Crimson Vow

I swore to protect her.

Once, that oath was simple. I was her knight-her shield, her sword, the man who would gladly die before letting harm reach her.
I never imagined I would have to protect her as a monster.

I rode into the mountains and made a bargain with a creature older than the kingdom itself. I traded my soul for power-power strong enough to stop the enemies closing in around the crown.

Now that power burns through me.

My senses are sharper. My strength is unnatural.

My heartbeat barely exists.

And beneath it all is a hunger I can't silence.

The creature warned me what would happen if I drank human blood again. The transformation would become permanent. Whatever man remains inside me would disappear forever.

But the kingdom is on the brink of war.

Rivals are coming for the king and queen.
And Princess Leah-the woman I have loved since childhood-carries a crown men would gladly kill to claim.

I thought becoming a monster would give me the power to save her.

I was wrong.

Because the closer I stand to Leah, the stronger the darkness inside me becomes. Every breath she takes tempts the thing I'm turning into. Every heartbeat reminds me how fragile she is... and how easily I could destroy her.

The greatest threat to the princess isn't the war outside the palace walls.

It's the knight who swore to protect her.

And the monster he's becoming.