Chapter Thirteen: The Final Bite
Lena held Damien's body close, her heart breaking with every second.
She whispered through tears,
"I choose you… now, always. Even if it means darkness."
Damien's eyes fluttered open, barely.
"Once I begin… there's no turning back."
She nodded, her voice steady despite the fear.
"I'm not afraid anymore."
He leaned forward, weak but certain.
With his final strength, he pressed his lips softly to her neck. His fangs touched her skin—sharp, cold. For a moment, time froze.
Then he bit.
A sharp pain, then heat. Lena gasped, but didn't pull away. She felt the world spin. Her blood, her soul, her light—it poured into him like fire and starlight.
Damien's wound healed slowly, his strength returning.
But Lena…
Her body went still.
Chapter Fourteen: One Last Sunrise
Damien sat beside Lena's body in the castle garden. The sun was rising—the last sunrise he expected to see.
But Lena… wasn't breathing.
He kissed her forehead, his tears falling silently.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you choose this."
Then, just as the first light of morning touched the edge of her hand—
She moved.
Her eyes opened.
Not blue. Not gold.
But silver.
She sat up slowly, her skin glowing faintly, like moonlight.
"Damien?" she whispered.
He stared in awe. "You're… alive?"
She looked at her hands. They trembled, but were warm.
"I'm not human," she said softly. "But I'm not like you either."
Damien took her hand, feeling her heartbeat.
"You're something new," he said. "Something the world has never seen."
And as the sunlight touched them both… neither burned.
Chapter Fifteen: Forever Night
Weeks passed.
The hunter was gone. Peace returned to Ravencroft—but the people whispered of the night the sky turned gold and the shadows screamed.
Lena and Damien stayed in the castle. Together. Safe. Whole.
But things had changed.
Lena could walk in sunlight. She could read people's emotions, feel the stars above her, and hear the trees whisper her name. Elira's power lived in her—but she was still Lena too.
One night, as they stood on the tower beneath the stars, Damien asked her,
"Do you regret it?"
She smiled.
"Not even for a second."
He took her hand. "Then stay with me."
"Forever?" she asked.
Damien smiled softly, brushing her hair behind her ear.
"Forever night."
They kissed, wrapped in moonlight and magic.
And for the first time in a hundred years, the dark castle finally felt alive again.
Not cursed.
Not haunted.
But full of love.
THE END