Tribrid secret

Shadows and firelight

CHAPTER ONE: Shadows in the Firelight

(First-person narration — Lyra’s point of view)

The rain outside sounded like a thousand tiny fists punching at the roof. I sat cross-legged on the floor, watching the candle flames bend and flicker as Aunt Elara chanted something low under her breath.

Every time she did one of her protection rituals, the whole cottage smelled like burnt herbs and rainwater. Normally, it was kind of peaceful — but tonight felt wrong. The air was too still. The shadows too dark.

“Hold the bowl steady, Lyra,” she whispered. Her voice had that calm, tone she used when she didn’t want me to know she was nervous.

I gripped the silver bowl between my palms. The water inside rippled even though I hadn’t moved.

“Good. Now say it with me.”

I repeated the words after her, the old witch language curling on my tongue like smoke. The candles flared brighter. The shadows stretched. And then—

Boom.

One of the candles exploded.

I yelped and dropped the bowl. Water splashed across the wooden floor, steam rising where it touched the circle of salt. Aunt Elara cursed under her breath and waved her hand. The flames snuffed out.

For a second, the only light came from the fireplace — and in that orange glow, something moved behind me.

A shape.

Tall. Thin. Wrong.

My heartbeat stuttered. I turned slowly, but there was nothing there. Just the fire crackling and the old books on the shelf.

“Elara?” I whispered.

She was already standing, her face pale. “Did you see it?”

“I don’t know. I think so. It looked like—”

“Nothing.” She cut me off fast. “You saw nothing, Lyra.”

Her voice shook slightly, and that was the scariest part. My aunt never got scared.

She grabbed the spellbook and slammed it shut. “Go upstairs. Now.”

I wanted to argue, but something in her eyes told me not to. So I went — my heart thumping, the smell of burnt wax still in the air.I could still hear Aunt Elara pacing downstairs long after she told me to go to bed. Every now and then, her voice drifted up — a whisper of words I didn’t understand, maybe another spell, or maybe her trying to calm herself down.

I curled up on my bed, staring at the wooden ceiling. My room smelled faintly of sage and smoke. Every time lightning flashed, my reflection in the mirror looked… wrong. Like my eyes were glowing for a second longer than they should.

I told myself it was just the storm. Just light tricks. Just nerves.

Except my wrist wouldn’t stop burning.

When I pulled my sleeve back, I saw it — a faint mark, shaped like a ring of fire or maybe a symbol. It glowed dull red for half a second before fading again.

“What the hell…” I exclaimed

The mark pulsed once, like it had a heartbeat of its own.

Before I could think, I heard something outside. A sound — soft, like someone whispering my name through the rain.

Lyra…

I froze. My heart dropped to my stomach.

The window was half open. I swore I’d closed it before bed.

When I got up to shut it, the wind pushed against me, icy and sharp. Trees swayed in the distance, but between them—

I saw it.

Black smoke.

Moving like it was alive.

It wasn’t fog — it had shape. Shoulders. Hands. A face I could barely make out, flickering like a bad reflection.

I stumbled back from the window, gripping the curtains. The thing tilted its head, almost curious. Then the whisper came again, but closer.

“Three bloods. One soul. The seal will break.”

I slammed the window shut. My breath fogged the glass.

When I looked again, the smoke was gone.

But someone else was standing there.

A boy — or at least, he looked like one.

Tall, pale skin glowing faintly under the lightning. Dark coat.

He was just staring at me, rain running down his face, completely unbothered by the storm.

My chest tightened. “Who are you?” I managed to whisper.

He tilted his head slightly, and for a second, his lips almost curved into a smirk.

Then his voice — low, calm, and rough around the edges — cut through the thunder.

“You shouldn’t be out here, little witch. Things are hunting tonight.”

Before I could blink, he was gone. Vanished.

All that remained was a black rose pressed against the outside of my window, perfectly dry despite the rain.I didn’t even think. I ran.

By the time I reached the stairs, my hands were shaking so hard I could barely hold the railing. Aunt Elara was still awake, sitting by the dying fire with that same old mug of herbal tea she drank whenever she was pretending not to be worried.

“Aunt Elara,” I blurted out. “There was something,someone outside.”

Her head snapped up. “Describe it.”

“Smoke at first. Then a boy. Pale, tall, red eyes. He said I shouldn’t be out here.”

For a moment she didn’t move. Then she stood so quickly the chair scraped the floor. “You’re sure about the eyes?”

I nodded.

Elara pressed her lips together. “Vampire,” she muttered, almost to herself. “He shouldn’t be anywhere near this house.”

“I didn’t invite him in,” I said automatically, because that’s what you say in every vampire story ever. My voice came out shaky, half trying to joke, half trying not to cry. “He just appeared. Then vanished.”

Her face softened for a heartbeat before the worry came back stronger. “Did he touch you?”

“No.”

“Good. Then maybe—” She stopped mid sentence and looked toward the window as thunder rolled. “Lyra, listen to me. If you ever see that boy again, you turn and run. You don’t talk to him, you don’t look into his eyes, you don’t even think about him.”

“That’s impossible,” I said before I could stop myself. “He literally appeared out of smoke.”

“That’s exactly why you stay away.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

I’d never heard Aunt Elara sound scared before. Strict, yes. Angry, definitely. But never scared.

“What’s happening?” I asked quietly. “Why did that spell go wrong? And what was that…thing in the firelight?”

Elara turned toward the hearth. The flames had gone almost blue. “There are old powers waking up again,” she said finally. “Things that should have stayed buried.”

“Demons?” The word felt heavy, like saying it might summon one.

Her silence was my answer.

A gust of wind hit the house so hard the windows rattled. The fire went out, leaving only smoke curling up the chimney.

Then, from somewhere deep in the woods, came a sound that didn’t belong to any animal I knew.

A scream—high and twisted, like metal tearing.

Elara grabbed my arm. Her nails dug into my skin just a little too hard. “Go upstairs. Don’t look out the window this time.”

“But—”

“Now, Lyra!”

I obeyed.

When I reached my room again, the mark on my wrist was glowing faintly through my sleeve. Outside, lightning flashed, and for half a heartbeat, I thought I saw him again—the boy with the red eyes—standing at the edge of the trees.

This time, he wasn’t looking at me.

He was staring into the forest, where the scream had come from, his expression unreadable. Then he looked up toward my window, his gaze meeting mine across the distance.

He raised a hand—slow, almost like a warning—and mouthed a single word I couldn’t hear.

Then he was gone again.

I sank onto my bed, heart hammering, trying to decide if I was supposed to be terrified or thankful.

Somewhere downstairs, Aunt Elara began whispering another spell.

And outside, the storm kept raging, like the world itself was trying to wash something dark off its skin.