Arav woke three days later.
His body felt like it had been used as a punching bag by an army of angry shape-shifters. Every muscle ached. His head pounded. And when he opened his eyes, four worried faces stared down at him.
"He's awake!" Priya shouted. "BHAIYA'S AWAKE!"
"Stop yelling," Arav groaned. "Vampire hearing, remember?"
"You've been unconscious for seventy-two hours," Mae Siri said, checking his vitals with a combination of technology and magic. "Your convergence powers completely burned out during the ritual. Your body shut down to recover."
"Kayen?" Arav asked immediately, trying to sit up.
A hand on his chest pushed him gently back down. "Right here."
Kayen appeared in his line of vision—pale, exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes (which vampires shouldn't even get), but alive. The blessed silver wound on his shoulder was bandaged, still healing slowly.
"You look terrible," Arav said.
"You look worse," Kayen countered. "You've been dead to the world for three days. Do you know what that does to a bonded mate? I've been going insane."
Through the bond—fully restored now—Arav felt the echo of Kayen's terror. Three days of silence, of one-sided connection, of not knowing if Arav would wake up.
"I'm sorry," Arav whispered.
"Don't be sorry," Kayen said, his voice cracking. "Just don't ever do that again. Ever. I can't—" he stopped, blood tears forming.
Arav pulled him down into an embrace despite his protesting muscles. "Invincible together, remember? I'm not going anywhere."
"Touching," Jin said from the doorway. "But we have bigger problems. Rome is in chaos. The entire supernatural community felt Drakonus's resurrection. Everyone knows."
"And they know we did it," Preeda added grimly. "We're famous. And not in a good way."
"How not good?" Arav asked.
Mae Siri pulled out her tablet, showing him supernatural news sites:
**"THE FIRST VAMPIRE RETURNS: Convergence Newborn Resurrects Ancient Evil"**
**"Drakonus Lives: Who Are the Vampires Responsible?"**
**"Arav Kumar: Miracle or Menace?"**
"Great," Arav muttered. "I'm supernatural public enemy number one."
"Not number one," Karan corrected, entering with a tray of blood bags. "That honor goes to Drakonus himself. You're more like... number three? Maybe four?"
"So comforting," Arav said dryly.
"There's also this," Priya said, holding up her phone. A video was playing—shaky footage from someone's supernatural social media of Arav in the Vatican, the Crown on his head, power blazing from his body as Drakonus took form.
The view count: 5 million.
"Five MILLION?" Arav's voice cracked. "How is that even—who recorded this?!"
"Security cameras," Mae Siri said. "The Vatican has them everywhere. Someone hacked the footage and leaked it. Now every supernatural being on the planet knows what you look like and what you can do."
"So much for staying under the radar," Som said.
Arav looked at Kayen helplessly. "What do we do?"
"We leave Rome," Kayen said. "Today. Before every power-hungry vampire, witch, and demon in Europe decides to come hunting for you."
"Agreed," Mae Siri said. "I've already booked flights back to Bangkok. We leave in four hours."
"Can he even travel?" Priya asked, gesturing to Arav. "He looks like he's going to pass out again."
"I'm fine," Arav lied, trying to stand. His legs immediately gave out.
Kayen caught him. "You're not fine. But we don't have a choice. It's move now or risk being captured."
"What about the Crown?" Arav asked. "We have it, but now what? Seraphina's debt is paid, but—"
"The Crown is leverage," Mae Siri said. "Every ancient vampire wants it. Including Drakonus. We keep it hidden, we have power. We lose it, we're just targets."
"So we're targets either way," Arav summarized. "Fantastic."
"Welcome to life as a convergence bloodline," Jin said with dark humor. "It's all existential threats and poor life choices from here on out."
---
Four hours later, they were at Rome's airport. Arav, still weak, was being practically carried by Kayen. Priya pushed their luggage cart, trying to look normal despite the supernatural chaos surrounding them.
Going through security was nerve-wracking. The Crown was hidden in Arav's carry-on, wrapped in enchanted cloth that made it invisible to X-rays.
"Anything to declare?" the security officer asked in Italian-accented English.
"Just clothes," Arav lied, his heart pounding.
The bag went through the scanner. The officer frowned at the screen.
Arav held his breath.
"Sir, do you have a laptop in this bag?" the officer asked.
"Oh! Yes," Arav said quickly. "Sorry, forgot to take it out."
He pulled out his actual laptop, and the officer waved him through.
The Crown, literally a foot away, remained invisible.
"Witch magic is amazing," Priya whispered once they were through.
"Remind me to thank Mae Siri properly," Arav agreed, his legs shaking from adrenaline.
On the plane, Arav finally crashed. The moment they were seated, he fell asleep against Kayen's shoulder.
Through the bond, Kayen felt his exhaustion, his relief, his lingering fear.
*We made it,* Kayen thought, knowing Arav couldn't hear him in sleep but thinking it anyway. *We survived the Vatican. We survived Drakonus. We're going home.*
Home. When had Bangkok become home? When had anywhere felt like home besides wherever Arav was?
The plane took off. Rome disappeared below them—the Eternal City, now holding one less ancient artifact and one more terrifying vampire.
Priya leaned over from her seat. "Is he okay?"
"He will be," Kayen said. "He just needs rest. And safety. And about a year without life-threatening supernatural crises."
"You know that's not happening," Priya said.
"I know," Kayen sighed. "But I can hope."
Mid-flight, Arav woke suddenly, gasping. "The Crown—someone's trying to—"
"It's safe," Kayen soothed immediately. "Right here. Mae Siri put additional wards on it. No one can track it."
Arav relaxed slightly, but through the bond, Kayen felt his persistent anxiety.
"What if Drakonus comes sooner than he said?" Arav whispered. "What if he doesn't wait a year? What if—"
"Then we fight," Kayen said simply. "Together. Like always."
"He's the First Vampire, Kayen. He's older than civilization. How do we fight that?"
"I don't know yet," Kayen admitted. "But we have time to figure it out. And we're not alone—we have Mae Siri, Jin, Preeda, Som. Your sister. Karan. Even the Council might help if Drakonus becomes a threat to everyone."
"The same Council that put us on trial?" Arav asked skeptically.
"They're not fans of Drakonus either," Kayen pointed out. "He tried to conquer the vampire world three thousand years ago. That's why he was destroyed the first time. If he's back and building an army, that threatens their power. The enemy of our enemy..."
"Is still probably our enemy," Arav finished. "Just slightly less immediately."
"Exactly."
They landed in Bangkok sixteen hours later—exhausted, paranoid, and grateful to be back in familiar territory.
But as they collected their luggage, Arav's phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number:
*"Congratulations on the successful heist. The Crown suits you. Keep it safe—you'll need it when we meet again. One year, Arav Kumar. I'm counting down. -D"*
Drakonus. Already watching. Already planning.
Arav showed the message to Kayen, whose face went pale.
"He's tracking us," Kayen said. "Even here. Even with Mae Siri's wards."
"Should we run?" Arav asked. "Leave Bangkok? Disappear?"
"And go where?" Kayen asked. "He's had three thousand years to build networks. There's nowhere we can hide that he won't eventually find us."
"So we stay," Arav said. "And we prepare."
"We prepare," Kayen agreed.
Outside the airport, Bangkok's humid air hit them like a wall. But it was familiar. Comforting, even.
Mae Siri was waiting with a van. "Get in. Quickly. We've had supernatural activity around your safehouse—probably scouts for Drakonus. I've arranged a new location."
They piled in. As the van pulled away from the airport, Arav looked back at the terminal—tourists arriving, leaving, unaware of the supernatural war brewing in their city.
"Think we'll ever have a normal life?" Arav asked Kayen quietly.
Kayen laughed—bitter but fond. "We're bonded vampires being hunted by the First Vampire while in possession of the most powerful artifact in supernatural history. Normal left the building the moment you ran into that jungle."
"Right," Arav said. "Stupid question."
"But," Kayen added, threading his fingers through Arav's, "we'll have our life. Whatever that looks like. Together."
"Together," Arav echoed.
Through the bond, they felt each other's determination, love, and desperate hope that "together" would be enough.
One year until Drakonus came for them.
365 days to get stronger, smarter, ready.
The countdown had begun.
**To be continued...**