Chapter 8 The Blood Oath

Leon POV

The Crimson power still pulsed beneath my skin like living fire. Every breath I took felt hotter than the last. My hands trembled faintly—not from fear, but from the force surging through me.

Seraphine stood beside me, breathing hard, blood staining the sleeve of her coat. Not her blood. One of the guards’.

Still, seeing red on her shook something inside me.

“You’re injured,” I said immediately.

“I’m fine,” she replied too quickly.

“You’re lying.”

“I said I’m fine, Leon.”

But when she tried to take a step, pain flashed across her face.

I caught her arm before she could stumble.

“Sit down,” I ordered.

“We don’t have time—”

“Sit.”

The sharpness in my voice surprised even me.

For a second, Seraphine stared at me stubbornly. Then her shoulders relaxed, and she sat carefully against the wall beside the ruined staircase.

I crouched in front of her and gently rolled back her sleeve.

A deep cut ran along her forearm.

Fresh blood slid down her pale skin.

Anger flared instantly inside me.

“They touched you,” I muttered.

“Leon—”

“They touched you.”

The Crimson energy around me flickered violently. The broken lights overhead burst one after another.

Seraphine grabbed my wrist quickly.

“Look at me,” she whispered.

I did.

Her eyes softened immediately.

“I’m alive,” she said quietly. “Don’t lose yourself because of a scratch.”

My jaw tightened.

“You almost got hurt protecting me.”

“And I would do it again.”

The words hit harder than any blade.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

The screaming alarms sounded through the mansion while distant footsteps thundered somewhere below us. More guards. More enemies.

But inside that moment, it felt strangely quiet.

“You really are impossible,” Seraphine murmured weakly.

A small smile touched my lips.

“You keep saying that.”

“Because it’s true.”

I tore a strip from my sleeve and wrapped it carefully around her wound. My fingers brushed her skin softly, trying not to hurt her.

She watched me silently.

“You’ve changed,” she said after a while.

I glanced up at her.

“So have you.”

“No,” she whispered. “You changed more.”

I knew what she meant.

Two years ago, I had been broken. Half-dead. Angry at the world but too weak to fight back.

Now?

Now people feared my name.

The Crimson General. The monster Ravenport created.

But Seraphine looked at me differently, Not with fear, but with admiration.

Just… Leon.

And somehow that scared me more than everything else tonight.

A loud explosion shook the lower floor. Dust rained from the ceiling.

“They’re regrouping,” I said, standing immediately.

Seraphine rose beside me despite the pain.

“What now?”

I looked down the dark hallway ahead.

Her expression tightened. “Leon… the Heir escaped.”

“I know.” “And Vincent Korr is still alive.” “For now.”

That “for now” came out colder than I intended.

Seraphine noticed. Her eyes searched mine carefully.

“You want to kill him.”

“Yes.”

The honesty surprised even me.

But there was no point lying anymore.

Vincent Korr betrayed my family.

He smiled beside my father while planning his death behind closed doors.

Because of him, my mother died screaming in a burning house.

Because of him, my younger brother never got the chance to grow up.

Because of him… I became this.

The Crimson energy stirred again violently around my arms.

Seraphine stepped closer.

“Leon.”

I closed my eyes briefly.

“He deserves it,” I said quietly.

“Maybe he does.”

My eyes opened again.

“But revenge won’t bring them back,” she whispered.

Pain stabbed through my chest.

For one dangerous second, I almost snapped at her.

But I stopped myself. Because deep down… I knew she was right.

And I hated it.

“I’m not doing this only for revenge anymore,” I admitted.

“Then why?”

I looked at her.

“Because if I don’t stop them, they’ll destroy everyone else too.”

Her breathing softened. For the first time tonight, I saw relief in her face.

Like she had been afraid I would become consumed completely by hatred.

Maybe I already was, But she was the only thing pulling me back from the edge.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded nearby. I immediately pulled Seraphine behind me.

Three armed men appeared at the far end of the corridor.

Their uniforms were different from the guards downstairs.

Black coats and silver masks, they were council soldiers.

One of them pointed directly at me. “There he is.”

Another lifted a weapon. “Take the girl alive.”

My body moved before thought. Crimson energy exploded outward.

The hallway cracked under my feet as I surged forward. The first soldier fired.

I twisted sideways, the bullet grazing my shoulder instead of my chest.

Pain burned through me. I ignored it.

I grabbed the man by the throat and slammed him into the wall hard enough to crack the stone.

The second soldier rushed Seraphine. Big mistake.

She ducked under his arm and drove her dagger straight into his leg.

He screamed. I finished him with one strike from the metal rod.

The third soldier backed away immediately. Fear filled his eyes beneath the silver mask.

Good. He should be afraid.

“You have no idea who you’re fighting,” he muttered.

“No,” I replied coldly. “You don’t.”

Crimson energy surged again. The lights overhead burst red.

The soldier turned and ran. I almost chased him. Almost.

But Seraphine grabbed my arm.

“Leon, wait.” “He’ll warn the others.” “He’s already terrified.”

I looked toward the hallway where the man disappeared.

She was right. Fear spread faster than death sometimes.

And tonight, Ravenport was learning to fear me again.

A sharp ringing suddenly came from my pocket.

Phoenix. I answered immediately. “Report.”

“General,” Phoenix said quickly. “Council reinforcements are surrounding the estate. More vehicles arriving every minute.”

“How many?” “At least forty armed men.”

Seraphine’s eyes widened.

Phoenix continued, “And Leon… there’s something else.”

My grip tightened around the phone.

“What?” A brief pause.

“We intercepted communication from the Heir.”

The tone in Phoenix’s voice changed.

“He’s preparing the Blood Oath.” Cold silence filled my chest.

Seraphine went pale instantly.

“No…” she whispered.

I looked at her sharply. “What is it?”

Her lips trembled.

“The Blood Oath is ancient,” she whispered. “The Council only uses it during succession ceremonies.”

“What does it do?” She swallowed hard.

“It binds families together permanently.”

I frowned. “Meaning?”

“The Heir wants to force the Vale family completely under his control.”

“And you?” Her eyes filled with fear.

“I’m part of the ritual.”