JadedButCute

Taryn fights monsters. Lucien is one.

Season 1:
Forced to team up by the very council she’s made to serve, Taryn finds herself trapped with Lucien—a vampire with too many secrets and a smile that makes her blood run hot. In the midst of growing dangers, the two of them must work together to survive. But the closer they get, the harder it becomes to tell where the real threat lies—outside their walls, or between them.

Lucien knows better than to care. He’s spent years perfecting the art of detachment, but something about Taryn makes it impossible to stay indifferent. The fire she carries is fierce, dangerous—and every moment with her only stokes the flames higher.

Bound by circumstance and haunted by shadows neither of them can outrun, Taryn and Lucien are playing a game they can’t afford to lose. The fire between them grows hotter with every step, but giving in might cost them everything.

Some fires are meant to burn. Others consume. This one could destroy them both.

Season 2:
Framed for assassinations they didn’t commit, Taryn and Lucien are thrust into a deadly game where trust is scarce and betrayal lurks in every shadow. As the fragile peace between powerful factions begins to unravel, they must navigate a labyrinth of secrets and lies, uncovering dangerous truths about those who seek to control them.

As tensions rise, their bond is tested in ways neither anticipated, and their personal struggles threaten to fracture their fragile partnership. Against the backdrop of a brewing war, new allies and enemies emerge, challenging their notions of trust and loyalty. As the season hurtles toward its climactic revelations, Taryn and Lucien must decide what they are willing to sacrifice—and who they can rely on—in a world that seeks to tear them apart.

Season 2 is a story of survival, betrayal, and the unyielding strength found in the most unexpected places.

Season 3:
When safety is a fleeting memory and enemies circle ever closer, Taryn, Lucien, and Kah’el find themselves bound by necessity in a secluded forest haven. As mysterious threats prowl the shadows and signs of encroaching danger multiply, the trio works to fortify their defenses while grappling with unspoken tensions and buried truths.

Strange tracks near their clearing suggest a threat greater than any of them anticipated, forcing them into a delicate balance of survival and trust. For Taryn, every decision risks fracturing the fragile alliance that’s formed between them, as the boundaries of loyalty blur and their individual pasts clash with their shared present.

Season 3 is a tense, character-driven exploration of resilience and vulnerability, weaving quiet moments of connection with the ever-looming threat of a deadly unknown. In the end, it’s not only the beasts in the woods that must be faced, but the fears—and desires—they’ve long kept hidden.

The Fire We Feed

The forest was silent, heavy with a stillness that pressed against their senses, amplifying every faint sound. The crackle of the fire seemed louder, its flickering light casting long, jagged shadows that danced uneasily across the trees. The air was heavy with tension, alive and coiling tighter with each passing moment.

Taryn sat closest to the fire, her blade resting across her lap. She adjusted the strap of her bracer with sharp, deliberate movements, her posture tense. Exhaustion weighed on her, but she refused to give it space, burying the ache beneath the rigid set of her shoulders. She didn't speak, her focus turned outward, ears straining for anything beyond the firelight.

Kah'el remained by the perimeter, his blade balanced across his knees, his focus on the dark tree line. Lucien leaned casually against a log, the easy smirk on his face tempered by something sharper—an alertness that belied his relaxed demeanor.

Chapter 95 - A Fragile Perimeter