The city never truly slept, but Nor Ah's apartment felt frozen in time.
She sat at the edge of her bed, knees pulled up, fingers digging into the silk sheets as if they were the only thing keeping her from unraveling. Her mouth still tingled from Du Guk's kiss—soft and searing all at once, like heat trying not to hurt. It wasn't just the physicality of it, though that alone had been enough to make her skin thrum. It was the knowledge tucked beneath the touch. Recognition. And something older.
She hadn't dreamed like this in years. Not since her mother's death.
And yet, as soon as sleep claimed her, the world changed.
She stood beneath a crimson moon on a mirror-black ocean. The air smelled of salt and ash. Inky waves lapped at her bare feet, and silver chains snaked from the horizon to the sky, binding stars in place. Her reflection stared up at her, but her eyes weren't violet—they were gold. Glowing. Alien.
From the edge of the glass sea, a figure stepped forward.
Not Du Guk. Not even close.
He was taller, built like dusk and war, his body wrapped in a robe of whispering shadows. His face was obscured, but his presence pushed into her chest like a rising tide.
"You've opened the gate," he said, his voice echoing with layered tones—masculine, feminine, something inhuman. "Now it will bleed."
She tried to speak, but no words came. Only a shiver. Only—
She woke up gasping, drenched in sweat.
Moonlight filtered through her window, highlighting the runes on her collarbone—alive with pale, silver light.
For a moment, she sat still, heart thundering. Then she pulled on an oversized shirt, stumbled to the kitchen, and poured herself a glass of red wine. Her hand trembled around the stem.
She didn't remember tattooing herself with those runes. Not really. She remembered the night she did it—the candles, the incense, the aching need—but not the symbols. They'd simply appeared under her skin.
The buzz of her phone pulled her from her thoughts. She looked down.
No call. No message.
Instead, a small piece of parchment lay on her kitchen counter. Folded. Deliberate. It hadn't been there before. She reached out, slowly, and opened it.
> Your ink remembers more than you do.
Stay awake, Nor Ah.
Tonight was only the first layer.
— D.G.
She gripped the note tighter. The letters shimmered faintly before fading into stillness. Her mouth went dry.
Du Guk hadn't stayed.
Or maybe he had never really left.
A knock jolted her.
She froze. Not again.
Three slow raps echoed through the silence. Measured. Almost playful. She crossed to the door cautiously, peering through the peephole.
Not Du Guk.
A young woman stood there instead—barely over twenty, dressed in black lace and leather. Her raven hair was styled in a high, messy ponytail. A silver hoop pierced her bottom lip, and thin-lined tattoos curled up the sides of her neck like vines. She looked like trouble disguised as desire.
Nor Ah opened the door halfway. "Can I help you?"
"You're Nor Ah?" the girl asked, cocking her head.
"Who's asking?"
"Name's Lys. I'm here because you've been marked."
Nor Ah frowned. "By who?"
"Not who. What."
Lys slipped past her before she could protest, tossing a quick glance at the glowing symbols on Nor Ah's chest before muttering under her breath. Her eyes flickered—just for a second—to pure white.
"Yup," she said with a whistle. "You're glowing like a prophecy. Damn, Du Guk moves fast."
"You know him?"
"Oh, I know of him," Lys replied, flopping into a chair. "Half-vampire, half-shadowblood, full-time brooder. Wears his pain like cologne."
Nor Ah crossed her arms. "Start talking. Why are you here?"
"Because you don't know what he did to you." Lys tapped her temple. "Or what you did to him. The ink you gave him? It wasn't just art. It was a binding. A call. And now the Council's going to notice."
Nor Ah narrowed her eyes. "What Council?"
"The kind that kills things that break the rules." Lys leaned forward. "You've heard of Seers? Warlocks? Vampires?"
"I thought they were myths."
"They are," Lys grinned. "Until they aren't."
Nor Ah tried to process it. "You're saying I'm in danger?"
"I'm saying you've always been in danger," Lys replied. "You just didn't know the game you were playing."
"Why now?"
Lys paused, her gaze flicking to the runes again.
"Because your blood isn't human. Not entirely. And neither is your ink. Your art doesn't just decorate flesh—it awakens what's buried beneath it. Du Guk was the first to trigger it. Others will come next."
"Others?"
"People like him. People worse than him." Lys stood, moving toward the window. "The mark you gave him? It's a beacon. And tonight was just the beginning."
Nor Ah stepped back, breathing unsteady. "What do I do?"
"Stay alive," Lys said simply. "And don't let him claim you fully. Once a bloodbound link is complete, there's no going back."
Nor Ah's heart jumped. "He kissed me."
Lys turned, expression suddenly serious.
"Then it's already started."