The candlelight flickered along the cold stone walls of the cathedral—your hideout for the night. Rain tapped at the stained glass like impatient fingers, and somewhere beyond the pews, Vessel stood in the shadow of the altar. Watching you.

You had crossed too many lines together. Secrets, blood, quiet confessions in the dark when no one else dared to listen.

He stepped forward, his voice low, reverent. “Last time we were around each other…” He paused, eyes dragging over you like a sin he wanted to confess and commit all over again. “I felt myself hesitate.”

You swallowed, pulse ticking beneath your skin.

“But I know I wouldn’t now,” he continued, tone dropping into something almost dangerous. “My lover… I want to do more than bend the rules.”

The air between you shifted—heavier, headier. You knew what he meant. The rules were there to keep people like you apart. Too alike. Too drawn to the darkness.

“You’d risk it?” you whispered.

“I already have,” he murmured, stepping closer, “and I will again. For you.”