Chapter 79 Blood dominion
Amara POV
They decide to stay another night because of me.
The words linger in the air long after my father speaks them, settling into the room with a quiet kind of finality that makes my chest tighten in a way I cannot quite name, because part of me is relieved beyond measure. In contrast, another part curls inward with guilt at the thought that my existence, my instability, my hunger has once again altered the course of everyone else’s plans.
“Please,” he adds calmly, his tone slicing through the air, though there is nothing cruel in it. “You shouldn’t leave this castle until you can control yourself well enough that you are confident you will not tear into the nearest living creature the moment your hunger spikes again.”
His gaze shifts to me then, steady and assessing, and I swallow hard beneath the weight of it, forcing myself not to look away even as the faint pulse of hunger coils low in my stomach like a restless animal waiting to be fed again.
Sebastian stands beside me, close enough that I can feel the warmth of him even without touching, and though he says nothing at first, his presence anchors me in a way that keeps the edges of my thoughts from spiraling into panic.
“I think a night shouldn’t be too bad,” he agrees finally, his voice measured. “That’s reasonable.”
Reasonable.
The word feels strange attached to me.
Nothing about this feels reasonable.
Nothing about waking up with fangs, nearly killing someone, and now needing lessons on how not to drain the life from another living being feels even remotely close to normal.
Leviath inclines his head slightly, satisfied, then speaks. “Join me, I will help you learn.” He says.
Sebastian nods in agreement and I follow. Follow until we reach the main hall, where all the vampires seem to like to mingle.
He gestures toward the far end of the room, where Tomas leans casually against the wall, arms folded, watching everything unfold with an expression that borders on curiosity and quiet amusement.
“You will learn,” Leviath says simply. “Every vampire has an ability. A gift unique to them. Some manifest immediately. Others take time. But you must understand the nature of our kind if you are to survive as one.”
The words settle heavily in my chest.
Every vampire has an ability.
My mind flickers briefly to the memory of Tomas pulling me into that strange place before, that empty room that existed nowhere and everywhere at once, where conversation felt heavier, deeper, more private than anything spoken aloud.
I glance toward him now.
“Tomas,” Leviath says, following my gaze. “Show her.”
Tomas exhales slowly, pushing off the wall as he straightens, rolling his shoulders once like he is loosening muscles that do not quite need loosening.
“You’re going to feel something,” he tells me, his voice calm, almost reassuring. “Don’t fight it.”
That is not comforting.
Not even slightly.
I barely have time to respond before the world shifts.
Not physically.
Not visibly.
But inside.
The room around me dissolves like smoke slipping through fingers, fading into nothingness until the stone walls, the furniture, the figures standing around me all vanish in the span of a single breath.
And suddenly..
I am standing somewhere else.
A room.
Empty.
Endless.
The walls stretch impossibly far in every direction, smooth and pale like polished bone, the ceiling arching high above me in a way that makes my stomach twist with disorientation.
I spin slowly, my pulse kicking harder against my ribs.
“What..”
“You’re in my head,” Tomas says.
His voice echoes slightly, though he stands only a few feet away, hands tucked casually into his pockets as if this is the most natural thing in the world.
My breath catches.
“In your head?” I repeat.
He nods once.
“Or more accurately,” he adds, tilting his head slightly, “a space inside it. I can pull others here when I need privacy. When I need control. When I don’t want words overheard.”
I stare at him, stunned.
“This is your ability?”
“Part of it,” he says.
He lifts one hand slightly, fingers curling.
And the room changes.
Instantly.
The endless pale walls shift, melting into something darker, richer, until shelves appear around us, stretching upward toward the ceiling, packed tight with books I cannot read from where I stand.
A library.
Massive.
Ancient.
Dust lingers in the air, catching light that was not there seconds before.
My breath hitches slightly.
“You can change it,” I murmur.
Tomas smirks faintly.
“Anything I want,” he replies.
My heart pounds harder in my chest as the realization sinks in, as the sheer scope of what that means begins to unfold inside my mind.
Privacy.
Interrogation.
Strategy.
Secrets.
This is not just an ability.
This is power.
The world shifts again.
Suddenly..
We are back To Stone walls and a cold floor.
The familiar weight of reality slams back into place so abruptly that my knees threaten to buckle beneath me.
Sebastian’s hand finds my arm instantly, steadying me before I can stumble.
“Easy,” he murmurs.
I inhale sharply, forcing air into lungs that feel too tight, too small for everything pressing against them now.
“That’s..” I trail off, shaking my head slightly. “That’s insane.”
Tomas grins faintly.
“I get that a lot. I can also enter minds. Or dream walk.”
Leviath steps forward then, drawing my attention back to him, his expression far more serious than Tomas’s ever is.
“Abilities are not toys,” he says evenly. “They are responsibilities. And sometimes.. weapons.”
His gaze lingers on me for a moment longer than necessary.
Then he lifts one hand.
Nothing dramatic happens at first.
No flash of light.
No surge of wind.
Just movement.
The faint metallic scent of blood still lingering in the room from earlier stirs slightly in the air, subtle but unmistakable to my heightened senses.
And then..
The blood on the floor moves.
Not splashing.
Not spilling.
Moving.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Like something alive.
My breath catches sharply in my throat as the thin streak of dried crimson begins to lift from the stone surface, peeling upward in a smooth ribbon that coils through the air like silk caught in an invisible current.
“What..” I whisper.
Leviath does not look at the blood.
He looks at me.
“This,” he says calmly, “is Blood Dominion.”
The ribbon of blood twists gently between his fingers, suspended effortlessly, responding to the smallest flick of his wrist as though it obeys instinct rather than command.
“I control blood once it leaves the body,” he continues. “I can stop bleeding. Redirect it. Preserve life.. or end it.”
The words land with terrifying clarity.
Preserve life.
Or end it.
My pulse stutters.
Leviath lowers his hand slightly.
The ribbon shifts direction, drifting toward a random feeder resting across the room where a vampire pets her, his movements careful and precise.
Without touching her The blood along her wrist stills.
Stops.
The faint seep of red that had threatened to stain through the cloth disappears entirely.
Sealed.
Healed.
I stare.
Unable to look away.
“That’s how you stopped the other girls bleeding earlier,” I murmur.
Leviath meets my gaze.
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
No denial.
Just truth.
The weight of it settles heavily in my chest.
Not just power.
Responsibility.
Burden.
Authority.
Sebastian shifts slightly beside me then, his grip tightening faintly against my arm before slowly releasing as his attention drifts toward the door.
“I need to step out,” he says quietly.
I turn toward him immediately.
The bond flickers uneasily at the thought of him leaving, even briefly.
“Where?” I ask.
“Alpha Braden,” he replies. “I left him in charge. He deserves an update.”
That makes sense.
Logical.
Responsible.
Still..
Something inside me resists the idea of distance, however temporary.
Sebastian notices.
Of course he does.
He steps closer, lowering his voice just enough that only I can hear him.
“I won’t be long,” he murmurs.
His fingers brush lightly against mine, grounding and reassuring, and I force myself to nod despite the faint tightening in my chest.
“Okay,” I whisper.
He studies me for another second, then turns and disappears through the doorway, leaving behind a quiet emptiness that settles heavier than I expected.
Leviath watches me carefully.
“You will not always have him beside you,” he says calmly.
My jaw tightens slightly.
“I know.”
Do I?
Not really.
Not yet.
But I will.
Because I have to.
Because this..
This new life, this hunger, this power waiting somewhere inside me..
It is mine to survive.
Mine to master.
And somewhere deep inside my chest, beneath the fear and the guilt and the hunger that refuses to fade completely, something unfamiliar stirs.
Not hunger.
Not pain.
Something else.
Waiting.
Watching.
Like an ability not yet born.