A cold, unnatural silence lingered in the grand hall. No one moved. No one dared breathe too loudly. The air itself felt cursed—heavy with a fear that hadn’t been there moments before.
What had just happened?
Even the bravest of the nobles trembled.
What kind of creature or force had possessed Lady Mirabel?
Vampires couldn’t levitate—not even the First Ones. And yet, she had floated… spoken… prophesied.
And now she lay on the marble floor, pale and still, as the chamber buzzed with whispered panic.
Then, slowly, Lady Mirabel stirred. Her eyelids fluttered open. She sat up with a confused blink, looking around as if waking from a dream.
“Where… where am I?” she asked softly.
Her fellow nobles rushed to her side, eyes wide with terror and awe. One of them gently held her shoulder and
