Kade hit the ground hard enough that I heard his shoulder crack.
Black veins crawled up his neck. His fingers clawed at the dirt. Blood—dark, wrong—leaked from the corner of his mouth. The curse wasn't just flaring. It was eating him alive.
Morgana stood over him like she'd already won. "Three minutes," she said. "Maybe less. Your blood bought him time, little traitor. But his body's learning. Next time it won't work at all."
I dropped to my knees beside him. My hands shook. Kade's eyes had rolled back. His chest jerked with shallow breaths that didn't pull in enough air. I pressed my palm to his face and felt heat—too much heat, burning under his skin like his blood was boiling.
"Kade." My voice cracked. "Kade, stay with me."
Silas was across the clearing in a heartbeat. He shoved me back hard enough that I sprawled in the dirt. "Get away from him."
"I'm trying to help—"
"You've done enough." His eyes had gone amber. His claws were out. "You poisoned him. You and your vampire blood."
"That's not—" I tried to stand. Silas's hand closed around my throat.
Not squeezing. Not yet. But the threat was there.
"Silas." Morgana's voice was smooth. Amused. "Let her breathe. She's no use to us dead."
"She's no use to us alive either." But Silas let go. Stepped back. His whole body vibrated with the effort of not shifting. "She lied. She's been lying this whole time. She's the reason the alpha's dying."
"No." The word came out stronger than I felt. "The curse was already there. I didn't—"
"You fed him vampire blood." Silas's lip curled. "You knew what you were. You knew what it would do."
I didn't have an answer for that. Because he was right. I knew. I'd always known.
Kade convulsed again. His back arched off the ground. The black veins spread across his chest, down his arms. I could smell burning flesh. The curse was cooking him from the inside.
"Stop talking and help him!" I lunged for Kade again.
Silas caught my wrist. Twisted. I gasped.
"Enough." Morgana moved between us. She looked down at Kade with something that might've been pity if I didn't know better. "The next step isn't more blood. It's a binding ritual. Vampire magic, old magic. It'll suppress the curse. For a while."
"Then do it," I said. "Now."
"I can't." Morgana smiled. "Only blood kin can perform the binding. His blood. And yours."
The world tilted.
"You want me to bind him," I said slowly. "To me."
"A temporary measure." Morgana crouched beside Kade. She traced one long nail along the black veins on his neck. Kade flinched but didn't wake. "The binding will link your life force to his. Your vampire blood will feed the curse directly. Keep it satisfied. But it's not a cure. It's a leash."
"How long?"
"Depends on how strong you are." Morgana stood. Brushed dirt off her hands. "A month. Maybe two. Then the curse adapts again. And when it does, it'll drain you both."
Silas made a noise low in his chest. "No. Absolutely not. We're not binding our alpha to a vampire."
"Then he dies tonight." Morgana's eyes glittered. "Your choice."
I looked at Kade. His face was gray. His breaths were coming slower. The black veins had reached his jaw.
I thought about five years ago. The night I helped the wolves tear through my clan. I thought about my father's face when he realized I'd opened the doors. I thought about all the ways I'd tried to atone since.
This was just one more.
"Tell me what to do," I said.
Morgana's smile widened. "Smart girl."
Silas stepped in front of me. "You're not doing this."
"It's not your call."
"He's my alpha. My pack. I'm not letting you chain him to—"
"To what?" I met his eyes. "Say it."
Silas's jaw worked. "A traitor."
The word hit like a fist. But I didn't flinch. I'd heard worse. I'd called myself worse.
"Yeah," I said. "That's what I am. And right now I'm the only thing keeping him alive."
Silas looked at Kade. Something in his expression cracked. He turned away. "If this kills him, I'll rip your throat out myself."
"Get in line," I muttered.
Morgana pulled a small blade from inside her coat. Silver. The metal gleamed under the moonlight. She handed it to me.
"Cut your palm. Then his. Press them together. Speak the words I give you." She leaned close. Her breath smelled like old roses and copper. "And don't stop, no matter what you see."
I took the blade. It was heavier than it looked. The edge was sharp enough that I felt it without testing.
"The words?" I asked.
Morgana whispered them. Old language. Vampire tongue. I hadn't spoken it in five years but it came back easy. Too easy.
I knelt beside Kade again. This time Silas didn't stop me. He just watched. Waited. Ready to make good on his threat if I screwed this up.
I pressed the blade to my palm. Drew it across. The pain was bright and clean. Blood welled up fast. I switched hands. Reached for Kade's.
His eyes snapped open.
Gold. Fully shifted. His hand shot out and closed around my wrist before I could move.
"Kade—"
He sat up. Shouldn't have been possible. The curse was still tearing through him. But his grip was iron. His eyes locked on mine.
"What did she tell you to do?" His voice was barely human. All gravel and wolf.
"Something that'll keep you alive."
"Lyra." He said my name—my real name—like it hurt. "What did she tell you to do?"
I tried to pull free. Couldn't. "A binding. It's temporary. It'll buy us time to find a real cure."
"No." His claws dug into my wrist. Not breaking skin. But close. "You're not tying yourself to this."
"You don't get a vote."
"Like hell I don't." He pulled me closer. His forehead almost touched mine. "You think I don't know what a vampire binding means? You think I don't know what it'll cost you?"
I didn't answer. Couldn't.
Because he was right. A binding wasn't just magic. It was a promise. A chain. And if the curse drained me, it wouldn't just take my blood. It'd take everything. My strength. My sanity. My life.
Kade's grip loosened. His eyes flickered. Gold to brown and back again. The curse pulled at him. I could see it in the way his muscles locked. The way his breath hitched.
"Let me do this," I said quietly. "Please."
"Why?" The question was raw. "Why would you—after everything—"
"Because you're dying." I forced the words out. "And I've got enough blood on my hands. I'm not adding yours."
Something passed over his face. Pain. Understanding. Something else I didn't have a name for.
Then Morgana's voice cut through. "Touching. But he's out of time."
Kade convulsed. His hand spasmed open. I caught him as he fell back. The black veins were spreading again. Faster now. They covered half his face.
I didn't wait for permission. I grabbed the blade. Sliced his palm. Pressed our hands together.
The words came out in a rush. Old vampire tongue. The syllables tasted like ash and iron. Power flared between our palms. Hot. Electric. Wrong.
Kade's eyes went wide. His back arched. I felt the curse push back. Felt it fight. But the binding held. Our blood mixed. The magic sank in deep.
The black veins stopped spreading. Slowly. So slowly. Then they started to recede.
Kade gasped. His eyes rolled back. Then forward. Brown again. Human.
He looked at me. At our joined hands. At the blood dripping between our fingers.
"What did you do?" he whispered.
"What I had to."
He tried to sit up. Couldn't. His whole body was shaking. "Lyra—"
"Save it." I pulled my hand back. The cut on my palm was already closing. Vampire healing. Kade's stayed open. Blood leaked slow and dark.
Morgana clapped. Once. Twice. "Well done. The binding took. You've bought him a month. Maybe six weeks if you're lucky."
I stood. My legs felt like water. "Great. Now get out."
"Not quite yet." Morgana reached into her coat again. Pulled out a small vial. Dark red liquid inside. She uncorked it. Poured it on the ground between us.
The blood hit the dirt and spread. Not like liquid. Like it was alive. It formed a circle. Then symbols. Old ones. Council marks.
"What is that?" Silas demanded.
Morgana smiled. "Insurance. A blood seal. In three nights, the Council will come for Lyra Ashveil. To stand trial for the murder of her clan." She looked at me. "Don't run. We'll find you. And we'll burn this whole pack to the ground looking."
The seal flared. Bright red. Then sank into the earth.
Morgana turned. Started walking. Paused at the edge of the clearing. "Oh. And Lyra? The binding works both ways. If you die, so does he. So try to stay alive."
Then she was gone.
I stared at the place where the seal had been. Three nights. Seventy-two hours.
Behind me, Kade was trying to stand. Silas helped him up. Both of them were looking at me.
"So," Silas said flatly. "What now?"
I touched my palm. The cut was gone. But I could still feel it. The binding. A thread connecting me to Kade. Thin. Fragile. Alive.
"Now," I said, "we figure out how to break a curse. Before the Council shows up to drag me back in chains."
Kade's eyes met mine. Gold flickered at the edges. The wolf was still close.
"We're not letting them take you," he said.
I wanted to believe him. I really did.
But the blood seal was already counting down.