Chapter 5: Bloodlines and Lies
1222 Words
"You need to see this," Elyse said, voice tight. Her hands trembled as she unrolled a brittle scroll across the stone table.
I raised a brow. "What is it this time, another death omen?"
She shot me a sharp look. “Don’t joke. This one is real. It’s about you.”
Kade leaned against the doorway, arms folded. “Everything’s always about her lately.”
“Shut up, Kade,” I snapped. “Elyse, go on.”
She pointed to the center of the scroll. The ink shimmered, blood-red even under torchlight. “This was written centuries ago. Hidden in the catacombs of the Moonfall estate. Your grandmother sealed it after the m******e at Hollow Vale.”
I glanced at the symbols. “That’s Old Tongue. I can’t read this.”
“I can.” Elyse hesitated. “It says the child born under the Blood Moon, carrying the blood of both Alpha and Witch, will awaken the sleeping pact... and either end the darkness or bind us to it forever.”
Silence.
Kade pushed off the wall, stepping closer. “Wait. What pact?”
Elyse didn’t look at him. She was staring at me like I’d already made a decision I didn’t understand. “The pact with the ancient vampires. The one that cursed our bloodline. Your mother knew. She died trying to keep it buried.”
I blinked. “You mean the m******e wasn’t about territory?”
“No,” Elyse whispered. “It was about blood. Your blood. The pact can only be activated through Moonfall lineage... and you’re the last.”
Kade swore under his breath. “So all this time—”
“Yes.” Elyse nodded. “It was never about power. It was about awakening what sleeps beneath.”
I backed away. “I’m not cursed. I’m not part of some ancient deal made with monsters.”
“You were born into it whether you like it or not,” Elyse said. “That’s why they forced the contract. You and Kade. Together, you fulfill the clause.”
Kade looked at me like he’d just been sucker-punched. “So the whole marriage was just a setup? A ritual?”
“It’s more than that,” Elyse said. “The contract was binding, yes, but it was also protective. It kept the bloodlines stable. Without the union, the vampires would’ve risen sooner.”
“Great,” I muttered. “So I’m cursed, married to a man I can’t stand, and possibly the key to unleashing a race of bloodsucking nightmares.”
Kade’s jaw flexed. “You forgot to mention you’re also arrogant as hell.”
I turned on him. “And you’re still a cold, sarcastic bastard.”
“Enough,” Elyse snapped. “You two can hate each other later. Right now, we have to figure out how to stop the awakening.”
Kade moved closer to the table, scanning the scroll. “There’s a seal here. A name. Looks like... Lucien.”
Elyse went pale. “Lucien was your uncle, Aria.”
I felt the ground shift under me. “He died during the Red Rebellion.”
“No,” she said slowly. “He disappeared. They never found the body. What if... he’s the one who made the pact?”
I shook my head. “He wouldn’t. He loved our family. He fought for our clan.”
Kade’s voice was cold. “Or he sacrificed them to keep himself alive.”
I lunged at him, fists clenched. “Say that again and I’ll rip out your throat.”
His hand caught mine in midair. “Touch me and I’ll remind you exactly what kind of monster they married you to.”
Elyse slammed her hand on the table. “Enough!”
We froze.
She looked exhausted. “You’re both scared. I get it. But if we don’t work together, none of this matters.”
I pulled my hand back and stepped away. “So what do we do?”
Elyse looked between us. “You go to the prophecy chamber. There’s something there that was hidden by the Elders. Something only you can unlock.”
Kade arched a brow. “Both of us?”
She nodded. “Your bloodlines must merge. It’s the only way to break the seal.”
Kade and I exchanged a glance. We both hated the idea — but we knew there was no choice.
---
The chamber was colder than I remembered. Carved from obsidian, lit only by firestones lining the walls. The air smelled like dust and old magic.
Kade stood beside me, silent.
“Don’t touch anything,” I warned.
“I should be saying that to you,” he muttered.
I moved toward the central pedestal. A silver bowl sat atop it, engraved with our family sigils — the Moonfall crescent and the Blackthorn fang.
There was a blade beside it.
“No way,” I said. “You think it wants blood?”
“That’s usually how these things go,” Kade said. “Ladies first.”
I shot him a glare before slicing my palm. The blood sizzled as it hit the bowl.
Kade followed, more smoothly than I had. The moment his blood joined mine, the pedestal pulsed.
The chamber shook.
A light erupted from the bowl, forming a swirling red symbol in the air.
Words appeared, written in fire.
One must die. One must rise. The pact demands balance.
We stared.
“That’s the second clause,” I whispered.
Kade stepped back. “So it’s true.”
“If we don’t find a way to break this—” I choked on the words.
He was staring at the flames, his voice low. “You know what this means. If one of us wants to save them, the other has to die.”
I turned to him, heart pounding. “No. There has to be another way.”
“Maybe.” He looked down. “But if it comes down to it—”
“Don’t.” I grabbed his wrist. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence?”
For a moment, we stood there, eyes locked. The fire flickered around us, casting gold and crimson shadows across his face. His hand brushed mine — not rough, not forced.
“I’m not ready to lose anyone else,” I whispered.
Kade’s voice was almost tender. “Neither am I.”
Our faces were inches apart. I didn’t know who leaned in first. Maybe both. His breath was warm, and his lips closed.
Then a sound — the soft scrape of boots.
Kade spun, knife drawn. I reached for my blade.
A figure stepped from the shadows.
Cloaked. Masked. Watching us.
“Darian Wolfe,” Kade said, voice like ice.
My blood turned to ice. The Rogue Council’s enforcer. A ghost among assassins.
Darian’s voice was smooth and deep. “You’re both exactly where we need you.”
“Try anything and you die,” Kade growled.
Darian chuckled. “You think I came alone?”
Kade glanced at me, then back at him. “What do you want?”
Darian stepped forward, the fire casting his mask in eerie red. “To remind you of something... The darkness is closer than you think — and it’s coming for us all.”
- Writer
