Claimed by a vampire prince

Chapter 9: The Alpha's Journal (Part 2)

The stone door groaned as it slowly slid open.

A narrow beam of torchlight cut through the darkness, sweeping across the hidden chamber.

I held my breath.

Victor's voice echoed from above.

"I know you're down there."

His footsteps grew closer.

"Come out, Emerald. You don't belong with the vampires."

Lucian silently raised a finger to his lips, signaling me not to make a sound.

I nodded.

Every beat of my heart felt loud enough to give away our hiding place.

The footsteps reached the bottom of the staircase.

One of Victor's warriors stepped into the chamber, his torch held high.

"My Alpha," he called. "The room is empty."

"It can't be," Victor growled. "Search again."

Lucian leaned close to me and whispered, "There's another exit."

I frowned.

"How do you know?"

He pointed toward the far wall.

Half-hidden behind an old bookshelf was a narrow stone archway.

"The air is moving," he murmured. "There must be a passage."

We moved carefully, keeping to the shadows.

Every step had to be silent.

Behind us, the warriors continued searching the chamber.

One of them reached the stone table where the journal had been.

"My Alpha!"

Victor hurried over.

"The journal..."

His face lost all color.

"It's gone."

The room fell deathly silent.

Victor slammed his fist onto the table.

"No!"

His furious roar echoed through the chamber.

"They found it before us."

A cold smile slowly appeared on his face.

"So..."

He looked toward the dark tunnel.

"They're still inside."

Lucian's expression hardened.

"We need to move."

We slipped through the narrow archway just as Victor ordered his men to split up.

The passage was much smaller than the chamber behind us.

The walls were damp, and the ceiling was so low that Lucian had to duck his head.

I clutched the journal tightly against my chest.

"Lucian..."

"What is it?"

"I think my father wanted us to find this."

He looked at me.

"I think so too."

The tunnel stretched on for several minutes before ending at another heavy stone door.

Lucian pushed against it.

At first, it didn't move.

Then, with a loud scrape, it slowly opened.

Fresh night air rushed inside.

We stepped out into the forest behind the Blue Moon Manor.

Moonlight poured through the trees.

For the first time since entering the hidden chamber, I breathed freely.

"We made it," I whispered.

Lucian looked back toward the manor.

"Not yet."

Smoke suddenly rose into the night sky.

My eyes widened.

"The manor..."

Flames burst from one of the upper windows.

Within seconds, more fires spread across the roof.

"No..."

I stared in horror.

"They're burning it."

Lucian's jaw tightened.

"Victor."

"He wants to destroy every piece of evidence your father left behind."

Tears filled my eyes.

"My childhood..."

"My parents' home..."

Everything was disappearing before my eyes.

Lucian gently rested a hand on my shoulder.

"We still have the journal."

"They can burn the building..."

He looked at the book in my arms.

"But they can't burn the truth."

His words gave me strength.

I nodded, wiping away my tears.

"We'll expose him."

Before Lucian could answer, a black raven landed on a nearby tree branch.

Its eyes glowed an unnatural silver.

The bird stared directly at us.

Lucian immediately stepped in front of me.

"This isn't an ordinary raven."

The bird let out a sharp cry before taking flight again.

It disappeared into the darkness.

Somewhere far away...

Inside a hidden fortress...

The hooded man slowly opened his eyes.

"So..."

He smiled as though he had been expecting this all along.

"They escaped."

Victor knelt before him.

"My Master... forgive me."

The hooded figure waved a hand dismissively.

"There is nothing to forgive."

His silver eyes gleamed in the candlelight.

"The game has only just begun."

He stood and walked toward a massive map hanging on the wall.

His finger rested on one location.

The Vampire Kingdom.

"Let them keep the journal."

He smiled.

"It contains only half of the truth."

He looked out into the endless darkness beyond the fortress.

"The other half..."

He whispered with quiet satisfaction.

"...has been waiting for Emerald all along."

Far away, I held the journal tightly against my chest, unaware that our journey had just entered its most dangerous chapter.

The answers I had searched for my entire life were finally within reach.

But every answer would come with a price.