Blood Freed (Vampire-Cursed #4)

27. Chapter 27

27

Chapter 27

Mia

M y apartment feels like a time capsule of someone else’s life. Someone who didn’t know the taste of dark magic or the weight of vampire blood on her tongue. The sunlight filtering through my gauzy curtains casts everything in a dreamlike glow, making the familiar space feel surreal.

Soren hesitates at the threshold, centuries of habit making him pause. A small smile tugs at my lips despite my exhaustion.

“Come in,” I say softly. “You’re officially invited.”

He steps inside, his eyes taking in every detail. The crystals hanging in my windows cast rainbow patterns across his face – a face that should be burning in this light but instead seems to glow with an inner radiance.

“So this is where you live.” His voice is gentle, curious. I watch him examine my collection of spell books, the herbs drying on their racks, the organized chaos of my workspace.

“Not much has changed since…” I trail off, unable to finish. Since he helped Lucien keep me captive? Since I fell in love with my jailer? Since I discovered powers that terrify me?

“Since I failed you,” he says quietly.

“You saved me.”

“Eventually.” His jaw tightens. “After watching you suffer for months.”

I move closer, drawn to him like gravity. “You fought the Maker’s Bond. You nearly died helping me escape. I was there, remember?” I don’t know how many times I’m going to have to keep saying this until he believes it, but I’ll never give up.

He catches my hand, bringing it to his lips. The tender gesture makes my heart stutter. “And you risked everything to save me today. I was there, too.”

The memory of what I did in the Chamber of Dawn sends a shiver through me. The dark magic stirs beneath my skin, responding to the thought of blood and death.

“I killed them.” My voice cracks. “I tore them apart, and I…I enjoyed it.” Every time I’ve thought of it since we went over it all at Gran’s house, I’ve found myself torn between horror and a strange sense of satisfaction that makes me want…more.

“Mia—”

“No, listen.” I pull away, wrapping my arms around myself. “It felt good, Soren. The power, the violence – it was intoxicating. I’ve turned into a monster.”

God, if only I’d listened to Gran.

But then I look at the man I saved and realize that I’d probably do it all again.

He moves behind me, his hands gentle on my shoulders. “You’re not a monster. You’re a woman who’s been through hell and found the strength to fight back.”

“But the magic…” I close my eyes, feeling it pulse through my veins like liquid shadows. “It’s still there, still hungry. Ever since our dream, when I used blood magic to reach you—”

“I know.” His arms slide around my waist, pulling me back against his chest. “I remember every moment of that dream. It was here…in your bedroom.” He holds me closer, his breath warm on my ear. “I remember every detail.”

Heat floods my cheeks as fragments of memory flash through my mind – the desperate passion, the sharp pleasure of his fangs, the way magic and desire twisted together until I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.

“The blood bond changed us both,” he murmurs against my hair. “Made me immune to sunlight, made you stronger.”

“Made me dangerous,” I whisper.

He turns me to face him; his impossibly blue eyes are so intense it almost hurts. “You’ve always been dangerous, little witch. But never evil.”

“How can you be sure?” My hands fist in his shirt. “You saw what I did to Victor, to those guards—”

“I saw you protect someone you love.” His thumb traces my cheekbone. “The magic may have amplified your power, but your heart drove your actions.”

“My heart is what scares me.” I lean into his touch. “I would do anything to keep you safe. Anything, Soren. That kind of love…it’s terrifying.”

“I know.” He presses his forehead to mine. “When I felt you coming for me in the Chamber of Dawn, I was terrified too. Not of you, but for you. The darkness in your magic…” He hesitates. “I’ve seen what it can do to people.”

“Is that what’s happening to me?” My voice trembles. “Am I being consumed by it?”

Instead of answering, he kisses me. It’s gentle at first, a brush of lips that quickly deepens into something more desperate. I taste his fear for me, his pride, his love. The magic rises in response, making my skin tingle where he touches me.

“We’ll figure this out,” he whispers against my mouth.

I want to believe him. But the power sizzling through my veins whispers seductively of strength and vengeance. Of all the ways I could protect him, protect my family, if I just embrace the darkness completely.

His hands frame my face, and I realize he’s felt my thoughts through our bond. “Stay with me,” he says fiercely. “Don’t let it take you.”

“I’m trying.” Tears sting my eyes. “But it feels so right, Soren. Like it’s always been part of me, just waiting to wake up.”

“Then we’ll learn to control it.” He kisses my forehead, my cheeks, the corner of my mouth. “You’re stronger than any magic, dark or light.”

I laugh shakily. “Says the vampire who just walked in sunlight.”

His smile is breathtaking in the morning light. “Because of you. Your blood, your love – they changed everything.”

“Gran said the prophecy spoke of this.” I trace the line of his jaw, still amazed that I can touch him like this. “A vampire who could walk in daylight, marked by witch blood.”

“I never believed the old stories.” His hands slide down my back, pulling me closer. “About blood matches, about the Bloodbane being more than just a curse.”

“And now?”

“Now I believe in you.” He kisses me again, deeper this time. The dark magic pulses in response, but it feels different – less hungry, more sensual.

I lose myself in his kiss, in the solid reality of him. Here, in the sunlight I never thought we’d share, everything else falls away. The violence, the fear, the lurking darkness – none of it matters when he holds me like this.

His mouth trails down my neck, finding the spot where he bit me in our dream. The memory makes us both shiver. “I can still taste you,” he murmurs against my skin. “Still feel how the blood bond changed us both.”

“Do you regret it?” I ask softly.

He pulls back to meet my eyes. “Never. Even if it hadn’t saved my life, I would never regret being bound to you.”

The conviction in his voice makes my heart ache. I press closer, needing to feel his strength, his certainty. The dark magic rises again, but this time, it feels almost…protective. Like it recognizes him as mine.

“I love you,” I whisper against his mouth. “Even when the darkness was strongest, that never changed.”

His response is a kiss that steals my breath. We stumble toward my bedroom, stripping off our clothing as we go. The sunlight paints patterns across his bare skin, making him look otherworldly and perfect as he backs up against the bed and guides me down onto it. I gaze up at him hovering over me, committing this moment to memory.

“God, you’re so damned perfect,” I whisper, tracing his lines with my eyes.

“Funny. I was about to say the same thing.” He smiles before he dips his head and captures my mouth with his own.

I shouldn’t be here in his arms, in this bed. I should be dealing with the echoes of violence and magic still thrumming through my veins, trying to make sense of the terrible choice I made in the Chamber of Dawn.

But Soren is warm and solid against me, his lips soft as they brush mine. After so much darkness, his kiss offers the promise of something bright and beautiful. I hold onto him like a lifeline, afraid the magic might take this away, too.

I can taste his relief in the salt of our kisses, the musky scent of his desire. His body moves over mine with a strength that has nothing to do with hunger. It’s possessive and protective, as if he wants to keep the rest of the world away.

We shouldn’t do this. The wounds of our pasts still sting, the present is fraught with uncertainty, and the future… We can’t know what comes next, not when darkness coils within me, and I don’t know if I can control it.

But right now, there’s only this. The clean scent of his skin as I trail kisses down his neck, the tremble of his muscles under my hands, the sharp intake of his breath as I slide my fingers through his.

His cock hardens as I touch him, and I feel his control slipping – his hips thrusting gently against my hand, his fangs grazing my shoulder. I own him in these moments, and he lets me. It’s both power and responsibility, making my own body respond with an urgency I can’t control.

When his lips find my breast, I arch into him. Our moans mix as his tongue traces lazy circles around my nipple, his fangs scraping it lightly. I wrap my legs around his waist, and he grinds against me, his erection sliding along the slick line of my pussy. We’re both hot and wanting, and I mewl.

God! I need this…I need this to happen now.

But he pulls away, his lips trailing soft kisses across my stomach, down my thighs. His breath fans the sensitive skin between my legs. I bite my lip as his tongue teases me, his fingers parting my lips and sliding in. I’m drowning in sensation, my hips moving to meet his mouth.

“Please, Soren,” I beg, tangling my fingers through his hair.

He hums his response, sending vibrations through me. One hand finds my breast while his mouth feasts on my pussy. His fingers, his lips, everywhere at once. I’m spiraling out of control, my skin too tight, my breaths too short.

“Oh God, yes…fuck, yes!” I choke out as the sensations peak. I come apart with a cry, his name torn from my throat. The sound of my pleasure seems to unleash something within him. With a growl, he’s back over me, pressing into me in one smooth stroke. We’re still for a moment, our bodies adjusting to the feeling of being joined.

“I thought it was over for us,” he says, as if admitting some terrible secret.

“I never doubted that we’d get here.” I stroke a dark curl from his forehead. “Not once.” I smile, a little breathless as I feel my core muscles tightening around him.

“That is because you, Mia Blackwood, are a force of nature.” His mouth finds mine, his hips begin to move, and the rhythm of our kisses matches the rhythm of our bodies. It’s urgent, uncontrolled, our cries echoing in the sunlit room.

Just as I feel myself slipping toward oblivion again, Soren stills above me, his fangs sharp against my neck. “Look at me,” he whispers. “I want to see you.”

I meet his eyes, seeing the passion and pride and fierce love that mirrors my own. We move together, the raw rhythm making me feel savage and beautiful.

When my orgasm comes, it’s like the earth is shaking beneath us. My pussy clenches around his cock, my power responding to our pleasure. Soren’s bite is part of it – his fangs slide into my neck, claiming me even as he gives himself to me.

This time, when we come together, it’s tender rather than desperate. His touch gentles the darkness inside me, turns its hunger into something sweeter. When he drinks from me, the magic sings instead of snarls.

I feel his relief as his tongue soothes the tiny wounds left by his fangs. The magic settles, coiling softly around us like a promise that we can face whatever comes next together.

Afterward, lying in his arms as morning light fills the room, I feel almost peaceful. The dark power still pulses beneath my skin, but it’s quieter now, sated.

“We should go back soon,” he murmurs into my hair. “Your family will worry.”

I trace patterns on his chest, marveling at how the sunlight makes his skin glow. “Let them worry. I need this moment with you.”

His arms tighten around me. Through our bond, I feel his contentment warring with concern. He’s still worried about the darkness in me, about what it might mean for our future.

“Stop thinking so loud,” I tell him, pressing a kiss to his jaw.

“Can’t help it.” His fingers trail down my spine. “I just got you back. I can’t lose you again.”

“You won’t.” I prop myself up to look at him properly. “I’m not going anywhere.”

But even as I say the words, I feel the magic stir restlessly. It’s waiting, gathering strength, starving for more. And part of me – a part that grows stronger every day – wants to feed it.

I push the thought away, focusing instead on the miracle of having Soren here, alive and whole in the morning light. Whatever comes next, whatever the darkness wants from me, this moment is worth any price.

I just pray I’m strong enough to remember that when the magic calls again.