"A blood pact?" Scarlett repeated. "What does that mean?"
"It's an ancient ritual, rare even among vampires," Lucien explained. "We exchanged blood. The pact allowed me to share part of her strength. I would still age normally, but I gained some of her abilities, and she could sense me—my location, my emotions, even my thoughts sometimes if I let it leak out."
"That sounds... intimate," Scarlett said carefully.
"It was," Lucien admitted. "But a blood pact also comes with risks. It weakens the vampire's natural defenses. Their power is diminished as long as the pact is maintained. For someone of Selena's stature to form such a bond was dangerous—it made her a little bit vulnerable. But she did it anyway."
"Why?" Scarlett asked.
Lucien's gaze softened. "I didn't understand at the time.
