THE TRUTH BENEATH THE SHADOWS
1323 Words
Saturday arrived quietly.
There were no lectures.
No crowded classrooms.
No hurried footsteps through the university corridors.
For Octavia, it should have been the perfect day to enjoy the final moments of her birthday celebration with Lincoln.
But something about the morning felt strange.
She couldn't explain it.
She simply felt... uneasy.
---
Octavia was still inside Lincoln's chambers.
She stood near the enormous window, admiring the kingdom below while Lincoln searched through one of his drawers.
"You've been awake for a while," he said.
Octavia smiled.
"I couldn't sleep."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
She turned toward him.
"I just feel like something is going to happen."
Lincoln's expression changed slightly.
Before he could answer—
Octavia stepped backward.
Her foot caught the edge of the thick carpet.
She slipped.
"Octavia!"
She fell.
Her head struck the sharp edge of a marble table.
THUD.
She gasped.
For a second, everything went silent.
Then a thin line of blood appeared against her temple.
Lincoln froze.
His eyes changed.
The beautiful dark eyes Octavia knew suddenly flashed a terrifying crimson.
His breathing became heavier.
His jaw tightened.
Something sharp pressed against his lips.
Fangs.
For one terrifying second, they were visible.
His hands clenched at his sides.
He turned his face away from her.
"Lincoln?"
He didn't answer.
His entire body was rigid.
The scent of her blood filled the room.
His instincts screamed at him.
But he fought them.
He fought harder than he had ever fought anything.
Octavia slowly pushed herself up.
She looked at him.
She had seen his eyes.
She had seen something...
Something impossible.
But instead of running, she reached toward him.
"Are you okay?"
Lincoln immediately turned back.
His eyes were normal again.
"I'm fine."
His voice was slightly strained.
"Let me get something to clean your wound."
He walked quickly toward a cabinet.
Octavia watched him carefully.
There was something different about him.
Something she couldn't understand.
But she trusted him.
---
Lincoln returned with a clean cloth.
He gently pressed it against the wound.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize."
"I should have been watching you."
Octavia smiled.
"I'm not made of glass."
"I know."
His eyes softened.
"But I still want to protect you."
Her heart fluttered.
He carefully cleaned the blood from her temple.
Then...
He reached into the inner pocket of his coat.
His fingers closed around something he had carried for years.
A necklace.
The same necklace.
The one Octavia had seen countless times in her dreams.
The sapphire-blue stone.
The silver setting.
The ancient design surrounding it.
The very necklace the mysterious man in her dreams always held.
Lincoln extended it toward her.
"I wanted you to have this."
Octavia stared at it.
Her breathing stopped.
She knew it.
She couldn't explain how...
But she knew it.
Her fingers trembled as she touched the pendant.
"This..."
She looked at Lincoln.
"Where did you get this?"
He studied her expression.
"I've had it for a very long time."
Her mind raced.
The forest.
The stranger.
The leather jacket.
The boots.
The necklace.
The symbol.
The voice.
Her dreams.
Could it possibly be—
She stopped herself.
No.
That was impossible.
She smiled weakly.
"It's beautiful."
Lincoln gently placed it around her neck.
"It belongs with you."
Octavia touched the sapphire stone.
She loved it immediately.
She didn't know why.
She only knew that somehow...
It felt familiar.
---
Later that morning, Aurora suddenly appeared.
The moment she saw Octavia, her smile disappeared.
"Octavia..."
"What?"
Aurora stared at her.
"I had another vision."
Octavia's stomach tightened.
"What did you see?"
Aurora hesitated.
"You."
"Something was behind you."
"Something terrible."
Octavia tried to laugh.
"Aurora, it's Saturday. We're going for a walk. That's all."
"I don't think you should go."
Octavia reached for her friend's hand.
"I'll be fine."
Aurora's eyes filled with fear.
"Please."
Octavia hugged her.
"We won't be gone long."
Lincoln watched silently from a short distance away.
Something about Aurora's expression bothered him.
But he didn't understand why.
---
The forest was breathtaking.
Tall ancient trees stretched toward the sky.
Sunlight slipped through the leaves.
Birds sang from hidden branches.
A gentle stream wound through the forest floor.
Octavia walked beside Lincoln.
For the first time that morning, her uneasiness began to fade.
"You were right," she whispered.
"About what?"
"This place is beautiful."
Lincoln smiled.
"I thought you'd like it."
They continued deeper into the forest.
Eventually, Lincoln stopped.
A small white flower grew beside a fallen tree.
He stepped toward it.
"Wait here."
He bent down to pick it.
Octavia smiled.
Then—
A voice whispered through the trees.
"Lin..."
Lincoln froze.
"...coln."
His head snapped toward the sound.
The smile disappeared from his face.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
"Octavia..."
She looked at him.
"What?"
Before he could answer—
Movement exploded from the trees.
Vampires.
Werewolves.
Dozens of them.
They emerged from every direction.
Octavia stepped backward.
One of the vampires suddenly appeared behind her.
An arm wrapped around her neck.
A sharp claw pressed against her throat.
"Don't move."
Lincoln's face went completely still.
"Let her go."
The vampire tightened his grip.
"We were ordered to bring her."
"You will not touch her."
Another vampire stepped forward.
"Your Highness..."
"We know who you are."
The werewolves lowered their heads slightly.
They knew.
They respected him.
They feared him.
But an order was an order.
One of them growled.
"We cannot disobey."
Lincoln's voice became dangerously quiet.
"Then you've chosen death."
The vampire holding Octavia pressed the claw closer.
"One more step..."
"...and she dies."
Octavia's heart pounded.
"Lincoln..."
He looked at her.
And something inside him broke.
His eyes turned crimson.
His fangs descended.
His entire body changed.
The air seemed to tremble around him.
Octavia stared.
"No..."
Lincoln moved.
Too fast for her eyes to follow.
He struck the first vampire across the forest.
Another attacked.
Lincoln caught him by the throat.
A werewolf charged.
Lincoln disappeared—
Then reappeared behind him.
The creature crashed into a tree.
Blood stained the ground.
Octavia stood frozen.
Her hands covered her mouth.
The truth was standing before her.
The man she loved...
Was a vampire.
Her dream flashed through her mind.
The forest.
The stranger.
The blood.
The fighting.
The hidden face.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"No..."
She shook her head.
"That dream..."
"I'm going to die."
Lincoln heard her.
His heart shattered.
"Octavia..."
He turned toward her.
But the remaining creatures attacked together.
He fought like something the forest itself feared.
One by one...
They fell.
The vampires who had once whispered about the Nightfall family now discovered why the name carried fear throughout the supernatural world.
Lincoln didn't hesitate.
He didn't blink.
He simply fought.
For her.
Then—
A strange purple light exploded through the trees.
BOOM!
Lincoln was thrown violently to the ground.
He struggled to rise.
Three witches stepped from the shadows.
Ancient symbols glowed beneath their feet.
One raised her hand.
"Lincoln Nightfall."
Lincoln's eyes widened.
"You..."
The witch's voice was cold.
"You know the rules."
"No human."
Her gaze shifted toward Octavia.
"Unless you want her to join the dead."
Lincoln tried to stand.
The magic forced him back down.
"Don't touch her."
The witch smiled.
"You should have remembered what happens when your kind breaks the oldest law."
A flash of magic filled the forest.
Octavia disappeared.
Lincoln's eyes widened in horror.
"NO!"
He lunged forward.
Too late.
The witches vanished with Octavia.
The remaining vampires and werewolves disappeared with supernatural speed.
Silence returned.
Lincoln remained on his knees.
His hands trembled.
His breathing was ragged.
For the first time in centuries...
The Crown Prince of Nightfall looked completely terrified.
"Octavia..."
His voice broke.
He stared at the empty space where she had been.
Then he screamed her name into the forest.
"OCTAVIA!"
Nothing answered.
Only the wind.
And somewhere far beyond the trees...
She was gone.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD