Of Blood And Lies

{ Avina } There is a dark estate that sits behind stone walls. Inside is a tempest that rules and defies all. Be afraid...Obey...and bow to the Blood King. The alarm shrieked through my bedroom at 6:00 AM—not my usual wake-up call, but the piercing wail of the shop's security system cutting through the darkness was like a blade. I bolted upright, heart already hammering. For a moment my sleepy mind couldn't tell if it was real or not, still distracted by the dream I was having. As the shriek continued though, reality kicked in, causing me to fumble for my phone on the nightstand. The screen's harsh light burned my eyes as I squinted at the notification: MOTION DETECTED - FRONT ENTRANCE GLASS BREAK SENSOR TRIGGERED Someone was in my shop. "Shit." The word tore from my throat as I threw off the covers and lunged for my clothes. My parents' voices drifted from down the hall—groggy, confused questions I didn't have time to answer. I yanked on jeans, grabbed the first shirt my hands found, shoved my feet into boots without bothering to tie them. "Avina? What's happening?" My mother appeared in the doorway, her instincts already sensing danger. "The shop. Someone broke in." I snatched my keys from the dresser, my jacket from the chair. "I'm going." "Wait, don't be ra—" "No time." I was already moving, taking the stairs two at a time. My father's voice joined in as he appeared behind my mother behind me, calling for me to stop, to wait, to be careful. But the shop was everything. And someone was violating it. The night air hit me like a slap as I burst through the front door. My car sat in the driveway, and I was behind the wheel before my conscious mind caught up with my body. Engine roaring to life. Headlights cutting through the darkness. Gravel spraying as I peeled out onto the empty road. The streets were dead at this hour—no traffic, no witnesses, just me and the predawn darkness and the fury burning in my chest. My hands gripped the steering wheel hard enough to make my knuckles ache. The speedometer climbed. Thirty. Forty. Fifty on roads meant for forty-five. Who the hell breaks into a shop in Blood King territory? Someone desperate. Someone stupid. Someone who thought a woman running a modest store would be an easy target. They were about to learn otherwise. My brother's voice echoed in my memory—Jace, teaching me to assess threats, to think tactically even when adrenaline screamed at me to just react. "Never go in blind, Vi. Always know what you're walking into. Always have an exit." The memory rose so vividly it stole me from the present. Sunlight filtered through the towering pines as I studied the deep impressions pressed into the damp earth. I couldn't have been older than ten, and the excitement buzzing through me made it impossible to stand still. Fresh tracks. Finally. Dad had trusted Jace and me to scout ahead for the first time, and I was determined to prove I was ready. "I found them!" I called over my shoulder, already taking another step. When neither of them answered, I frowned and glanced back. Jace and Dad hadn't moved. They stood several yards behind me, arms crossed almost identically, watching with the same maddening patience they always seemed to have during training. "What?" I asked, throwing my hands into the air. "They're right here." Jace tilted his head. "How many?" I looked down again, confused by the question. "One set." "Are you sure?" I sighed dramatically before crouching, determined to prove him wrong. The hoofprints were obvious, pressed neatly into the soft ground after last night's rain. They led deeper into the forest in a straight line. "Still one." Jace exchanged a glance with Dad before walking over. Instead of pointing at the trail, he folded his arms and looked out into the trees. "What are you looking at?" I asked. "You." "I know what deer tracks look like." "I know." His answer only made me more frustrated. "Then why are we standing here?" Dad finally stepped beside us, kneeling until he could study the tracks himself. He didn't look at them for long before his gaze drifted to the surrounding woods. "What do you hear?" he asked. I blinked. "...Birds?" "What else?" "The wind." "And?" I opened my mouth, only to close it again. I hadn't noticed anything beyond the tracks beneath my boots. Dad gave a small nod toward the trees. "Stand up." Confused, I did. The forest looked completely different from up there. A snapped sapling leaned at an odd angle. Several low branches still swayed as though something large had brushed past them recently. The grass farther ahead had been flattened in places I hadn't even noticed while staring at the ground. My eyes slowly widened. "There..." I whispered. "There's another trail." Jace smiled but said nothing. Dad gestured toward the mud again. "Now, count again." This time I counted carefully. "One..." I shifted slightly. "...two..." A little farther back... "Three." Jace pointed at the dirt. "And these?" I frowned. "They're..." My eyes followed the faint outline. "Boot prints." Dad nodded once. "Hours old." "There were hunters here," I murmured. "There were," Dad confirmed. "They scared the deer." "They did." Realization settled over me as all the scattered pieces finally came together. Had I followed the freshest tracks without stopping to think, I would've chased an animal that had already changed direction hours ago. Worse, I would've walked straight into unfamiliar territory, into possible danger, without noticing first. Dad rested a hand lightly on my shoulder. "The moment you focus on one thing, Avina..." "...you stop seeing everything else," I finished softly. His smile was small, but genuine. "Exactly." Jace reached over and gave my forehead a familiar poke. "And don't forget. Never go in blind, Vi. Always know what you're walking into. Always have an exit. And also...congratulations." I rubbed the spot, glaring at him. "For what?" "You've officially graduated from chasing the obvious." I narrowed my eyes. "I hate when you do that." "The forehead poke?" "The speeches." He laughed. "No, you hate being wrong." "I do not." "You do." "I don't." Dad chuckled as he stood, dusting the dirt from his hands. "If you're done arguing..." Jace grinned, already turning toward the trees. "Ladies first." "Oh, now you're asking to lose." I shoved his shoulder as I brushed past him. He laughed the entire time, effortlessly matching my pace. "Remember, Vi," he called after me, his voice carrying through the woods. "Slow down. Assess. The world is always telling you what's happening. Most people just stop looking too soon." The memory faded as quickly as it had come. The capital's streets blurred past. Empty storefronts. Darkened windows. The occasional stray slinking through shadows. In the distance, barely visible against the dawn, the royal estate loomed—iron gates and stone walls and secrets where our king lived...the Blood King. That inexplicable pull tugged at my chest even now, even with fury and fear flooding my system. My instincts stirred restlessly beneath my skin, responding to something I couldn't name. I shoved the feeling down. Not now. Not when someone was tearing apart everything my family had built. The shop came into view three blocks out. My headlights caught the damage immediately—the front window, shattered. Glass glittering on the sidewalk like scattered diamonds.