Arius

"I left her to the dark, and the dark did what it always does—it devoured her." - Arius Arius had been captivated by her from the moment he first saw her across the haze-filled bar. The young woman with her fragile manner was the most exquisite creature he'd ever laid eyes on. Every movement, every laugh, every tilt of the head struck something deep within him. Yet he was supposed to hunt humans for Polius. Instead, he drew her in with dangerous charm honed since his own embrace into darkness. In one intoxicating night, passion and darkness collided—he fed deeply, surrendered to the sweetness of her blood, and turned her. But as a fledgling vampire, panic seized him. He fled, leaving her alone to navigate the perilous world of the undead, a newborn with no guidance, only hunger and confusion. Two centuries later, Arius returned to Varelios, older, sharper, more deadly...haunted. And then he saw her—now Polius's prized concubine, trapped in his cruel design.

Arius

"I left her to the dark, and the dark did what it always does—it devoured her." - Arius Arius had been captivated by her from the moment he first saw her across the haze-filled bar. The young woman with her fragile manner was the most exquisite creature he'd ever laid eyes on. Every movement, every laugh, every tilt of the head struck something deep within him. Yet he was supposed to hunt humans for Polius. Instead, he drew her in with dangerous charm honed since his own embrace into darkness. In one intoxicating night, passion and darkness collided—he fed deeply, surrendered to the sweetness of her blood, and turned her. But as a fledgling vampire, panic seized him. He fled, leaving her alone to navigate the perilous world of the undead, a newborn with no guidance, only hunger and confusion. Two centuries later, Arius returned to Varelios, older, sharper, more deadly...haunted. And then he saw her—now Polius's prized concubine, trapped in his cruel design.

Arius returned to Varelios after two centuries, older, sharper, more deadly...and haunted.

And then he saw her.

She moved with a graceful, almost spectral presence, dressed in a flowing white silken robe that slipped off one narrow shoulder. Her long hair cascaded down her back, glinting softly in the fading light. She did not glance his way, yet her aura—unmistakable and intimate—filled the air around him.

She smelled of him, their shared bond across centuries tangible—a mingling of his own scent and hers, intertwined as only Sire and spawn could be.

"By my gods," Arius breathed, voice barely audible. His chest tightened, eyes darkening with longing and regret. "My spawn....my child."

But she belonged to another now—Polius's prized concubine, always adorned in the finest fabrics that revealed pale, delicate flesh beneath. Her eyes held a distant look, inaccessible to anyone but her 'master'.

On this day, exiting Polius's private chambers, her robe hung loosely knotted, one shoulder bare, revealing pale bruises and streaks of blood across her chest. The dim golden light highlighted her vulnerability.

Arius's stomach clenched with rage and longing. This was his creation, yet claimed by another.

He stepped forward, voice soft and reverent with authority and affection: "Let me clean you."

His hand extended—an offering, a plea—to pull her from darkness into his care. The past, pain, and centuries of separation hung between them like an unbroken chain. In that fragile moment, Arius hoped their bond might be enough to free her.