Lucius's POV

I sped as fast as I could, not stopping until I reached the deserted, mist-heavy plains in the far north of Alaska. I glanced at my watch and pressed a hidden button. A small stone pillar immediately rose from the edge of a nearby rock formation. Rolling up my sleeve, I pressed my star-shaped scar on my arm against the cold stone. A sharp sting pricked my skin, and the stone glowed with a dark, black light.

The thick mist parted, revealing the massive golden gates that led into our hidden city, Nix Borealis.

"Lord Lucius", a guard from the earth-born Cornivus clan said, bowing deeply. Beside him, a massive black panther that reached his waist let out a low growl. "Where are your escorts, sir? These back gates are restricted. They are only supposed to be used by the city guard."

I gave a tight nod. "I understand. I went out to hunt," I replied, showing him my blood-stained palms.

The guard's eyes widened, and he bowed even lower. "My apologies, my Lord. It is not my place to question you. I..."

"It's fine."

"Please, allow me to arrange a ride to your estate."

I nodded. A few minutes later, an official dressed in an emerald-green velvet uniform pulled up in a black Maybach and drove me home.

When we arrived, a line of servants was already waiting outside, bowing as I stepped out of the car.

Finn, my loyal guard, stepped forward quickly.

"My Lord, where have you been? The ritual for your mother's anniversary is about to start." He stopped, his eyes falling on my hands. "You were out hunting? But sir... you never hunt."

I looked at him, my patience wearing thin.

"Finn, am I a prisoner of the Nix Borealis guard now? Do I really need to be interrogated this much?"

Terrified, Finn immediately dropped his head. "I am so sorry, my Lord. Forgive me."

I adjusted my coat and walked straight into the mansion.

I washed the blood from my hands using a golden bowl held out by a terrified maid. Once I was clean, Finn led me down into the ancestral tomb beneath the mansion.

The underground hall was dimly lit by flickering candles. I took my place next to my father, Lord Rhys Valerius. Standing across the circular room were Lady Ava and Lord Orion of the Calidus clan, my maternal uncle, along with our extended family and closest allies.

The room filled with low, slow chants, sending prayers to Hades and Hecate to guard my mother in the land of the dead.

As we stepped out of the tomb at the end of the ceremony, a heavy tug on my shoulder stopped me.

"Where did you go, Lucius? We agreed we were going to the tomb together," my sister, Anya, protested.

I smiled softly and leaned down to touch her cheek. "I'm sorry, my love. I just needed to clear my head"

"Lord Lucius! Hahaha, you are growing more mature by the day," Lord Orion called out, walking toward us alongside my father.

I bowed to him. He was the high lord of the Calidus clan, the vampires who mastered blood magic. "Good evening, Uncle."

"I see you have mastered the art of arriving last to every single event," he said with a broad, booming smile.

I gave him a tight, polite smile.

"Alright, I will leave you two now. I have clan business to take care of. Goodbye, children."

"Goodbye, Uncle Orion," Anya said as he walked away with my father.

Later that evening, the dining room was silent. The only sound was the quiet scraping of silverware against plates.

"You are getting married soon, Lucian," my father said, shattering the quiet.

Marriage? How?

"I don't understand what you mean, Father."

"You are marrying your cousin, Ava," he stated coldly. "I am growing old, and I plan to step down soon. You will be the next Lord of Valerius clan. It is only right that you have a companion by your side to help you rule."

"I don't need help, Father-"

"Enough!" he roared, slamming his hands onto the heavy dining table. "My decision is final. She will be your companion. The priests have already looked into it and said you two are a perfect match."

I clenched my jaw, forcing down the wave of anger burning inside me. Anya stared back and forth between us, frozen and silent.

"Yes, Father," I said finally, cutting through the thick silence.

**************

Silas's POV

Elio, Aurora, and I drove through the pouring rain toward the south of Alaska. We finally pulled over, stepping out into the storm, and headed into the woods, following the tire tracks.

"Are you sure about what you heard?" I asked Elio, keeping my eyes on the muddy ground.

Elio walked right behind me, terrified of what we might find. "I heard her voice, Silas. I know I heard Raya."

"Silas, please just follow the track," Aurora urged from my side. "We don't have time for questions."

We pushed through the dense trees and broke out onto another road. Right there, smashed against a thick tree trunk, was Raya's car.

"No, no, no... please, no," Elio muttered, his voice breaking with tears.

"Raya! Raya!" Aurora called out into the rain.

I rushed forward. The first thing I saw was a vampire pinned to a tree branch with his throat slashed open. Then, I looked down at the mud beside him. My knees instantly gave out, and I collapsed into the dirt.

Raya's body lay in a massive pool of blood.

Her stomach had been ripped open.

"Silas!" Elio called my name, but the words caught in my throat. I couldn't find the voice to answer him. Tears streamed down my face, mixing with the heavy rain drenching us.

"Silas, did you find-Nooooo!" Elio screamed as he caught up to me.

Aurora rushed over and froze, stunned by the horror in front of us.

"Look what they did to her, Aurora," I choked out, staring at the body. "Look what those blood-sucking demons did to Raya."

Elio panicked, looking around the wreck. "Wait... where is Eugene?"

Aurora didn't answer. She just pointed toward the woods, where a pale, lifeless body lay a few yards away.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning split the sky. The bright light caught on a silver object lying right next to Raya's body. It was a metal crest.

I picked it up, the cold iron heavy in my hand. "The vampires did this. They killed her and took her baby."

Aurora quickly took the crest from my hand and slid it into her coat pocket. "We need to go right now. If there are vampires nearby, we're exposed. We have to move!"

I squeezed my hands into tight fists, the rage burning through my grief. "The vampires just drew a battle line between themselves and the witches. I will make sure they pay for this."

Silas POV

We wrapped Raya's body in silence. The drive through the underground tunnels of the Obsidian Meridian felt endless, a dark blur until we finally crossed into Oregon and reached Crater Lake.

In the center of the water sat Wizard Island, an inverted triangle of land that had served as the witches' hidden sanctuary for centuries.

No one spoke a word on the boat ride across. When we reached the entrance of the sanctuary, I stepped forward, traced a rune onto the ancient rock, and watched as the stone doors roared open.

We marched up the floating stairs, heading straight for the inner chambers of the Four Pillars of the Sylvan Covenant.

Aeterna, the High Priestess, was already waiting for us.

I hauled Raya's body onto the stone table in the center of the room and unwrapped the cloth. Aeterna's eyes widened, a rare flash of shock breaking through her usual calm.

"This is what those monsters did to her," I spit out, rage boiling hot and heavy in my chest.

"So much for a century of peace. Those things don't care about treaties."

"Silas, please, stop. You're not helping," Aurora cut in, her voice strained.

Beside her, Elio just stared at the body, his hands visibly shaking.

"Where is her child?" Aeterna asked, her voice quiet.

"They took the baby," Aurora replied, fighting to keep herself from breaking down. "We don't know what they did to it. Those... those things, they tore her apart."

I couldn't stand still. I paced the perimeter of the chamber like a caged animal. "We need to declare war, Aeterna. This is too much. We've looked weak for too long. It's time to fight back."

Aeterna closed her eyes and let out a long, heavy sigh. "We are not declaring war."

"What?" Elio finally spoke up, his voice cracking. "We're just going to let this slide, too?"

I let out a bitter laugh. "Maybe you'll finally act when they serve all our heads on their filthy tables. I didn't realize our leader was this weak."

"Don't say that, Silas," Aurora snapped, before turning back to the priestess. "But Aeterna, we can't ignore this. Look at her. God knows what they're doing to her baby right now. We don't even know if the child is alive, or... or worse."

"That is exactly why we cannot declare war," Aeterna said, standing up and approaching the stone table. "We don't know the state of the child. We can't strike blindly."

She pulled a ceremonial knife from the folds of her robe. With grim efficiency, she removed the placenta from Raya's womb.

"We track the baby first," Aeterna ordered.

"Elio?"

"Yes?"

"Get to work. Try to listen for the child's voice. If you can't hear her, we do it the old way. We'll use this placenta to forge a rune magnet. It will take time, but it will lead us to her."

Aeterna walked over to me, placing a firm hand on my arm. "I know how deeply you cared for her, Silas. But now is not the time for war."

Sister Joan's POV

Two months had passed since Father Patrick brought baby Nova to the monastery.

I watched her now, listening to her soft, gentle coos. She was a beautiful child, blessed with striking hazel-blue eyes. But every time I looked at her, my gaze drifted to the dark, spiraling mark on her neck. I had never seen a birthmark so perfectly formed, or so unsettling.

I was lost in thought, staring at the strange shape, when Nova suddenly let out a piercing shriek.

The sound jolted me back to reality. I rushed over to the cot and lifted her into my arms, rocking her gently. "Shh, shh, it's okay, little one. What's wrong?"

I checked her diaper, but I had just changed it five minutes ago, it was clean. I tried offering her a bottle, but she pushed it away, her tiny face flushed as she kept crying.

Then, she did something strange. She began straining against my grip, her small arms stretching desperately toward the window, as if she were trying to reach out to someone or something, just beyond the glass.

I held her tighter, pacing the room and softly singing a lullaby. It took a long time, but eventually, her body relaxed and she drifted off to sleep.

I laid her back down, my heart still racing. In the two months she had been here, she had never acted like this. I looked back at the dark window, a cold chill settling in my stomach.

What on earth was she trying to reach?

Lucius POV

The priest had chosen the new moon phase for the wedding. I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting my deep violet velvet coat and black trousers, the traditional colors of the Valerius Clan.

"It's time, my Lord," Finn said, breaking the silence.

I nodded, allowing him to escort me down to our family's ancestral hall.

I took my place next to the priest, waiting for Ava. When the doors opened, she walked down the aisle dressed in a rich red velvet gown, the color of her own clan. She was escorted by my uncle, Lord Orion.

"I am proud that it's you, Lucius," Lord Orion whispered, giving me a brief hug as he handed Ava over to me. "Don't make me regret it."

Ava looked beautiful. Her blonde hair was pinned up elegantly, adorned with a crown of thorned roses.

"We are gathered here today to witness the union between two Clans," the priest announced to the crowded room. "Lucius of the Valerius Clan, and Ava of the Calidus Clan. Under the new moon, and under the watchful eye of the underworld, I bless this union. Is there anyone who wishes for these two not to be joined?"

A long silence followed.

The priest took my hands and placed Ava's cold palms into mine. "Ava, daughter of Calidus, I hereby join you to Lucius as his mate and companion. Under this new moon of new beginnings, you leave your clan behind to embrace the House of Valerius. Lucius, I hand her over to you."

The priest stepped forward with a ceremonial knife and a golden cup. He gestured for me to extend my arm, slicing the blade across my skin. My blood dripped steadily into the cup. He handed the chalice to Ava. "His blood now flows in yours."

Then, the priest turned to me. "Lucius of Valerius, you may now mark her to seal this union."

I looked at Ava, bending down and leaning into the crook of her neck. But the moment my fangs pierced her soft skin, a sharp, blinding pain slammed into my chest.

Suddenly, the piercing shriek of a baby echoed inside my head.

The shock made me lose control, biting down on Ava much harder than intended. She gasped out in pain. Gasping for air, I forced myself to pull back, quickly wiping her blood from my mouth as the crowd began to applaud.

They thought the ritual was complete. But looking down at Ava's neck, I knew the truth. Because of the sudden pain, I hadn't been able to inject the venom correctly. The bond hadn't taken place. It was a fake mark.