Eclipse Love

The night air was sharp, biting at Selene's skin as she rode through the darkened forest. The wind howled between the skeletal branches, carrying whispers that seemed to follow her. Her grip tightened on the reins, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

"Tomorrow. Before dawn. The eastern cliffs."

Lucian's words echoed in her mind like an unwanted specter. She had told herself she wouldn't go. Had repeated it in her head a dozen times. Yet here she was, riding hard beneath the cloak of night, the weight of indecision pressing against her ribs.

The right thing to do was return to the Order's stronghold, report the vampire's presence, and lead a hunt to end him. That was what she had been trained for. What she had sworn her life to.

So why did she hesitate?

Why did something in Lucian's voice—his eyes, his presence—unsettle her in a way no other vampire had?

Selene pulled hard on the reins, bringing her horse to a stop beneath an ancient oak. The beast huffed, shifting beneath her, sensing her turmoil. She exhaled sharply and dismounted, boots sinking into the damp earth.

She needed clarity.

Reaching for the small pendant around her neck, she traced her fingers over the silver emblem of the Order—a sun encircled by a ring of runes. The symbol of light. Of her duty.

Her duty was to kill vampires.

Not meet with them.

Not listen to them.

Selene clenched her jaw, but no matter how much she tried to reason with herself, doubt gnawed at the edges of her conviction.

Lucian had claimed innocence. Denied the killings. She had hunted monsters her entire life, but she had never once questioned whether they were guilty. The Order pointed, and she obeyed. That was how it worked.

But what if she had been fighting a war she didn't understand?

A rustle in the underbrush snapped her attention forward. Instinct took over. Selene drew her dagger in a flash, sinking into a defensive stance.

Silence.

Then, a shadow moved between the trees.

Selene's grip tightened on the hilt of her blade. "Show yourself."

A figure stepped into the moonlight, and she exhaled sharply.

It was Elias, her mentor.

His piercing blue eyes studied her from beneath the hood of his cloak, his face lined with years of battle and wisdom. The leader of the Order's elite hunters, Elias, was the closest thing she had to a father—strict, disciplined, and utterly devoted to their cause.

"What are you doing out here alone?" His voice was low, edged with suspicion.

Selene forced her expression into one of calm. "Scouting. I tracked a rogue to the ruins, but he escaped."

Elias' gaze narrowed. "A single rogue bested you?"

She bristled. "He was… different."

There was a beat of silence. Then Elias took a slow step toward her. "Did you speak to it?"

Selene hesitated. That was all Elias needed. His jaw clenched, his entire body tensing.

"You did."

She swallowed, her pulse quickening. "It was stalling. Trying to get inside my head."

A flicker of something dark crossed his face. "And did it succeed?"

"No," she said quickly. "I would have killed him if he hadn't run."

Elias studied her for a long moment before nodding. "Good. Because the High Council has issued a directive. There is a vampire in the area—one of importance. A remnant of the old bloodlines." His eyes darkened. "We are to eliminate him."

Selene felt the shift in the air.

He was talking about Lucian.

Her fingers curled around the dagger. "Who is he?"

Elias' gaze turned cold. "A prince of the damned."

Selene's stomach twisted. A prince? The implications sent a chill through her. Vampire nobility had been all but wiped out centuries ago, forced into hiding as the Order tightened its grip. If Lucian was of noble blood, it meant he carried old magic—something far more dangerous than brute strength.

And the Order wanted him dead.

"Selene." Elias' voice pulled her back. "You know what must be done."

She met his eyes, her heart pounding against her ribs. "Yes."

But as she rode back toward the stronghold, she wasn't sure if it was the truth.

Before Dawn: The Eastern Cliffs

The sky was painted in deep shades of indigo, the horizon just beginning to lighten with the promise of dawn. Selene stood at the edge of the eastern cliffs, the wind whipping at her cloak, carrying the salty scent of the ocean below.

She told herself she wasn't going to come.

And yet she had.

Lucian emerged from the shadows as if he had always been part of them, moving with a grace that was both unnatural and hypnotic. His dark cloak billowed slightly, but his face remained calm, unreadable.

"You came."

Selene crossed her arms. "I came to warn you."

Lucian arched a brow. "How generous."

"I should have killed you the moment I saw you," she said coldly.

"Then why didn't you?"

She had no answer.

Lucian took a slow step forward, but she didn't move. "They told you what I am, didn't they?"

She exhaled sharply. "A prince of the damned."

Lucian chuckled, the sound dark and amused. "Ah. So they still use that title. How dramatic."

Selene narrowed her eyes. "Is it not true?"

His amusement faded. "It is."

A chill ran down her spine. She had expected a lie, a denial. Not this.

"I am one of the last," Lucian admitted. "A relic of a time your Order worked very hard to erase." His silver eyes met hers. "Tell me, Selene. Have you ever asked yourself why?"

She stiffened. "Because vampires are a threat to mankind."

Lucian sighed. "That's what they tell you. But did they ever tell you that there was once peace? That humans and my kind existed in balance, long before the Order decided that balance was inconvenient."

Selene frowned. "Lies."

"Are they?" He tilted his head. "You don't even know the history of the war you fight, do you?"

Selene's fingers twitched toward her weapon. "I know enough."

Lucian studied her for a long moment before stepping back. "If that were true, you wouldn't be here."

Selene swallowed hard, unable to deny it.

"You have a choice," Lucian continued. "You can return to your Order and do what they demand. Or you can seek the truth."

Her pulse pounded. "And what truth is that?"

Lucian's expression darkened. "That the real monsters wear the faces of men."

Selene's breath caught. The words sent a shiver down her spine, planting seeds of doubt she wasn't ready to face.

Lucian turned away, his voice drifting through the wind. "The choice is yours, Selene. But choose wisely."

Then, just as before, he was gone.

Selene stood at the cliff's edge, staring at the place where he had stood.

For the first time in her life, she wasn't sure which side of the war she belonged to.