Damned by Him

The moment Xandros stepped fully into the room, Rosaline knew she had pushed him too far and there was something different about him.

It wasn’t simply the irritation she had grown accustomed to seeing whenever she deliberately disobeyed him. This was deeper, darker. His expression remained controlled, but the tension in his jaw betrayed him, and his grey eyes seemed to hold a storm he was struggling desperately to keep beneath the surface.

Rosaline, however, was too angry to care.

She had spent the entire morning worrying about Lily, only to discover that the woman was perfectly comfortable, exercising in a secluded room as though she had not been missing for hours.

And now Xandros wanted to drag her back to bed.

"I told you I’m fine." She barely finished speaking before Xandros reached for her and his fingers closed around her wrist.

"Come." He told her as he began pulling her toward the door and Rosaline immediately resisted.

"Xandros, let go."

He continued walking.

"I said let go!" Her voice sharpened as she dug her heels into the floor.

Xandros finally stopped and he turned his head slowly toward her.

"I gave you one instruction." He began, his voice dangerously calm. "Rest."

Rosaline’s eyes flashed. "And I told you I wanted to see Lily."

"And now you have." He turned fully toward her. "You wanted to see her. You wanted to know whether she was well. You wanted to know why she was kept here."

His grip loosened, but he didn’t release her.

"Now you’ve seen her." His gaze hardened, "What else do you want?"

Rosaline stared at him in disbelief. "What else do I want?" She pulled her wrist from his hand.

"I want you to stop deciding everything for me!"

Xandros’ nostrils flared but Rosaline didn’t stop. "I wanted to know what happened to Lily because nobody would tell me anything. I was worried about her!"

"And worrying nearly got you killed."

"I was not the one who locked her away!" She countered back.

"No." His voice dropped, "But you were the one who nearly drowned three days ago."

That silenced her for a heartbeat.

Xandros stared at her.

The memory was still too vivid tk him, the way her pale body beneath the water, her hair floating around her face.

The terrifying stillness of her limbs, the he moment he had pulled her out and wondered whether she would ever open her eyes again.

He had spent three days watching her, listening to every fragile breath.

Three days wondering whether the next breath would be the last.

And now she was standing in front of him, pale and weak, arguing with him as though death had never come within inches of taking her.

His fear had nowhere to go.

So it became anger.

And the corruption inside him took that anger and twisted it into something worse.

"You are going back to the chamber." He said once again.

Rosaline shook her head. "No."

"Rosaline."

"No." She stepped away from him. "I’m not going anywhere."

For a moment, Xandros simply looked at her, then he exhaled slowly through his nose.

"Fine."

The word was strangely quiet.

Rosaline frowned.

"What?"

Xandros’ eyes shifted toward Lily.

"You wanted to know about her."

Lily immediately lowered her gaze.

"Then you should know the truth."

Rosaline’s stomach tightened. "What truth?"

Xandros looked back at her. "Lily isn’t Lily."

Everything inside Rosaline seemed to stop.

"What?" Her eyes moved instinctively toward Lily but Lily didn’t speak.

That silence frightened Rosaline more than the words had.

Xandros continued. "The woman you have been calling Lily has been possessed."

Rosaline’s lips parted. "No..."

"By a witch." The room suddenly felt unbearably cold.

Rosaline stared at Lily and she suddenly remembered everything.

The strange changes, unfamiliar expressions, those little habits that had disappeared and also the things she had noticed but refused to believe.

Her stomach twisted. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

Xandros’ expression hardened, "Because I didn’t want you sniffing around her." Rosaline’s eyes snapped toward him. "Sniffing around her?"

"I didn’t need you investigating something you didn’t understand."

"She’s my friend!" Rosaline cried out.

"And that is exactly why you were vulnerable."

Rosaline’s chest rose sharply. "I can protect myself."

"No." His answer came immediately. "You can’t."

The insult struck deeper than he intended.

Rosaline’s eyes burned. "You don’t get to decide that."

"I do when your life is at stake."

"I don’t need you protecting me!" Her voice echoed through the chamber.

Xandros stepped closer. "My only concern is keeping you safe."

"I don’t need to be kept safe!"

"You nearly died!"

"I survived!"

"Because I found you!" The shout exploded from him and silence crashed down afterward.

Rosaline stared at him.

Xandros stood rigidly before her, his chest rising and falling.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then Rosaline spoke more quietly.

"You are afraid." Something flickered across his face but she continued. "That’s what this is."

His eyes narrowed.

"You’re afraid."

Xandros looked away while Rosaline swallowed.

"And you’re turning that fear into anger."

His fingers curled into fists.

She had struck too close.

He had spent centuries mastering himself.

His emotions, instincts, hunger, but lately, something had been changing.

Something darker had been crawling beneath his skin.

Something he had believed he could control.

And Rosaline was becoming the center of everything it wanted.

He looked back at her.

"You keep saying you’re fine." His voice had become eerily calm,"You keep telling me you don’t need protection."

Rosaline frowned."Yes, because I really don’t."

Xandros’ eyes darkened. "Then perhaps you should understand what you’re asking me to ignore."

He took one slow step toward her but Rosaline didn’t move.

"I’m not human."

Her brows knitted together. "What?"

Xandros held her gaze. "I’m not human, Rosaline."

Her heart began beating faster.

He swallowed.

"I’m a vampire." The words seemed to hang in the air immediately it came out.

Rosaline stared at him.

A vampire.

She almost laughed, not because it was funny but because her mind refused to understand it.

"What?"

"I said I’m a vampire."

She looked at him as though she were seeing him for the first time.

The silver lightning, the strength, the darkness in his eyes.

Everything suddenly made sense and somehow, that made it worse.

Xandros noticed the fear beginning to appear in her eyes.

He should have stopped.

He should have left.

Instead, the corruption whispered.

His gaze drifted toward her neck.

The pulse reached out to him.

Warm, alive.

His pupils contracted and Rosaline noticed.

"What?"

Xandros immediately looked away his breathing became heavier.

"Right now..." He clenched his jaw. "...you’re standing there telling me you’re perfectly fine."

His hand rose to his mouth as though physically restraining himself.

"And all I can think about is the warmth of your blood."

Rosaline froze.

Xandros shut his eyes before swallowing hard. "I can smell your blood."

His eyes opened again.

For one horrifying moment, the grey had almost disappeared beneath black.

"And right now, part of me wants to sink my teeth into your neck and drink it."

Rosaline’s blood ran cold.

Xandros stepped backward immediately.

"I won’t though." His voice was rough.

"I won’t hurt you."

But the damage was already done.

Fear flooded through her.

"Get out." Rosaline screamed at him.

Xandros stared at her.

"Rosaline—"

"Get out!" Her voice broke. "I said get out!"

Something in her expression finally reached him.

Not anger.

Fear.

Fear of him perhaps? And Xandros went completely still.

The realization struck harder than any accusation could have.

She was afraid of him.

His face hardened—not with anger this time, but with something closer to pain.

He looked away.

"Fine."

He turned toward the door.

His hand closed around the handle and then he walked out.

The door slammed behind him.

Rosaline flinched violently.

Silence followed but she remained frozen.

Her heart hammered against her ribs.

She looked toward Lily.

Lily slowly opened her mouth. "Rosaline..."

"Don’t." Her voice trembling.

Lily took a step. "I can explain."

"No."

Rosaline backed away.

"I don’t want to hear it, Get out!"

Lily stopped and then Rosaline pointed toward the door.

"Please."

That single word carried more pain than anger.

Lily’s expression changed.

She lowered her head and walked toward the door.

Rosaline waited until she disappeared.

Then she rushed forward and locked it.

Click.

The sound was tiny.

But it felt like the only thing she could control as she pressed her back against the door.

Her breathing became uneven.

Vampire.

Witch.

Possession.

Blood.

The words repeated inside her head until they became meaningless.

She slid slowly down the door.

Her knees struck the floor.

She covered her mouth, trying desperately to stop the trembling.

She had thought she was angry with Xandros.

She had thought her biggest problem was jealousy.

She had thought Lily was simply acting strangely.

How foolish she had been and her eyes burned.

A tear slipped down her cheek and then another.

Rosaline stared blankly at the floor.

The world she thought she understood had never existed.

And the most terrifying part wasn’t that her husband was a vampire.

It was that despite everything... Somewhere beneath the fear, she still wanted to trust him.

Rosaline remained seated against the door.

For a long while, she did not move.

The chamber had fallen completely silent, save for the faint wind that hit the window, and the uneven rhythm of her breathing. Time seemed to stretch around her, each passing minute heavier than the last.

She remained there for nearly an hour.

Eventually, the tears stopped not because the pain had disappeared, but because something inside her had simply gone quiet.

Rosaline slowly lifted her head.

Her eyes were swollen from crying, her face pale, and a few strands of silver-white hair clung messily to her cheeks.

She stared at the locked door and then at the empty room.

Her fingers slowly curled against the fabric of her dress.

The fear was still there and so was the confusion but beneath them, something else began to stir.

Something colder and familiarly unfamiliar.

Her expression gradually changed the trembling in her hands ceased.

Her breathing steadied.

And then—

A sharp glint flashed across her eyes.

For the briefest moment, the woman who had been frightened and confused disappeared.

The softness and uncertainty vanished. Her eyes became unnervingly clear.

A faint smile touched her lips.

"...How dare you, Xandros!"

She slowly pushed herself away from the door and somewhere deep within her consciousness, something ancient stirred.

Saline was back.