Chapter 52: The First Cry
The earth screamed.
That was the only way to describe the sound. It wasn't a rumble; it was a shriek of tearing stone and freezing soil.
I clutched my newborn daughter to my chest, my body still trembling from the aftershocks of labor. The vernix on her skin was sticky against my own sweat-slicked flesh, but she was warm. She was alive.
RIIIIP.
A massive, rotting hand burst from the fissure in the snow, just inches from Mara’s feet.
It was grey, skeletal, and covered in ancient, rusted armor.
Mara scrambled back, clutching the birthing blankets. "The Old Kings," she gasped, her face draining of color. "He raised the Old Kings."
The Vampire Lord laughed. It was a sound that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"The prophecy says the child will break the
