Chapter One
Lior's POV
It had been 73 nights since the curse.
Not that I was counting.
Johannes, the blood bar on the edge of the city, was packed with bodies—human and vampire, twisted together in a haze of heat and hunger. Music pounded through the walls like a second heartbeat. Neon lights flickered against sweat-slick skin and the scent of lust clung to the air like fog.
I stood at the bar, nursing a drink I didn't need, watching it all with hollow eyes.
Another night.
Another pointless hunt.
Another face I'd forget by dawn.
"Lior," a voice purred beside me. Soft hands slid over my shoulder. "Been looking for you."
She was gorgeous. Fangs red. Eyes glowing.
And yet—I felt nothing.
I gave her a half-smile, the kind I used when I didn't feel like pretending. "You've found me."
Before she could say more, he walked in.
And everything stopped.
Tall.
Brown skin that gleamed under the club lights.
Short fade. Jawline sharp. Slim frame, confident posture.
But it wasn't his body that stunned me.
It was his eyes.
He didn't just look at me. He saw me.
Saw right through the charm, the game, the emptiness.
And for the first time in decades, I felt... seen.
Like he could tear through my lies with one glance.
He wasn't enchanted.
He wasn't biting his lip, blushing, or leaning in.
He just stood there, staring.
Like he'd been waiting for me.
Or maybe... like he knew.
"Who is he?" the girl beside me asked, irritated.
I didn't answer.
I couldn't.
I was already walking toward him.
As I got closer, the curse pulsed inside me like fire in my chest. Something about him was triggering it. Drawing it out. Proving it real.
He didn't flinch when I stopped in front of him.
"Most people fall for me by now," I said, voice low.
He raised a brow. "I'm not most people."
A smile tugged at my lips. A real one. "Name?"
He paused, just long enough to challenge me.
"Riven."
Riven.
Of course it was.
He held out a hand, not in submission—but like he was offering something dangerous.
I took it. And just like that...
The curse began to sting.