The Vampire Nightmare

Chapter 18

"Grandma!"

I ran toward her without thinking.

She looked exactly as I remembered—her gentle smile, her silver hair neatly tied back, the cardigan she always wore on cool mornings.

Relief flooded my chest.

I threw my arms around her.

But...

I passed straight through her.

I stumbled forward and nearly fell.

My heart skipped a beat.

"What...?"

I spun around.

She was still standing where she'd been, looking at me with tears in her eyes.

"Aria."

"Please come home."

My throat tightened.

"I want to."

"I miss you."

"I don't understand any of this."

She smiled sadly.

"I know."

Aurelia appeared beside me.

"She isn't truly here."

"This is the Crown's memory of her."

"The Second Trial has begun."

I wiped away my tears.

"What do I have to do?"

Aurelia pointed toward the sky.

The peaceful valley had transformed into a vast stone arena surrounded by endless darkness.

At its center stood two ancient doors.

One glowed with warm golden light.

The other pulsed with crimson shadows.

Above the doors, silver letters slowly appeared.

ONE LIFE. ONE CHOICE.

I frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Aurelia's voice was soft.

"Beyond the Golden Door is your human life."

"You'll wake up in your bedroom."

"Your grandmother will be alive."

"Lily will still be your best friend."

"You'll remember none of this."

I stared at the glowing door.

It looked so... inviting.

"So I could go back?"

"Yes."

"And the other door?"

Aurelia looked toward the crimson entrance.

"Beyond it lies Noctis."

"The war."

"The Blood Crown."

"Cassian."

"The destiny you've inherited."

I swallowed hard.

"And if I choose Noctis?"

"You lose your ordinary life forever."

Silence settled over the arena.

I looked from one door to the other.

Then I heard a familiar voice.

"Aria."

Cassian.

His voice echoed from beyond the crimson door.

"I'll find you."

Another voice followed.

Lily.

"Don't leave us."

Then my grandmother.

"I only want you to be happy."

Tears blurred my vision.

"This isn't fair."

"No," Aurelia agreed.

"The Crown never promised fairness."

"It only seeks truth."

I closed my eyes.

My old life.

My family.

My friends.

Everything I had ever known.

Then I remembered the frightened faces in Noctis.

The wounded soldiers.

The innocent children fleeing from dragon fire.

If I walked away...

Who would protect them?

I opened my eyes.

I took one step.

Then another.

Toward the crimson door.

The moment my hand touched it, the golden door shattered into thousands of glowing fragments.

The arena shook.

Aurelia smiled proudly.

"You have chosen duty over comfort."

"The Second Trial is complete."

A brilliant crimson light erupted around me.

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the darkness.

It wasn't part of the trial.

It was real.

"Cassian..."

The desperate cry came from somewhere beyond the arena.

Then another voice thundered across the sky.

It was the First King.

"Aria!"

"You must return now!"

"Darius has found the Crown!"

The crimson door burst open by itself.

A violent wave of darkness rushed toward me.

Aurelia's expression changed instantly.

"Go!"

"What about you?"

"We'll meet again."

She gently placed her hand over my heart.

"Remember..."

"The greatest enemy isn't always the one standing before you."

Before I could ask what she meant, the darkness swallowed everything.

I gasped.

My eyes flew open.

I was back in the Hall of Memories.

The chamber was in ruins.

Memory crystals lay shattered across the floor.

The First King was locked in battle with Darius.

Kael was bleeding from a deep wound across his shoulder.

Seraphine was fighting three Shadow Guards at once.

Cassian...

Cassian was on one knee, struggling to keep the Blood Crown from falling into Darius's outstretched hand.

Then Darius looked up.

Our eyes met.

He smiled.

"You're too late."

His fingers closed around the Blood Crown.

The entire palace shook.