8
879 Words
The silver runes circled around Evangeline like stars trapped within a storm.
Their light spread across the city skyline, illuminating the darkness beneath the thunderclouds. Below, screams echoed through the streets as vampires everywhere collapsed in agony.
The Elder stared at her in disbelief.
“No one should have survived the seal,” he whispered.
Lucien rose slowly despite the wound through his chest. Black blood continued dripping onto the shattered rooftop, yet his focus never left Evangeline.
“Stop the awakening,” he said urgently.
Evangeline looked at him helplessly.
“I don’t know how!”
Another wave of silver energy exploded outward.
The rooftop cracked apart beneath their feet.
The glowing symbols around her spun faster now, pulsing like a heartbeat. Ancient whispers filled the air in a language older than memory itself.
The Elder suddenly moved.
Darkness surged across the rooftop toward Evangeline like a tidal wave.
“She must be contained!”
Lucien intercepted him instantly.
Their powers collided violently, shadow against silver-black flame, sending debris flying into the storm-filled sky.
But the Elder was stronger now.
The silver light radiating from Evangeline weakened him, yet it also seemed to be destabilizing Lucien.
The Elder struck him across the rooftop with devastating force.
Lucien crashed through a stone tower nearby.
“LUCIEN!”
Evangeline tried to run toward him—
Then froze.
A new voice echoed inside her mind.
Cold.
Female.
Ancient beyond comprehension.
Child of Ashbourne…
Evangeline’s silver eyes widened.
The world around her slowed.
Rain stopped midair.
Thunder froze within the clouds.
Even the battle between Lucien and the Elder seemed distant now, trapped behind invisible glass.
Darkness unfolded around her.
Suddenly, she was no longer standing on the rooftop.
She stood inside an enormous silver cathedral illuminated by thousands of candles. Ancient symbols covered towering marble walls, and moonlight poured through massive stained-glass windows.
At the center of the cathedral stood a throne.
And upon it sat a woman.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, with silver eyes identical to Evangeline’s and long pale hair flowing like moonlight. Her presence radiated impossible power.
The woman smiled sadly.
“At last,” she whispered.
Evangeline stared at her.
“…Who are you?”
The woman rose slowly from the throne.
“I am Selene Ashbourne.”
The name sent strange pain through Evangeline’s chest.
“The first of our bloodline.”
Evangeline’s breathing became uneven.
“This isn’t real.”
“No,” Selene replied softly. “This is memory.”
She stepped closer.
“You are awakening the power sealed within our blood centuries ago.”
Evangeline shook her head weakly.
“I don’t understand any of this.”
Selene’s silver eyes filled with sorrow.
“You were never meant to carry this burden.”
The cathedral darkened slightly.
Far away, violent thunder echoed.
Selene looked upward grimly.
“He does not have much time.”
Lucien.
Evangeline’s heart tightened instantly.
“What’s happening to him?”
Selene studied her carefully.
“You already know.”
Evangeline looked away.
Because she did know.
Lucien was losing.
The Elder intended to kill him.
A painful silence filled the cathedral.
Then Evangeline whispered the question haunting her most.
“Did he really know my mother?”
Selene closed her eyes briefly.
“Yes.”
“And he hid it from me.”
“He was protecting you.”
Evangeline’s emotions twisted violently.
“By lying to me?”
Selene stepped closer until she stood directly before her.
“Lucien has spent twenty years guarding your existence from the Elder.”
Shock flooded through Evangeline instantly.
“Twenty years…”
“He swore an oath to your mother the night she died.”
Fragments of memory flashed again.
Blood.
Fire.
Lucien screaming someone’s name beneath a crimson moon.
Selene’s voice softened.
“He loved her once.”
The words struck like a blade.
Evangeline’s chest tightened painfully.
For reasons she couldn’t explain, hearing that hurt.
Selene noticed immediately.
A faint, bittersweet smile touched her lips.
“How unfortunate.”
Evangeline frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Before Selene could answer, the cathedral suddenly shook violently.
Cracks spread across the silver floor beneath them.
The Elder’s voice thundered through the darkness.
“ENOUGH.”
Selene’s expression hardened instantly.
“He is breaking through.”
The silver queen grabbed Evangeline’s hands suddenly.
Her touch was freezing cold.
“Listen carefully,” Selene said urgently. “The seal inside your blood was created to imprison something far older than vampires.”
Fear crawled up Evangeline’s spine.
“What?”
Selene hesitated.
For the first time, uncertainty appeared in her ancient eyes.
Then she answered quietly—
“The first darkness.”
The cathedral trembled again.
Candles extinguished one by one.
Selene’s form began fading into silver light.
“You must choose carefully, Evangeline.”
“What choice?”
Selene looked at her with deep sadness.
“If the seal fully breaks… you may save Lucien.”
Hope surged through Evangeline instantly.
“But?”
Selene’s voice became barely a whisper.
“You may also destroy the world beside him.”
The cathedral shattered.
Reality slammed back violently.
Rain.
Thunder.
Blood.
Evangeline gasped as she returned to the rooftop.
And immediately saw Lucien collapsing to one knee before the Elder.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD