The ripple traveled farther than any mortal eye could see.
Across mountains, through forests, beneath rivers blackened by time — it carried the echo of a soul torn from its vessel. Katherine’s death had not been an ending. It was a signal.
And the world heard it.
The Vampires – The Crimson Court
Far to the north, within a cathedral carved from onyx and bone, the air shimmered with whispers. Rows of pale faces turned toward the throne at the center — a seat draped in crimson silk, where the queen of the Crimson Court sat, her hands folded like blades.
Queen Amara Valenor.
Eternal. Merciless. Bored of peace.
The candlelight flickered in her dark eyes as one of her courtiers — a lithe vampire with silver hair and a nervous twitch — knelt before her.
“My queen,” he said, bowing low. “T
