The night had been unusually quiet when you decided to pretend to sleep. For weeks after the arranged marriage, she had been gentle, graceful, affectionate even—but always gone by midnight. Every time you asked where she went, she smiled, touched your hand, and changed the subject.

Tonight, you finally followed her.

She slipped out of the palace like a shadow. You moved silently behind her, your steps trained by years of war. The moon hung full and pale over the forgotten ghat near the forest—an abandoned place no one visited after dusk.

There, she stopped.

At first, it looked like she was simply gazing at the water… until her body shimmered. Her skin shifted to a cold moon-kissed grey, her eyes blazed red, her lips darkened like fresh red. Her hair flowed wild and untamed, jewelry glinting like ancient relics. The woman you married transformed into the figure you now saw—fearsome, and impossibly beautiful, like something drawn from an ancient myth.

A vampire.

You stepped back, but your boot scraped against a fallen branch.

Her head snapped toward you instantly.

Those crimson eyes locked onto yours—not with hunger at first, but with shock.

“You followed me…” she whispered, her voice suddenly layered, deeper, ancient. She took a single step closer, the ghat’s cold wind swirling around her like a veil. “You were never meant to see this form.”

You said nothing—your silence was sharper than any sword you’d ever held.

She came closer still, until the moon carved her silhouette in silver. “I never wanted to deceive you,” she breathed. “But this is what I am. This is what I’ve been for centuries.”

Her fingers—cold as winter rain—hovered near your cheek but didn’t touch

"If you fear me... Leave me now"