COMING SOON
SNEEAK PEAK.
ESME
"Darling," a voice purred while my mouth parted in awe.
His hands glided against my skin making every where they touch burn with desire.
My hands rushed to myself but a hand immediately grabbed it. His voice groaned d...
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CELESTE
Celeste's fingers trembled as she held the pendant, its golden light flickering with ancient power. She had lived for centuries, yet now, more than ever, fear gripped her. The fear of losing Esme to him.
"Put this on," Celeste ordered, her voice sharper than intended. Little Esme stared at her grandmother, wide-eyed and confused.
The child's innocent eyes flicked from her grandmother's hardened expression to the shimmering sun pendant. Its light danced in the air, but Esme's small fingers hesitated, hovering just short of the pendant.
"Why?" she asked softly, her voice tinged with the curiosity only a child could muster. Despite the question, her hand reached instinctively toward the shining amulet.
Celeste clenched her teeth, her patience thinning like the veil between this world and the next. "It's to protect you," she said, the words forced and brittle. Before Esme could protest, Celeste looped the pendant around her granddaughter's neck, the cool metal pressing against the child's warm skin.
Esme's tiny fingers brushed the pendant absently, her brow furrowing. "Why do I need this when I have a dark knight?" Her pout was defiant, childlike, yet the mention of him made Celeste freeze.
Her eyes narrowed, suspicion boiling beneath her calm façade. "Who told you about the dark knight?" she demanded, her voice edged with unease. The room seemed to still as Esme blinked up at her, oblivious to the danger that loomed just beyond her innocent words.
"Daddy," Esme said with a small smile, recalling her father's voice as he wove stories of a shadowed protector who watched over them. "He said the dark knight saved me."
The memory of that night burned in Celeste's mind like a brand. She knew. She had known from the moment it happened—that Lucian had saved Esme. She had foreseen it long before, in a vision steeped in blood and shadows. The same blood that called to him still.
Lucian.
The name alone sent a shiver through her, a name as ancient and cursed as she was. Celeste had made her peace with the dark threads of fate that bound her to him centuries ago, but Esme—her Esme—would not be dragged into that hell.
She stared down at the child who had no idea of the weight she carried. Esme was the reincarnation of Esmemina Valentina Helton, and the prophecy had foretold that she would fall into the hands of that monster—Lucian Alucard.
The vampire, the beast who had slaughtered without mercy, without reason. Celeste had made deals with him, bargains to save herself and her coven from his wrath. But love? No. He was incapable of such a thing. Whoever fell in love with Lucian was destined to die, for death followed him like a shadow, consuming everything in its path.
