
---
In the present, Kael sat up from the vision-shrouded cot in the witches' haven, panting. His throat ached phantom-like from where Elias had bitten him—lifetimes ago.
His hand slipped to his belly, where the child stirred softly, as if stirred by memory too.
Kael whispered into the dark, voice trembling, "We were bound before… before the world knew our names."
Miles away, Elias stood on the precipice of a crumbling vampire keep, wind whipping his coat. His eyes burned with recognition.
"I remember everything," he murmured.
Then, without hesitation, he turned and began walking toward Kael.
Toward the bond.
Toward war.