Bloodlines and Betrayal
388 Words
Aria sat in the rose garden long after midnight, the sealed scroll from the Keeper still clutched in her hand. The moon hung above her like a pale witness, casting silvery light over thorns and petals alike. She hadn’t opened it yet. Not because she didn’t want to know — but because she feared what she’d become once she did.
Every truth she uncovered seemed to lead to a darker one. And now, she was beginning to understand:
She wasn’t the only one with secrets.
Footsteps crunched softly across the gravel path behind her. She turned, half expecting Damien — but it was Helena.
Her cousin.
From the village.
Dressed in black and emerald velvet.
“Helena?” Aria rose quickly, confused. “What are you doing here?”
Helena smirked, stepping closer. “Did you think you were the only Weston with royal blood?”
Aria’s heart sank. “What are you talking about?”
“Our grandmothers were sisters,” Helena said, her voice sharp with resentment. “But yours was chosen by the elders. Yours was the ‘blessed’ one. And when your parents died, you inherited the Flameborn mark.”
“I didn’t ask for any of this—”
“No,” Helena cut her off, “but you got it. And you got him.”
Aria froze. “You knew about Damien?”
“I’ve been in this palace longer than you think,” Helena said, her eyes glinting. “And I’ve seen what happens when vampires fall in love with mortals. They lose control. And they die.”
Aria backed up a step. “You betrayed me.”
Helena smiled, her teeth slightly too sharp in the moonlight. “You were always just a tool. Just like Lysara.”
Aria’s breath caught. “You knew her?”
“I helped destroy her.”
Before Aria could react, Helena reached into her cloak and pulled out a dagger carved from obsidian and bone.
“History is about to repeat itself,” she whispered.
Aria turned and ran, the scroll slipping from her fingers as the first spark of fire ignited in her palms — heat rising from within her like a sleeping storm awakening.
She didn’t understand it.
But it was happening.
The Flameborn was rising.
And betrayal had lit the match.
- Writer
