THE CREST
1273 Words
The scream woke me.
I sat upright in bed, gasping for air.
Darkness surrounded me.
For a second, I didn't know where I was.
Then reality crashed back.
The palace.
The contract.
Lucien Draven.
And the thing beneath the palace.
My hand flew to my wrist.
The crest was still there.
Black.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
It curled around my skin like living ink, glowing faintly beneath the moonlight pouring through the tall windows.
I hadn't imagined it.
None of it.
The roar.
The shaking floor.
The voice that had whispered my name.
Aria.
A chill crawled down my spine.
Someone knocked.
Three sharp knocks.
I jumped.
The door opened before I could answer.
A maid entered.
She couldn't have been older than twenty.
"Good morning, Lady Aria."
Lady Aria.
The title sounded strange.
Wrong.
"I need to go home."
The maid lowered her eyes.
"I'm afraid that isn't possible."
Of course it wasn't.
I laughed bitterly.
The sound echoed through the enormous room.
The maid looked uncomfortable.
Good.
I was uncomfortable too.
She placed several dresses on the bed.
"His Highness requests your presence at breakfast."
"Tell His Highness to go to hell."
The maid froze.
Her face turned white.
Apparently nobody spoke about the Vampire Prince like that.
Interesting.
After several awkward seconds, she hurried from the room.
I sighed.
Then looked around.
The room itself was ridiculous.
The bed was bigger than my family's entire living room.
Black silk curtains hung from the ceiling.
Ancient paintings lined the walls.
Everything screamed wealth.
Power.
Control.
Yet somehow the room felt empty.
Cold.
Like nobody had ever truly lived here.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror.
The girl staring back looked exhausted.
Dark circles under her eyes.
Pale skin.
Fear she couldn't hide.
But there was something else too.
The crest.
Even through my sleeve, I could feel it burning.
Waiting.
Watching.
Almost alive.
A sudden knock interrupted my thoughts.
"Enter."
The door opened.
Lucien stepped inside.
My heart immediately betrayed me.
Because unfortunately the man was unfairly attractive.
Tall.
Dark hair.
Sharp jaw.
Crimson eyes that looked capable of seeing every secret I possessed.
And somehow he still managed to look dangerous even while standing perfectly still.
His gaze fell to my wrist.
"The crest appeared."
Not a question.
A statement.
"You knew it would."
Silence.
I hated silence.
Especially his.
"You knew."
His eyes met mine.
"Yes."
Anger exploded inside me.
"You could've warned me."
"You would've signed anyway."
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
Because he was right.
My family had no choice.
I hated that he was right.
Lucien walked toward the window.
The morning sunlight touched him.
For a moment he almost looked human.
Almost.
"Tell me what it means."
"No."
I blinked.
"No?"
"No."
I stared at him.
Was he serious?
"You're my husband."
His eyebrow lifted.
"Barely."
My eye twitched.
"I signed your stupid contract."
"You signed a blood contract."
"Same thing."
"It isn't."
His voice became colder.
Darker.
"The difference may save your life."
The room suddenly felt smaller.
The crest burned.
Lucien noticed.
His expression hardened.
"When did it start hurting?"
I frowned.
"What?"
"The crest."
I hesitated.
"Since last night."
His jaw tightened.
That tiny reaction told me more than any answer.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
And he knew it.
A loud bell echoed through the palace.
Lucien turned.
"Come."
"I'm not a dog."
"No."
His crimson eyes met mine.
"You're much more dangerous than a dog."
Then he walked out.
Leaving me frozen.
Dangerous?
What did that even mean?
Breakfast was worse.
Much worse.
The dining hall looked large enough to host an army.
Dozens of nobles sat around a massive table.
The moment I entered, every conversation stopped.
Every eye turned toward me.
Judging.
Measuring.
Waiting.
I suddenly understood what prey felt like.
Lucien sat at the head of the table.
Naturally.
A silver crown rested on his dark hair.
The sight somehow made him even more intimidating.
I took the seat beside him.
The silence continued.
Finally an older noble spoke.
"Your Highness."
His eyes never left me.
"Is she truly the one?"
The room became even quieter.
Lucien calmly sipped his drink.
"Yes."
The old man's face darkened.
Several others exchanged nervous looks.
I noticed.
And they noticed me noticing.
Interesting.
Nobody looked happy.
Not even slightly.
Another noble leaned forward.
"Perhaps another candidate should have been considered."
Lucien's gaze lifted.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly.
"No."
One word.
That was all.
Yet nobody argued.
Not a single person.
Fear.
They were afraid of him.
The realization settled heavily inside my chest.
A prince feared by his own court.
That couldn't be good.
Breakfast continued.
Or at least everyone pretended it did.
Then something strange happened.
A servant carrying wine suddenly stumbled.
The tray crashed.
Glasses shattered.
Red liquid spilled across the floor.
The servant froze.
Terrified.
The entire hall went silent.
Lucien's attention snapped toward the servant's wrist.
A strange symbol glowed beneath the servant's skin.
Black.
Twisted.
Wrong.
Then it vanished.
Just like that.
Gone.
Lucien stood so quickly his chair crashed backward.
The servant screamed.
A shadow moved beneath his skin.
The servant collapsed.
Black smoke exploded from his mouth.
The smoke formed claws.
Eyes.
Teeth.
Something alive.
Something impossible.
And then Lucien ripped it apart with his bare hands.
The creature shrieked.
A horrible sound.
Like metal scraping bone.
The smoke disintegrated.
Silence returned.
The servant lay unconscious.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
My heart pounded violently.
What was that?
Lucien grabbed my arm.
"Come with me."
For once, I didn't argue.
The library contained thousands of books.
Ancient shelves stretched endlessly.
Dust floated through golden sunlight.
For the first time since arriving, I felt slightly calmer.
Books made sense.
Books didn't explode.
Usually.
Lucien walked directly toward a locked section.
Only one shelf stood there.
One.
Compared to thousands.
Interesting.
He unlocked it with a silver key.
Every book inside looked ancient.
Dangerously ancient.
"What are these?"
"Records."
"Of?"
He hesitated.
"Things the kingdom forgot."
Forgot?
Or buried?
There was a difference.
I reached toward one book.
The crest suddenly burned.
Pain shot through my arm.
I gasped.
The book fell from the shelf.
The moment it hit the floor, it opened.
Pages flipped rapidly.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
Then the pages stopped.
A single illustration stared back at us.
My blood turned cold.
It was me.
Not exactly me.
But close enough.
The same face.
The same eyes.
The same dark hair.
A woman wearing a black crown.
Beneath the picture were three words.
THE SHADOW QUEEN.
The room went silent.
"No."
I looked at Lucien.
"This isn't funny."
His expression told me everything.
He wasn't joking.
The crest burned hotter.
The image suddenly moved.
The woman in the drawing smiled.
Then whispered something.
I couldn't hear it.
But somehow I understood.
Run.
The exact same word Lucien had used.
The book slammed shut.
The library shook violently.
Shelves rattled.
Books crashed to the floor.
And somewhere beneath the palace...
Something woke up.
I felt it.
An ancient presence.
Watching.
Waiting.
Hungry.
Then a voice echoed through my mind.
Clear as day.
Not Lucien's.
Not mine.
A stranger's.
A king's.
"She's alive."
I stumbled backward.
The voice laughed.
Cold.
Ancient.
Victorious.
And for the first time, genuine fear appeared in Lucien Draven's eyes.
"What happened?" I whispered.
He looked toward the floor beneath us.
Then he said something that made my blood freeze.
"The seal is weakening."
Before I could ask what that meant.
A deafening roar shook the entire palace.
And this time...
It sounded much closer.
- Writer
