SWNOVELXO Chapter 7: Bloodlines
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**Zane POV**
The alarm clock blared like a demonic choir, shredding the fragile peace of dawn. Sona—*Nana*—stirred against my chest, her hair a tangled ink spill across my collarbone. I groaned, slapping the off button with telekinetic precision.
"Why do we have to go to school again?" I muttered into her scalp.
She shifted, glasses askew, voice still thick with sleep. "Because *I'm* the student council president, and *you're*… you."
"Ah yes, my fatal flaw: existing."
The mattress dipped as she sat up, sheets pooling around her waist. My traitorous Six Eyes flickered, catching the faintest shimmer of devil energy beneath her skin—a reminder of last night's confessions. *A Sitri. A devil heiress. And I'm… whatever's left of the Aetherials.*
I rolled out of bed, avoiding her gaze. Petty? Maybe. But after centuries of hiding my race, vulnerability felt like walking naked through hell.
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**Kitchen Confrontation**
Eggs sizzled as Sona hovered in the doorway. "Zane—"
"Breakfast's ready," I interrupted, plating tamagoyaki with unnecessary force.
"You're avoiding me."
"Am I?" I teleported past her to the bathroom, leaving behind a wisp of violet smoke.
Her reflection glared in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. "You're being childish."
*Childish. Right.* I spat toothpaste, meeting her stare. "You wanna know why I'm 'avoiding' you? Because I told you *everything*. My people's extinction. The Vatican's hunt. How my eyes *hunger* to unravel magic—*your* magic. And you just…" I gestured vaguely. "*Kissed* me."
She flinched. Good.
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**Sona Sitri POV**
His anger scalded worse than holy water. Devils don't apologize. We negotiate.
Yet here I stood, straddling his lap in the dining chair like some human soap opera actress. His breath hitched as I crushed my lips to his, all desperation and poorly timed teeth.
*Wrong move.*
He froze. Then—
"Stop." His hands gripped my waist, not pushing away, just… holding. "You don't get to *kiss* this away. Not when your family would slaughter me for existing."
Tears blurred my vision. "I'd burn them first."
"*Why?*" The word cracked. "Why risk your throne for a relic?"
"Because you're *mine*." The possessive snarl shocked us both. "My chaos. My… *Aetherial*."
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**The Unspoken Pact**
We skipped school.
Now he watches me sleep, his cursed left eye pulsing a heart-shaped violet. I pretend not to notice.
"Baby," I mumble into his shirt, "your eye's doing the thing again."
He smirks, tracing my spine. "It's your fault. You broke my mutation."
"Liar."
"True story. Kiss a Sitri, corrupt your DNA." His fingers still. "They'll come for us, y'know."
I press closer. "Let them."
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