Chapter 9 — The King's Choice
1658 Words
The word remained between them.
King.
Serena stared at Dante, unable to decide whether she wanted to laugh, argue, or run.
Instead, she looked at the silver crown glowing on her palm.
It pulsed once.
Then again.
Dante's eyes never left it.
"So that's it?" Serena finally asked. "The Blood Pact just decided you're the king?"
Dante's expression remained controlled.
"It appears that way."
"Appears?"
"I don't know everything about the pact."
"You're supposed to be the heir to the family that has protected it for generations."
"I said I don't know everything."
Serena looked away.
That answer should have made her feel better.
It didn't.
She had spent days surrounded by people who seemed to know things she didn't. Every conversation led to another secret, every answer opened another question.
Now the ancient pact had apparently chosen Dante.
And she had no idea what that meant for her.
"Does this change anything?" she asked.
Dante was silent.
"Answer me."
"Yes."
Her stomach tightened.
"What?"
"It means the bond between us may become stronger."
Serena folded her arms.
"I don't want a bond."
"Neither do I."
"Good."
"But wanting something doesn't always make it disappear."
She glared at him.
"That's becoming your favorite sentence."
"Because it's true."
Serena looked at the glowing crown again.
"What happens next?"
"We find your mother."
"And then?"
"We find Lucian."
"And the Bloodstone?"
"We find that too."
Serena nodded.
"Fine."
Dante frowned.
"Fine?"
"I'm coming."
"No."
She stared at him.
"Excuse me?"
"You stay here."
"I'm not staying in this house while my mother might be in danger."
"It's too dangerous."
"Everything is dangerous."
"Serena—"
"You said I needed to learn to control my powers."
"Yes."
"Then let me learn."
Dante studied her.
"You could get hurt."
"So could you."
"That's different."
"How?"
"I'm trained for this."
Serena stepped closer.
"And I'm learning."
Dante's expression softened for a fraction of a second.
Then he looked away.
"You're impossible."
"So I've been told."
For the first time that night, a faint smile touched his lips.
"Get some sleep."
"Are we leaving tomorrow?"
"At dawn."
Serena nodded.
"Then I'll be ready."
Dante turned toward the door.
"Dante."
He stopped.
"Thank you."
He looked back.
"For what?"
"For not treating me like I'm completely helpless."
His eyes held hers.
"You're not."
Then he left.
Serena stood alone in the room.
She looked at her palm.
The crown was still there.
But now there was something else.
A thin silver line extended from the crown toward the original symbol.
The two markings had joined.
She touched them carefully.
A strange warmth moved through her.
For the first time, she didn't feel afraid.
She felt powerful.
And that frightened her even more.
---
At five the next morning, Serena was already awake.
The house was quiet.
She dressed quickly and went downstairs.
Dante was waiting in the main hall.
He looked as though he hadn't slept.
"You're early."
"So are you."
"I didn't sleep."
"Neither did I."
He looked at her.
"Why?"
Serena hesitated.
"I kept thinking about the crown."
Dante nodded.
"I did too."
Before Serena could answer, Adrian appeared.
"We have a problem."
Dante immediately turned.
"What?"
Adrian held up a phone.
"The number that contacted Serena last night has been traced."
Serena's heart jumped.
"To my mother?"
"Not exactly."
"Then where?"
Adrian looked at Dante.
"A private hospital."
Serena's face went pale.
"Why would my mother be in a hospital?"
"We don't know."
"Then let's go."
Dante nodded.
"Get the cars."
---
The hospital was located on the other side of the city.
It was a private facility hidden behind a large security gate.
Dante's men checked the area before allowing Serena and the others inside.
The moment Serena entered the building, something felt wrong.
Too quiet.
Too empty.
She looked around.
"Where is everyone?"
Adrian checked the security desk.
"No staff."
Serena frowned.
"This is a hospital."
"I know."
Dante's expression hardened.
"Stay close."
They moved down the corridor.
Room after room stood empty.
Then Serena stopped.
Her palm burned.
"Dante."
He turned.
She pointed toward a closed door.
"She's there."
"How do you know?"
"I can feel it."
Dante opened the door.
The room was empty.
Serena's heart sank.
Then she saw something on the bed.
A photograph.
She picked it up.
Her mother.
Alive.
Sitting in a chair.
And beside her stood Lucian Vastro.
Serena's fingers tightened around the photograph.
A note had been placed underneath it.
**You are looking in the wrong place.**
Dante read it.
"He's playing with us."
Serena turned the photograph over.
There was an address written on the back.
Her father's old house.
Serena froze.
"My father's house."
Dante looked at her.
"What?"
"He owned a house outside the city."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't know it mattered."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Then that's where we'll go."
Dante nodded.
But before they could leave, every light in the hospital suddenly went out.
Serena froze.
"Dante?"
"I'm here."
A noise came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Someone was approaching.
Dante pulled Serena behind him.
Adrian raised his weapon.
The footsteps stopped.
Then a voice echoed through the darkness.
"Serena."
She recognized it.
Lucian.
Dante's body went rigid.
"Show yourself."
A quiet laugh answered.
"You still think this is about the girl?"
Dante's grip tightened.
"What do you want?"
"The same thing your family has protected for generations."
"The Bloodstone."
"Not exactly."
Silence.
Then Lucian spoke again.
"I want what the Bloodstone can unlock."
Serena's heart pounded.
"What does it unlock?"
A pause.
"Your family's memory."
Serena frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"You've already begun seeing the past."
She froze.
Lucian continued.
"You think those visions are memories?"
"They are."
"No."
His voice became colder.
"They are warnings."
A sudden light flickered.
For one second, Serena saw a figure at the end of the corridor.
Then the lights came back.
Nobody was there.
Dante immediately moved forward.
"Stay here."
Serena followed him.
"Dante."
He stopped.
"He's right."
Dante turned.
"About what?"
"My visions."
She looked at her palm.
"They aren't just memories."
"What are they?"
"I think they're showing me something that hasn't happened yet."
Dante stared at her.
"Are you sure?"
"No."
Then Serena closed her eyes.
The crown on her palm began glowing.
Another image appeared.
A large ballroom.
Hundreds of people.
Candles.
Music.
A woman in a white dress.
Blood on the floor.
Serena opened her eyes.
She was breathing heavily.
Dante caught her shoulders.
"What did you see?"
"A ballroom."
"What else?"
"I don't know."
She looked frightened.
"You were there."
Dante's expression changed.
"What was I doing?"
Serena swallowed.
"You were standing beside me."
"Then what?"
"I don't know."
She looked down.
"There was blood."
Dante went silent.
Adrian approached.
"We need to leave."
Dante nodded.
But Serena wasn't listening.
She was still thinking about the vision.
A ballroom.
Dante beside her.
Blood.
And someone screaming.
She didn't know when it would happen.
But she knew one thing.
The Blood Pact wasn't simply showing her the past.
It was showing her the future.
---
They reached her father's old house just before sunset.
The property had been abandoned for years.
Dust covered the windows.
The garden had grown wild.
Serena stood at the gate.
She hadn't been here since she was a child.
"I remember this place."
Dante looked at her.
"You do?"
"Some of it."
She walked forward.
The front door opened with a creak.
Inside, everything looked untouched.
Her father's books were still on the shelves.
His desk remained exactly where it had always been.
Serena walked toward it.
She touched the chair.
A memory flashed.
Her father sitting there.
Smiling.
"You'll understand when you're ready."
Serena pulled her hand away.
Tears filled her eyes.
Dante noticed.
"You okay?"
She nodded.
"Just memories."
He didn't push.
Instead, he stood beside her.
Serena opened one of the desk drawers.
Inside was a small wooden box.
Her name was written on it.
SERENA.
Her hands trembled.
She opened it.
Inside was a letter.
She unfolded it.
The handwriting was her father's.
**My daughter,**
**If you are reading this, then the awakening has begun.**
Serena's breath caught.
She continued.
**I wanted to give you a normal life. I wanted you to grow up without knowing about the families, the pact, or the Bloodstone. But I knew there might come a day when I could no longer protect you.**
Her eyes filled with tears.
**If that day comes, trust no one simply because they claim to love you. Trust the person who gives you a choice.**
Serena stopped.
She looked at Dante.
He was standing a few feet away.
She continued reading.
**The Moretti heir will come for you. He may tell you that the pact has chosen him. He may even believe that protecting you is his duty. But remember this: the bond cannot control your heart.**
Serena's heart pounded.
The final line was written darker than the rest.
**If Dante Moretti ever asks you to choose, make sure you know what he is willing to sacrifice for you.**
Serena slowly lowered the letter.
Dante noticed her expression.
"What did he say?"
She looked at him.
"That I should find out what you're willing to sacrifice."
Dante was quiet.
Then he walked toward her.
"I'd sacrifice everything."
Serena stared at him.
"You don't even know me."
"Maybe not."
His voice was calm.
"But I know what it feels like to lose someone you were supposed to protect."
Serena looked away.
Dante stepped closer.
"I won't let what happened to your father happen to you."
She looked at him again.
"Promise?"
His eyes met hers.
"Promise."
Outside, thunder rolled across the sky.
Serena glanced toward the window.
The moon had begun to change.
The Blood Moon was getting closer.
And somewhere in the darkness, Lucian Vastro was waiting.
Because the next move would not be a warning.
It would be war.
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