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 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 4: 
After months of running, fighting, and barely surviving, Taryn, Lucien, and Kah’el have found something they never expected—stability. A quiet town. A steady job. A place to rest. But peace is a fragile thing, and none of them know how to live without looking over their shoulders.

Lucien thrives in the chaos of tavern life, slipping effortlessly into his role, as if he was always meant for this world. Taryn, on the other hand, struggles with the illusion of safety, waiting for the inevitable knife in the dark. And Kah’el? He watches them both, steady as ever, knowing that nothing stays easy forever.

But the past doesn’t let go so easily. And no matter how well they play the part, they are still who they have always been—fighters, survivors, something sharp waiting to cut.

For now, they have warmth, stolen moments, and a life they could almost believe in.

But peace is just another kind of lie.

And sooner or later, every lie breaks.

The Fire We Feed

The tavern was full but steady, the kind of night where the noise ran together in a low, constant hum. Voices layered over each other, half-laughed stories, boots scuffing against the floorboards. Someone cursed at a lost dice roll. Someone else cheered as a hand of cards turned in their favor.

Taryn worked the bar without thought, letting the rhythm of it settle under her skin. Wipe, pour, move. Repeat. It should have been easy.

But something felt off. The kind of wrongness that wasn't loud, wasn't obvious—but still crawled under her skin like a warning. It wasn't the noise of the tavern, the way voices overlapped, or the occasional sharp burst of laughter. It was something else. A shift in the air. The kind of stillness that came before movement. Before violence.

Chapter 131 - Some Jobs Just Come Naturally