I won’t let myself end up alone. Time will heal my wounds but I don’t need to heal alone. Asra thought, remembering someone whom she had lost, Denmir.

Whether Denmir died to the blood-vine bear or something else, Asra couldn’t be sure. Denmir was from a different vampire clan, and their clans hated one another, so Asra often thought that their love was destined to fail, even if they did run away together.

Movement came from the water. An insignificant ripple. It was so small that she nearly missed it. A figure began to emerge from the fog. A throne, narrowly held above the water. It was like an answer to her thoughts, an answer to Hegatha’s taunting, and Asra couldn’t help but smile.