Bloodbound devourer

Chapter four

Twenty nights remained.

The citadel had become a fortress of whispers and watchful eyes. Guards patrolled every corridor twice as often, their claws clicking against stone like ticking clocks counting down to the blood moon. Ravenna paced the royal solar, her hand absently cradling the subtle swell of her belly. The child grew unnaturally fast vampire gestation warped by lycan blood, or perhaps the prophecy's cruel acceleration. Already, she felt kicks like tiny claws scraping from within, demanding release.

Draven was absent, locked in war councils with the vampire envoys who had arrived under banners of alliance but reeked of hidden agendas. Their smiles were too sharp, their bows too low. Ravenna trusted them as far as she could drain them which, in her current state, was temptingly far.

A servant entered, head bowed. "My queen, a message from the northern scouts. Urgent."

She snatched the parchment, breaking the wax seal with a fingernail that extended into a talon. The words blurred for a moment vampire vision sharpening in dim light, but her mind raced ahead.

*Intruders at Blackthorn Pass. Northern wolves, led by a black she-wolf with green eyes. They carry silver banners. Attack imminent.*

Her lips curled into a smile that didn't reach her crimson eyes. Wolf-Ravenna had answered the call. Good. The game needed players.

But as she crumpled the note, a wave of nausea hit not the child's doing, but something deeper. A pull in her veins, like threads unraveling. The bond with Draven flickered erratically, a candle in a storm. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the erratic thrum. What was happening?

Before she could summon him, the doors burst open. Draven stormed in, face thunderous, golden eyes wild. Blood streaked his tunic not his own. "The envoys," he snarled. "One of them tried to poison the council wine. I tore out his throat before he could confess."

Ravenna's thirst spiked at the scent of fresh kill clinging to him. "Vampire betrayal? Already?"

He shook his head, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Not vampire. The poison smelled of northern herbs wolfsbane variant. Mixed with something else. Silver essence."

Her stomach twisted. Wolf-Ravenna's doing? Or a setup to fracture the alliance?

Draven closed the distance, gripping her arms hard enough to bruise even her undead flesh. "The bond do you feel it weakening?"

She nodded, fear coiling cold in her gut for the first time since her regression. "Like it's being torn."

His eyes searched hers desperately. "The child. Is it"

A scream echoed from the halls high, piercing, cut short by a gurgle. Then another. Alarms blared, horns howling through the citadel like wounded beasts.

"Intrusion!" a guard bellowed from beyond the door. "Northern wolves at the gates! They're inside!"

Draven shifted partially, fur rippling across his shoulders, claws lengthening. "Stay here. Bar the doors."

Ravenna laughed bitterly, fangs flashing. "And miss the fun? This is my war too."

He hesitated, then nodded, pressing a brutal kiss to her lips teeth clashing, blood shared in a swift bite. "Protect our child. If it comes to it, run."

She watched him charge out, a whirlwind of gold and fury, rallying guards as he went. Alone, she moved to the window, peering into the chaos below. Fires bloomed in the courtyards, shadows darting like arrows. Wolves clashed lycan against lycan, brother against invader. And at the forefront, a massive black wolf with green eyes locked on the royal tower. Wolf-Ravenna.

The pull intensified, the bond fraying further. Ravenna clutched the windowsill, nails gouging stone. Something was wrong deeper than invasion. A spell? A curse?

She didn't have time to ponder. A side panel in the wall creaked open a secret passage she'd discovered in Vespera's memories. Three figures emerged: vampire assassins, cloaked in shadow-weave, eyes glowing red like hers. But not allies. Traitors.

"Princess Vespera," the leader hissed, voice like rustling leaves. "The clans send regards. The child must not live. It taints our bloodline."

Ravenna blurred into motion, vampire speed turning her into a phantom. She collided with the first, fangs sinking into his throat, ripping out his windpipe before he could scream. Black blood sprayed, hot and acrid.

The second lunged with a silver dagger deadly to her kind. She dodged, the blade grazing her arm, burning like acid. Pain exploded, but she used it, channeling fury into a backhand that shattered his jaw. He crumpled, and she finished him with a stomp to the skull.

The leader was faster, incantations spilling from his lips a binding spell. Invisible chains wrapped her limbs, slowing her. He advanced, dagger raised. "For the pure blood."

She strained against the magic, the child kicking wildly inside her as if sensing the threat. Power surged not just hers, but something new. Hybrid. The chains snapped with a crack like thunder.

She pounced, tackling him to the ground. Her hands pinned his arms, knees on his chest. "Who sent you? The clans? Or someone closer?"

He spat blood. "The prophecy devours all. Even queens."

With a snarl, she plunged her fangs into his eye, draining him dry. His memories flooded her: fragmented images of secret meetings, a hooded figure in the vampire halls whispering commands. Draven's face? No impossible. But the doubt planted like a seed.

The room spun as she rose, the silver wound throbbing, poison spreading. She needed blood lycan blood, to counter it. Staggering to the door, she flung it open. Chaos reigned in the halls: bodies littered the floors, wolves tearing at each other.

She fought her way down, a whirlwind of death. One lycan guard turned on her traitor? and she disemboweled him with extended claws. Another, loyal, fell defending her from a northern archer. Arrows whizzed, one embedding in her shoulder. She yanked it out, using it to stab the shooter through the heart.

Down in the great hall, the battle raged fiercest. Draven stood at the center, half-shifted, roaring commands as he cleaved through invaders with his bare hands. Blood soaked him, his and theirs, turning his golden fur crimson.

Their eyes met across the fray. The bond steadied for a moment strong, unyielding. Then it snapped again, pain lancing through her chest.

Wolf-Ravenna burst through the melee in human form, sword in hand, green eyes blazing. "Sister-self!" she called, voice cutting through the din. "The bond weakens because it's false! He played us both!"

Draven whirled on her. "Lies! Traitor!"

But Ravenna froze, the assassin's memories echoing. Doubt crept in.

Wolf-Ravenna fought her way closer, parrying blows from Draven's guards. "The vampires weren't the only ones scheming. He met with my pack elders weeks ago before the bonding. Promised them the throne if they helped eliminate the 'vampire imposter.'"

Ravenna's hand went to her belly. "Proof?"

A northern wolf tossed a satchel at her feet. She knelt amid the chaos, arrows flying overhead, and rifled through: letters in Draven's hand, sealed with his signet. *The wolf girl will serve as bait. Once the vampire mate is bonded and bred, dispose of the original. The beast will rise under my sole command.*

Betrayal hit like silver through the heart.

Draven's face paled as he saw the letters. "Forged! I would never"

But the bond flickered out completely then, a void where fire had been. Ravenna screamed, doubling over. The child thrashed, as if tearing free.

Wolf-Ravenna reached her, pulling her behind a toppled table for cover. "We have to get you out. The child's birth will trigger the beast early if the bond breaks entirely."

Ravenna clutched her arm, fangs bared in pain. "How do you know?"

"Because I felt it in our blood pact. The prophecy's accelerating. If the child dies unborn, the beast sleeps forever. If it lives... chaos."

Explosions rocked the hall vampire sorcery? No, alchemical bombs from the northern forces. Stone crumbled, chandeliers crashing like glass rain.

Draven fought through the debris toward them, eyes desperate. "Ravenna! It's a trap she's using you!"

But wolf-Ravenna dragged her toward a side exit. "He's the trap. Come!"

Torn, Ravenna hesitated. The child's kicks turned to agony, like knives twisting inside. She gasped, blood her black blood trickling from between her legs. Miscarriage? Or birth?

No time. She followed wolf-Ravenna into the labyrinthine underhalls, the sounds of battle fading behind. Torches sputtered, casting erratic shadows.

"Why help me?" Ravenna panted, the silver poison slowing her.

"Because we're the same," wolf-Ravenna replied, green eyes fierce. "And because I want him to lose everything."

They emerged into the crypts ancient tombs of past kings, air thick with dust and decay. Wolf-Ravenna barred the door behind them, buying time.

But pursuit came swift. Draven's voice echoed down the stairs: "Ravenna! Don't trust her!"

Wolf-Ravenna whirled, sword ready. "Go deeper. Find the old escape tunnel. I'll hold him."

Ravenna nodded, staggering onward. The crypts twisted like veins, sarcophagi looming like silent judges. Pain wracked her body, the child demanding out. She collapsed against a tomb, sliding to the floor. Contractions? Impossible so soon.

A whisper slithered from the shadows. "My queen..."

She looked up. A vampire elder, one of the envoys, stepped from concealment. His face was a mask of false concern. "The clans knew of Draven's betrayal. We came to extract you. The child must be born in our halls, under our control."

Ravenna laughed weakly, fangs stained with her own blood. "Everyone wants the child. What makes you different?"

He smiled, revealing rows of sharpened teeth. "We created you—Vespera. Your body was sculpted to bear this hybrid. But the soul inside... unexpected. Come with me, and live eternally. Rule the night."

Behind him, more vampires materialized dozens, armed with silver nets and spells.

Trap within trap.

She rose unsteadily, claws out. "I'd rather die."

The elder sighed. "As you wish."

They attacked as one. Ravenna fought like a cornered beast, blurring through them, ripping throats, snapping necks. But numbers overwhelmed. A net ensnared her, silver threads burning her skin. She screamed, the sound raw and echoing.

The child kicked harder, a burst of power surging through her. The net shattered, shards flying like daggers, impaling two attackers.

She grabbed the elder by the throat, lifting him off the ground. "Who else knows? Who pulls the strings?"

He choked out a laugh. "The prophecy... it's not about the beast. It's about the child. The true devourer."

Before she could press, a dagger plunged into her back—from behind. She whirled, dropping him, to face wolf-Ravenna, green eyes cold.

"Sister?" Ravenna gasped, blood bubbling from her lips.

Wolf-Ravenna twisted the blade deeper. "I'm sorry. But the child can't live. It's abomination. And with you gone, the bond reverts to me. I take the throne. I rewrite everything."

Betrayal upon betrayal. The world tilted.

But as darkness crept in, the child stirred one last time a pulse of raw, god-like energy. Ravenna's body convulsed, the wound healing around the blade in a flash of crimson light.

She yanked the dagger free, reversing it into wolf-Ravenna's chest. The wolf gasped, staggering back, green eyes wide with shock.

"You... how?"

"The child protects itself," Ravenna whispered, horrified and awed.

Wolf-Ravenna slumped against a sarcophagus, blood pooling. "Then... kill me. End it."

Ravenna raised the dagger, hand trembling. Same face, staring back dying.

But footsteps thundered down the stairs. Draven, bursting into the crypt, guards at his heels. He took in the scene: vampires dead, wolf-Ravenna bleeding, Ravenna standing over her with blade raised.

"Ravenna, no!" he roared.

She met his gaze, the bond flickering back to life weak, but there. "Who do I trust? You? Her? Them?"

He stepped forward, hands raised. "Me. Always me."

The vampires stirred more coming? Reinforcements slithered from side tunnels.

Ravenna looked down at her dying double. "Finish it yourself," wolf-Ravenna whispered. "Or she'll haunt you."

The dagger hovered.

Then the ground shook. Cracks spiderwebbed the crypt floor. The child's power? Or the prophecy awakening early?

Stones fell from the ceiling. Chaos erupted anew vampires attacking Draven's guards, Draven charging forward.

Ravenna made her choice. The dagger plunged not into wolf-Ravenna, but into the floor, cracking a hidden seal. An escape hatch yawned open, leading to darkness below.

She grabbed wolf-Ravenna's arm, dragging her into the void. "We're not done yet."

They fell into underground rivers, cold water swallowing them. Draven's roar echoed above: "Ravenna!"

The current swept them away, wounds burning, child thrashing.

Twenty nights.

But as they surfaced in a hidden cave miles away, wolf-Ravenna coughing blood, Ravenna felt the bond snap completely gone.

And in its place, something new: the child's voice, whispering in her mind.

*Mother... the beast comes. But not for him. For us.*

Ravenna's eyes widened. The elder's words rang true. The prophecy wasn't about the god-beast.

It was about the child a devourer born to consume kings and queens alike.

Wolf-Ravenna met her gaze, realizing the same horror. "What have we created?"

Above ground, Draven knelt in the ruined crypt, clutching a scrap of her robe. His howl shattered the night.

The hunt was on.

But who was the prey?

The cave dripped with echoes of the river's rush, a subterranean lair forgotten by time. Ravenna tore strips from her gown to bind wolf-Ravenna's wound, the black blood mingling with red in a sickly swirl. The dagger strike had been precise not fatal, but close. A calculated mercy? Or instinct?

"Why spare me?" wolf-Ravenna rasped, leaning against the moss-slick wall. Her green eyes, dimmed by pain, searched Ravenna's face like a mirror seeking cracks.

"Because killing you would be killing myself," Ravenna replied, voice steady despite the storm inside. "And because the child... it wants you alive."

Wolf-Ravenna's hand twitched toward her own empty belly a phantom ache. "The voice. You hear it too?"

Ravenna nodded, pressing a palm to her swelling abdomen. The growth had accelerated again; what should have been weeks felt like months. The skin stretched taut, veins pulsing with unnatural light. "It's not just a child. It's the key. The elder said the prophecy is about the devourer not the beast."

A shiver ran through the cave, as if the earth itself recoiled. Outside, distant howls pierced the night—Draven's pack, scouring the wilds. Vampire wings fluttered overhead, shadows against the moon.

"We can't stay here," wolf-Ravenna said, struggling to her feet. "He'll find us. They all will."

Ravenna helped her up, their blood pact humming faintly a thread connecting them still. "Then we run. To the forbidden lands. Where the old gods sleep."

The forbidden lands: a wasteland beyond the borders, cursed by ancient magics, where no wolf or vampire dared tread. Legends spoke of ruins that twisted reality, guardians that fed on souls.

But as they slipped into the night, evading patrols by shadow and scent, the child's whispers grew louder.

*Father lies. Clans hunger. Sister betrays.*

Ravenna glanced at wolf-Ravenna, doubt flickering. "The letters were they real?"

A pause. "Half-real. I forged some. But his meetings... those happened."

Layers of deceit. Ravenna's fangs ached with frustration.

They traveled through thorn-choked forests, silver moonlight filtering like blades. Pain dogged Ravenna's steps the silver poison lingering, the child draining her strength to fuel its growth.

By dawn, they reached a ruined temple at the wasteland's edge. Collapsed pillars etched with faded runes warned of doom. Inside, frescoes depicted a child born of wolf and vampire, devouring a colossal beast.

"The prophecy's origin," wolf-Ravenna murmured, tracing the images. "Not to awaken the beast but to birth one that slays it."

The child kicked in agreement, a vision flooding Ravenna's mind: the god-beast rising, only to be consumed by a hybrid horror their offspring.

Horror gripped her. "We have to stop it. Abort the"

Too late. Contractions ripped through her, dropping her to her knees. Birth now?

Wolf-Ravenna knelt beside her, hands steady. "Breathe. I know the ways my pack trained midwives."

But as the pain peaked, shadows coalesced. Vampire assassins teleported? Or trackers?

"Give us the child," their leader demanded.

Wolf-Ravenna fought them off, sword flashing, but outnumbered.

Ravenna screamed as the head crowned impossibly fast.

Then Draven arrived, crashing through the ruins like a storm. "Ravenna!"

He tore into the vampires, claws rending flesh.

But his eyes locked on the birthing scene, calculation flickering.

The child emerged tiny, perfect, with crimson eyes and tiny fangs. It didn't cry. It whispered.

*Father... come closer.*

Draven approached, awe and greed in his gaze.

Ravenna, exhausted, reached for the infant.

But wolf-Ravenna scooped it first, backing away. "No. It's mine now."

Betrayal again?

The child laughed a sound like breaking glass.

The ground split open, the true beast stirring below.

Twenty nights early.

The devourer had awakened.

And as the temple collapsed around them, the child's eyes glowed, choosing its first meal.

Who would it be?