I didn't sleep that night.
Not because I couldn't.
But because every time I closed my eyes, I saw the mark on my hand.
That symbol.
That circle with the cross.
Victor said it meant the Hunters could find me now.
Lucas said it meant everyone would want me.
Neither of those things helped me sleep.
I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my palm under the dim yellow light. The mark looked like it had always been there, like it belonged to my skin more than I did.
A Blood Guardian.
Someone who can control vampires.
It sounded like something from a story.
But the dried blood on my clothes, the hole in Lucas' shoulder, and the fear in Victor's eyes told me this was not a story.
This was real.
And somehow… I was in the center of it.
A soft knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Lina," Lucas' voice came from the other side, low and calm. "Are you awake?"
"I didn't sleep," I answered.
The door opened slowly.
Lucas stepped inside and closed it behind him quietly, as if he didn't want the others to hear. He was wearing a dark shirt, the top buttons open, the bandage visible underneath. He looked pale, but his eyes were clear.
He noticed I was staring at his shoulder.
"It's already healing," he said. "I told you. It takes more than one arrow to kill me."
I frowned. "That's not funny."
"I wasn't joking."
He walked further into the room, then stopped a few steps away from me. Not too close. Not too far.
As if there was an invisible line between us.
His eyes moved to my hand.
"The mark appeared faster than I expected," he said quietly.
"You said you were going to teach me," I replied. "I'm ready."
Lucas looked at me for a long moment, like he was trying to read something on my face.
"Do you even know what you're asking?" he said.
"No," I answered honestly. "But I know that if I don't learn, I'm going to die."
Silence.
He nodded once. Slowly.
"Fair enough."
He pulled the chair and sat in front of me, our knees almost touching. I could hear the quiet sound of his breathing. Slow. Controlled.
"Blood Guardian power is not physical," he said. "You don't use your hands. You don't use your strength."
"Then what do I use?" I asked.
"Your will," he said. "Your mind."
He leaned slightly forward.
"And your blood."
I felt a chill run down my spine.
"That doesn't sound very safe."
"It isn't," he said calmly.
Then he extended his hand toward me, palm up.
"Take my hand."
I hesitated.
"Are you sure?"
"No," he said. "But we don't have time to be sure."
I slowly placed my hand in his.
The moment our skin touched, I felt something strange.
Not heat.
Not cold.
Something else.
Like a vibration under the skin. Like a current of electricity moving slowly from his hand to mine.
I tried to pull back slightly, but Lucas closed his fingers around my hand.
"Don't move," he said quietly. "Focus."
"On what?"
"On me."
His voice was lower now. Slower. Like he was guiding me somewhere I couldn't see.
"Close your eyes," he said.
I did.
"Listen to my voice," he continued. "And try to feel where I am. Not my hand. Me."
I frowned slightly. "I don't understand."
"You will," he said. "Stop thinking. Just feel."
Feel.
I focused on the place where our hands were touching.
At first, there was nothing.
Then… slowly…
I felt something.
A rhythm.
A pulse.
But it wasn't mine.
It was slower than a human heartbeat.
Much slower.
"Lucas…" I whispered. "I can feel your heartbeat."
"That's not my heartbeat," he said quietly. "Vampires don't have normal heartbeats."
I swallowed.
"Then what is it?"
"That," he said, "is what keeps us alive."
The pulse under my fingers felt strange. Deep. Heavy. Like something sleeping under the ground.
"Now," Lucas said softly, "try to push."
"Push what?"
"Your will," he said. "Imagine you are giving an order. Not asking. Ordering."
I felt stupid.
This sounded impossible.
But I tried.
I focused on that slow pulse and, in my mind, I said:
Stop.
Nothing happened.
"I told you," I said, opening my eyes. "This is—"
Lucas suddenly inhaled sharply.
His hand tightened around mine.
"Again," he said, his voice lower now.
I looked at him. "What happened?"
"Just do it again," he said.
So I closed my eyes again.
Focused.
The pulse.
That slow, heavy rhythm.
And again, in my mind, I said:
Stop.
This time—
Lucas' hand suddenly trembled.
I opened my eyes immediately.
He was staring at me, completely still. His jaw was tight, like he was resisting something.
"Lucas…?" I whispered.
"Again," he said through his teeth.
"I don't think this is a good idea—"
"Again, Lina."
So I did.
I focused again and pushed harder this time, like he told me. Not asking.
Ordering.
Stop.
Lucas suddenly froze.
Completely.
His body went still. His eyes locked on mine, but he wasn't moving.
Not even breathing.
I felt my heart jump in panic.
"Lucas?" I said. "Lucas, this isn't funny."
He didn't move.
My chest tightened.
"Lucas!"
Nothing.
Fear exploded inside me and I immediately let go of his hand.
"I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it—"
Lucas suddenly moved again and took a deep breath, like someone who had been underwater for too long.
I stared at him, horrified.
"What… what did I just do?"
Lucas looked at me.
There was something new in his eyes now.
Not just curiosity.
Not just interest.
Something darker.
Something like fear.
"You stopped me," he said quietly.
"I what?"
"You stopped my heart," he said. "For three seconds."
The room felt like it suddenly became too small.
Too quiet.
"I didn't mean to," I whispered.
"I know," he said.
And somehow, that was even worse.
He looked at my hand again.
"The problem," Lucas said slowly, "is that you don't know how to control it yet."
I looked at him. "And the bigger problem?"
He held my gaze.
"The bigger problem," he said quietly,"is that you can control me."
And for the first time since I met him…
Lucas looked at me like I was the dangerous one.