MARK OF THE SHADOWS
551 Words
Elara’s body felt foreign, like she no longer fit inside her own skin. The remnants of Selene’s presence clung to her like frostbite, a cold whisper beneath her ribs.
Tristan was speaking, his grip firm on her shoulders, but his words felt distant—muffled, like they were underwater.
“Elara, stay with me,” he said.
She blinked, forcing herself to focus on him. “She’s coming.”
Tristan’s jaw tightened. “How?”
Elara swallowed hard. “I don’t know. But she’s not just a voice in my head anymore. I felt her.” She lifted her trembling hands, staring at them. “She was there. I was there.”
Tristan cursed under his breath. He stood abruptly, pacing.
Elara pushed herself upright, ignoring the way her limbs shook. “You knew,” she accused. “You knew there was more to this.”
Tristan turned, his expression unreadable. “I suspected.”
“Suspected what?”
His gaze met hers, dark and unwavering. “That you weren’t just turning into a vampire.”
The words hung in the air like a noose.
Elara’s pulse roared in her ears. “What the hell does that mean?”
Tristan hesitated. “Selene wasn’t just any vampire, Elara. She was the first.”
Elara’s breath hitched.
“The First?”
Tristan nodded. “The one who started it all. The origin of our kind. But she didn’t just drink blood—she wielded shadows. Controlled them.”
Elara shivered, remembering the way darkness had swallowed her in that in-between place.
“She was killed,” Tristan continued. “Or at least, that’s what we believed.”
Elara felt the unspoken until now linger in the silence between them.
Her fingers dug into her arms. “What does this have to do with me?”
Tristan’s gaze darkened. “I think… she’s using you to come back.”
The room swayed.
“No,” Elara whispered.
His silence was the worst confirmation of all.
“No.” She shot to her feet. “That’s not possible. I’m not—I can’t be—”
Tristan’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrist.
“Elara.” His voice was softer now. Steady. “I know this isn’t fair. But you need to understand what’s happening before it’s too late.”
Her breath came fast and ragged. “How do we stop it?”
Tristan hesitated.
Elara’s stomach twisted. “Tristan.”
His expression hardened. “If Selene is truly inside you… there may not be a way to stop it.”
Cold horror crashed over her.
“No.” She shook her head. “There has to be a way. There has to be.*”
Tristan’s grip tightened. “We’ll find one,” he said.
But there was something in his eyes—something cautious. Like he wasn’t entirely sure.
Elara exhaled shakily, trying to push down the rising panic.
Three weeks.
That was all the time she had left before she turned.
Before she lost herself.
And now, she wasn’t just fighting to stay human—
She was fighting to stop Selene from taking over her body entirely.
She wasn’t just becoming a vampire.
She was becoming a monster.
And if she didn’t stop it—
Everyone she loved would pay the price.
- Writer
