It was barely past eleven. The house was quiet.
Levi had left not long ago, his parting words still echoing in Alexa's head:
"Don't leave the house. Don't test me. And don't make me receive a call about your kidnapping."
Alexa had rolled her eyes the moment the door shut. "Overdramatic devil," she muttered.
She'd meant to stay put, truly. But the silence crawled under her skin. The rooms felt colder, too big. And the curiosity? It had been burning since the day she arrived. One hallway she'd never seen Levi walk down. One door he always kept locked.
Until today.
She noticed it half an hour after he left.
That door—the one with no handle, no visible lock—was slightly ajar. A whisper of shadow pooled from the gap.
Her bare feet padded across the cold marble. She hesitated once. Then twice.
But something was calling her. Not literally—but it felt like gravity. Like that room wanted her.
She pushed it open.
The light inside was dim, tinged with red. Shelves lined with ancient books, strange glowing symbols carved into the stone walls. And in the center, a pedestal. On it sat a black crystal, webbed with crimson cracks. It pulsed, slowly.
Alexa stepped closer.
Her fingers hovered above it.
"Just a peek," she whispered.
The air shifted.
She flinched—and her nail caught the edge of the pedestal. A sharp pain stung her finger. She glanced down.
A drop of blood.
It landed on the crystal.
The red cracks flared instantly. A tremor ran beneath her feet. The door slammed shut behind her.
She turned, heart racing. "No, no, no—"
The crystal lifted from its base, spinning slowly, humming.
Run, her mind screamed.
But her body wouldn't listen.
Symbols along the walls ignited with red fire. The hum turned into a low growl, as if something was breathing in the room with her.
Then—it stopped.
Everything.
The crystal dropped back onto the pedestal with a sharp clink. The light faded. The walls dimmed.
The door slowly creaked back open.
Alexa stumbled out, hand still bleeding, breath shaking.
She had no idea what she just triggered.
But she was certain of one thing:
Levi would know.
And when he did…
He wouldn't be calm about it.
******
The double doors creaked open with a soft groan, the scent of rich leather and old cigars lacing the air inside Jordan's study. The curtains were half-drawn, casting the long chamber in shadowed gold as late morning light spilled through stained glass.
Jordan Crane—Levi's most trusted associate—sat behind a grand desk, flipping through a bound set of parchment. "Took you long enough," he said without looking up.
Levi stepped in, boots silent over polished stone, one hand casually adjusting his cufflinks. "I was dealing with house matters."
Jordan smirked. "Let me guess. The girl?"
"No," Levi said flatly, walking past a low-sitting liquor shelf. "Security breaches. Locked doors. And someone being where they shouldn't."
Jordan chuckled under his breath. "Isn't that what you like about her?"
Levi ignored the comment, poured himself a glass of something amber, and dropped into the leather seat across from Jordan. "How's the trade moving across the eastern border?"
"Delayed," Jordan replied. "We lost a shipment near Velvryn. The weapons didn't make it to Dremor."
Levi took a slow sip. "Then burn the contact who failed us. Quietly."
Jordan raised a brow. "You always say that so easily."
"Because it is easy."
The room went quiet for a beat—until Levi's hand paused mid-air.
A sound.
No—more like a pulse.
He blinked slowly.
His fingers flexed.
Something deep inside him… shifted.
His chest rose slightly sharper than before. Breath unsteady. A sharp burn flared in his shoulder blades, and his spine straightened. His skin pulsed like something under it wanted out.
Jordan stood. "Levi?"
But Levi didn't respond.
His glass slipped from his fingers and shattered on the floor.
"Levi!"
He fell to one knee, jaw clenched, heart slamming against his ribs like a war drum. Veins along his neck darkened with that same violet hue—only now deeper. Stronger. Corrupted with power. His eyes flickered wildly, until the silver drowned in crimson.
Red.
Deep. Blood-hungry. Glowing like lit coals under a dying moon.
Jordan rushed forward.
"What the hell is this—?!"
Levi gripped the edge of the desk, knuckles white, a grin beginning to spread on his face as the pain morphed… into something else.
Pleasure.
Power.
He exhaled, low and heavy. "Phase two."
Jordan froze.
"What?"
Levi stood slowly, purple energy still racing under his skin like veins of lightning. The grin never faded.
"I felt it. Just now. It's done."
Jordan looked stunned. "The second seal?"
"Yes."
Jordan narrowed his eyes. "What triggered it?"
Levi rolled his shoulders. "The devil crystal. Someone touched it. Bled on it. Just a drop."
"The girl?"
Levi nodded once. "Alexa."
Jordan ran a hand through his hair. "That crystal was sealed. She must've disobeyed."
"Obviously." Levi sounded… amused.
"And it just needed blood?" Jordan asked, pacing.
"A single drop. That was it."
Jordan scoffed. "All this time we thought it needed a blood bond. Like the one you tried with her."
"I tried slicing her hand to bind it to mine," Levi admitted, walking slowly around the desk, voice deepening. "Didn't work. I thought that was the requirement."
Jordan's tone turned dry. "Unlike that night you disvirgined a virgin girl who struck a one-time deal with you through Mr. Brooks."
Levi's mouth twitched, not even pretending to care. "Stage one. One night. One girl. I didn't even see her face."
Jordan raised a brow. "And you're fine not knowing who she was?"
Levi stopped walking.
"I don't care who she was," he said plainly. "She was a means to an end. That's it."
Jordan stared at him, trying to read deeper.
"But now you're two phases in," he said. "And the final one…"
…will require more," Levi finished. "Something bigger. I can feel it."
Jordan crossed his arms. "You sure it was Alexa who bled on the crystal?"
"She's the only one in the house. The only one who touched what she shouldn't."
"And you're not… curious? About the coincidence?" Jordan asked carefully.
Levi's red gaze glinted in the low light. "I don't believe in coincidences. I believe in fate."
He walked to the tall window that framed the sky.
And smiled darkly.
Not at Jordan. Not even at the power he felt pulsing in his blood.
But at the thought that whoever the final phase required—whoever fate would demand next—
He couldn't wait to meet them.
He silently walked out of Jordan's house.
*****
The underground forge hissed with molten heat, the air heavy with smoke and the scent of iron mixed with old magic. Runes carved deep into the stone walls pulsed faintly, as if alive, and every weapon displayed glimmered like it thirsted for blood.
Ashkan, a scarred half-demon with eyes like molten gold, hammered something glowing blue on his anvil. He didn't look up when the door creaked open.
Levi strolled in, not like a customer—but like a king returning to his throne. His coat swayed behind him, the air around him subtly warping with his evolved power. He dropped into a dark leather chair set against the wall, one leg thrown over the other.
"You're late," Ashkan grunted.
"I wasn't coming," Levi replied lazily, draping his arm along the backrest. "Then I got bored."
Ashkan didn't smile. He never did. "You come here when something's changing. What do you want?"
Levi's gaze roamed across the wall of deadly relics—scythes carved from dragon bone, daggers with pulsing veins, and a sword humming like a heartbeat. He tilted his head slightly.
"Tell me about your rarest blades," he said. "The ones you wouldn't sell. The ones even you fear."
Ashkan finally stopped hammering. His glowing eyes narrowed. "You already own a vault of my finest."
"I'm not looking to buy," Levi said with a smirk. "I'm looking to remember."
Ashkan turned to him fully. "Why?"
"Curiosity," Levi answered smoothly. "Humor me."
Ashkan walked slowly to the wall. He pointed to a short obsidian dagger with silver veins. "The Hollow Fang. Once pierced into a soul-bearer, it silences them forever. Not death—just… stillness."
Levi nodded, unimpressed. "Next."
He pointed to a curved black blade. "The Mourner's Spine. Drinks fear. Sharpens with every scream."
Levi leaned back further, voice dry. "That would've been useful in the north."
Ashkan grunted. "And this—" He tapped a wrapped item resting on a stand, glowing red beneath enchanted cloth. "—is the Crimson Pact."
Levi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"It chooses its wielder," Ashkan continued. "But it demands a soul bond. Not blood. Not sacrifice. Submission."
Levi's tongue pressed against his cheek. "That's disgusting."
Ashkan crossed his arms. "You're not here for memories. You're searching."
Levi finally sat up straighter, his eyes gleaming faintly with that darker, matured purple.
"I'm preparing," he said simply.
Ashkan studied him. "You evolved."
Levi didn't answer.
The forge went silent except for the slow drip of lava down a channel in the wall.
After a long pause, Ashkan said, "You're getting close."
"To what?" Levi asked, though the amusement in his voice said he already knew.
Ashkan shook his head. "Whatever it is… the forge doesn't like it."
Levi stood, brushing invisible dust off his sleeve. "That's fine."
He walked toward the exit, his voice calm, sharp.
"Let me know when you forge something worthy of Phase Three."
And with a last glance at the Crimson Pact, he was gone—his silhouette swallowed by firelight and smoke.
*****
7:25 p.m.
Alexa sat on the velvet couch, legs drawn up, her dress draped over her knees, hand tucked tightly between her thighs. Her finger throbbed beneath the fabric—swollen, red, angry. She'd been fighting the bleeding since 11 a.m.
It had slowed, yes. But not stopped.
And now it pulsed like it had a life of its own.
The room was quiet. The chandelier lights above dimmed to a soft gold. She stared blankly ahead, unmoving, her whole body still. Not from peace.
But from dread.
She knew she was in trouble.
And she was just… waiting.
The door opened behind her with a soft click.
Heavy boots echoed across the marble floor, slow, deliberate.
Alexa didn't turn.
She felt his presence before she saw him.
Levi stepped into view—silent, unreadable. His gaze swept over her, landing instantly on the way her hand hid in her lap, the way her body curled inwards.
Then he stopped in front of her.
"You touched it."
Her throat closed.
He crouched slowly, coming eye level with her. His voice had no anger in it. Just a strange, low calm.
He reached out.
She flinched but didn't pull away.
He took her hand—unfolding her fingers gently, carefully. One by one.
The blood had dried, but the skin around the wound still pulsed faintly red, glowing beneath the surface. The magic hadn't left her yet.
Levi studied it quietly.
And then—he smiled.
It was faint. Small. But real.
"Thank you," he murmured.
Alexa blinked. "For what?"
"For bleeding," he said softly. "On the one thing you weren't supposed to."
Her lips trembled. "I didn't mean to."
"I know."
He stood and crossed the room, pulling open a drawer. Then he returned, carrying a small silver tin.
She watched him sink back down in front of her, opening the lid to reveal a dark herbal paste.
"I've used this before," he said. "It works."
He dipped two fingers into the balm and reached for her hand again.
She didn't resist this time.
The paste stung at first, and she winced. His hands, though large and always cold, moved gently. He was slow. Intentional. Focused like it mattered.
"You're helping me?" she asked, her voice barely above a breath.
"Only because I'm in a good mood," he said without looking up.
"You're never in a good mood."
A ghost of a smirk tugged at his lips. "Exactly."
Then his eyes lifted and met hers.
A single tear rolled down her cheek. She hadn't even noticed it fall.
Levi reached up, thumb brushing the trail away—not with care, but with a strange sort of quiet… focus. As if the sight of her crying slowed something inside him.
He didn't speak.
Didn't mock.
He just looked at her.
"I didn't mean to touch it," she whispered, eyes lowering again. "I was only curious."
"Curiosity is dangerous," he murmured. "But you already know that."
He finished bandaging her finger, then held her hand for just a second longer before gently placing it back in her lap.
But he didn't leave.
Instead, he sat down beside her.
Not close.
Not far.
Just there.
The space between them heavy and warm.
"You're not used to pain like this," he said, voice low.
She shook her head.
"You will be."
She glanced at him.
He wasn't threatening her.
He was warning her.
And somehow, that felt worse.
"I didn't mean to ruin anything," she said quietly.
Levi didn't respond right away.
Then, after a pause, "You didn't ruin it. You moved it forward."
Her brows pulled. "What does that mean?"
He leaned back slightly, letting his head tilt against the couch. "The blood you gave triggered something. Something I've been waiting on."
Alexa stared. "That… was good?"
His mouth twitched. "Not good. Necessary."
She looked away, swallowing hard. "So now what?"
Levi's voice lowered, almost like he didn't want the room to hear. "Now… I wait for the last piece."
They sat in silence.
The lights hummed faintly above. Her hand still pulsed, but less now. The pain fading. Her breathing easing.
She stole a glance at him again.
Not cold.
Not cruel.
Just Levi.
"Why didn't you yell at me?" she asked.
He turned his head slightly. Looked at her again.
And said nothing.
Just reached forward, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with the same hand that had held her blood.
Then he stood.
But before leaving, he looked down at her once more.
"Next time… don't run toward danger."
He turned toward the hallway.
"And Alexa?" he added, voice quieter now, like a whisper of smoke.
"You're not sleeping tonight without locking your door."
And then he was gone.
Leaving behind the scent of leather, cold magic, and something else—
Something she didn't have a name for.
But it stayed with her.
Long after the door shut.