The Order
1302 Words
Nocturne Kingdom
The Crimson Palace was silent after midnight
Not peacefully silent
The kind of silence that made even ancient vampires listen
Damon Veyre stood before the throne with his hands behind his back, his expression unreadable
His father sat above him
King Lucien Veyre
Queen Seraphine stood beside the throne, her fingers resting lightly against the armrest
Damon looked between them
“You summoned me”
Lucien didn’t answer immediately
Instead, he slid a small black envelope across the arm of his throne
It landed at Damon’s feet
Damon looked down
A silver seal had been pressed into the wax
Three curved lines surrounding a circle
His expression changed
Only slightly
But his mother noticed
“You recognize it,” Seraphine said
“I recognize the symbol”
“From where?”
Damon bent down and picked up the envelope
“An old history book”
Lucien’s eyes narrowed
“Open it”
Damon broke the seal
Inside was a single photograph
A girl
Young
Dark hair
Standing outside a school
Damon stared at her
He didn’t know her
Yet something about the image made the air around him feel strangely cold
“Who is she?”
“We don’t know,” Lucien said
Damon looked up
“You brought me here to tell me you don’t know?”
“She lives in the human world”
“Where?”
Seraphine answered this time
“A town bordering the Vale Forest”
Damon’s gaze returned to the photograph
“Why are we interested in a human girl?”
Lucien’s expression hardened
“Because she has been dreaming”
Damon frowned
“Dreaming?”
“The same dream,” Seraphine said “Every night”
Damon waited
His father leaned forward
“A forest A white eyed creature A vampire”
Damon’s eyes narrowed
“And?”
“The girl has begun asking questions”
“About vampires?”
“No”
Lucien’s voice became quieter
“About something older”
Damon looked at the photograph again
The girl’s face seemed ordinary
Human
Nothing remarkable
“So you want me to watch her”
“No”
Lucien stood
“I want you to find out who she is”
Damon’s eyes lifted
“And if she’s human?”
“Then leave her alone”
“And if she isn’t?”
Silence
Seraphine’s fingers tightened around the throne
Lucien finally said:
“Then you bring her to me”
Damon studied his father
There was something wrong with this
He had been sent after witches, rogue vampires, hunters, and supernatural criminals
But never had his father been this careful
“Why me?”
“Because I trust you”
Damon almost laughed
His father didn’t trust anyone
Not really
“There’s another reason”
Lucien’s expression darkened
“Yes”
Damon waited
Lucien looked directly into his eyes
“If anyone else finds her first, she may not survive”
Damon glanced at the photograph one last time
“Understood”
He turned to leave
“Damon”
He stopped
His mother spoke softly
“Do not taste her blood”
He slowly turned around
Something in her voice made the warning feel far more important than it should have
“Why?”
Seraphine hesitated
“Because we don’t know what it will do”
Damon’s eyes narrowed
His mother had never sounded afraid before
He slipped the photograph into his coat
“Then I’ll make sure I don’t find out”
He walked away
Neither king nor queen noticed the way his fingers tightened around the photograph
He didn’t understand why
But for the first time in centuries
Damon Veyre was curious
⸻
Moonfang Kingdom
Hundreds of miles away, beneath a silver moon, Kael Blackthorn stood inside the Great Hall of Lunaris
The walls were carved from pale stone
Wolf symbols covered the pillars
At the end of the hall sat his father
King Rowan Blackthorn
Queen Isolde stood beside him
Kael had been summoned from training
He was still wearing his black combat clothes
“What happened?”
Rowan stared at him
“We received a report”
Kael waited
“From the eastern border”
His father’s voice was unusually serious
“A human settlement near the Vale Forest has reported strange activity”
Kael raised an eyebrow
“Humans report strange things every day”
“This is different”
Queen Isolde stepped forward
“Someone has been dreaming”
Kael frowned
“Dreaming?”
“The same dream repeatedly”
“What does that have to do with us?”
Rowan looked toward the enormous map hanging behind him
A single location had been marked in red
Vale Forest
Kael’s wolf stirred beneath his skin
He didn’t know why
“Who is the dreamer?”
“We don’t know”
“Then what exactly am I supposed to do?”
“Find her”
Kael stared at his father
“Her?”
“A young woman”
“Human?”
“Probably”
Kael crossed his arms
“Probably?”
Rowan’s expression hardened
“Don’t underestimate her”
“Why?”
His father didn’t answer
Queen Isolde walked toward him
“Her dreams contain images that haven’t appeared in centuries”
Kael frowned
“Like what?”
She hesitated
“A creature with white eyes”
The wolf inside Kael suddenly became restless
He could feel it pacing beneath his skin
His mother noticed
“Kael?”
“I’m fine”
Rowan continued
“There are also reports of a vampire appearing in the dreams”
Kael scoffed
“So the vampires are involved”
“Possibly”
His father’s voice lowered
“And that is why you must find her before they do”
Kael’s jaw tightened
“You want me to bring her here?”
“No”
“Then what?”
“Protect her”
Kael looked surprised
“From the vampires?”
“From everyone”
The words hung in the hall
Kael stared at his father
“Who is she?”
“We don’t know”
“Then how am I supposed to find her?”
Rowan looked toward the moonlit windows
“Your wolf will know”
Kael frowned
“My wolf?”
“When you’re close to her”
Kael almost laughed
“You expect me to find an unknown girl because my wolf has a feeling?”
Queen Isolde gave him a strange look
“Your wolf doesn’t make mistakes”
Kael’s smile disappeared
His mother rarely spoke with certainty
Rowan stepped down from the throne
“Find her”
Kael nodded
“And if the vampires find her first?”
Rowan’s expression became cold
“Don’t let them take her”
Kael turned toward the doors
Then his father called after him
“Kael”
He stopped
“If you encounter the vampire prince…”
Kael glanced back
“Damon Veyre”
His father’s eyes hardened
“Do not trust him”
Kael gave a humorless smile
“I don’t trust vampires”
He walked out
The great doors closed behind him
Kael stepped into the cold night air
Above him, the moon hung enormous over the kingdom
His wolf paced inside him
Restless
Agitated
Almost desperate
Kael frowned
“What is wrong with you?”
The wolf didn’t answer
But deep inside his chest, something pulled toward the distant forest
Toward a girl he had never met
Toward a place he had never been
Toward a secret that neither kingdom wanted him to discover
Kael looked toward the horizon
“Who are you?”
Far away, in a quiet human bedroom, Aria Vale slept peacefully
Unaware that two princes from two ancient kingdoms had just been ordered to find her
And neither of them knew her name
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