Daughter of Selena

The woman in Lyra's dreams always stood among crimson flowers, no matter how many times the dream came, it never changed. A silver moon hung over the endless field, bathing everything in pale light. Thousands of blood-red blossoms stretched to the horizon, swaying beneath a wind Lyra could neither hear nor feel. At the center of the field stood a lone woman dressed in black, she never moved, she never spoke, she simply watched. Silver hair cascaded over her shoulders like moonlight poured into human form, her face remained hidden behind a veil of shadows, yet Lyra always felt those unseen eyes fixed upon her, waiting, searching, remembering. A strange sadness lingered in the woman's presence. It was so deep and ancient that every time Lyra dreamed of her, she woke with an ache she couldn't explain. Who are you?" Lyra called across the field, her voice vanished into the silence, the woman slowly raised her hand, at once, the crimson flowers began to die. The transformation spread across the field like a plague, petals blackened and crumbled. Stems withered into dust, within moments, the beautiful sea of red became a wasteland of ash, the moon darkened, the sky fractured. Thin cracks spread through the heavens as though reality itself were breaking apart, then the woman finally spoke. Her voice was soft, beautiful, heartbroken, "Find me." Lyra jolted awake, herr chest rose and fell rapidly as she struggled to catch her breath. Pale morning light filtered through the wooden shutters of her bedroom, signaling the beginning of another ordinary day in Moonveil Village, at least, that was what she believed, a loud crash echoed from downstairs, followed immediately by a familiar voice. "Uh... I can explain!" Lyra groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Noah." Only her younger brother could sound proud after clearly destroying something. She climbed out of bed, pulled on her boots, and headed downstairs. The smell of smoke reached her before she entered the kitchen. The scene waiting for her looked exactly as expected, a shattered bowl lay on the floor, flour covered half the room, smoke drifted from a blackened pan, and standing proudly in the center of the disaster was Noah, his grin widened when he saw her, "Good news." "There is absolutely no good news here.". Noah said smiling "I only burned breakfast once today." Lyra pointed at the ruined pan, that's literally on fire." Noah glanced over his shoulder. "Oh." Their father sighed heavily from the corner. "I sometimes wonder if this boy was switched at birth."Their mother laughed as she stirred a pot over the stove. "If he was, I want a refund." The room erupted with laughter. For a few precious moments, life felt simple, normal, safe, lyra would later remember this breakfast more clearly than any other moment in her life, because it was the last morning her family would ever spend together, and the realization would haunt her for years. But on that day, she knew nothing of the darkness approaching Moonveil, nothing of the monsters already watching them, and nothing of the secret hidden within her blood, later that afternoon, Lyra and Noah walked through the village marketplace, the streets bustled with activity, merchants shouted over one another while children raced between colorful stalls, the scent of fresh bread drifted through the air, Noah seemed unusually quiet, at first Lyra assumed he was tired, then she noticed him staring into the crowd, his smile disappeared, his entire body stiffened, fear entered his eyes, instantly, deep, genuine fear. 'Lyra." His voice came out strained, she stopped walking. "What is it?"Noah pointed toward the village well. "The man standing there." Lyra followed his gaze, the area was empty. "Noah, there's nobody there." His face drained of color, for several seconds he continued staring, then he blinked, whatever he had seen vanished, a nervous laugh escaped him. "Forget it." But Lyra couldn't, something had frightened him badly, and the uneasy feeling remained with her for the rest of the day. That night, a violent storm descended upon Moonveil, rain battered rooftops, thunder shook the village, inside their small home, the family gathered around the fireplace. Yet despite the warmth, Noah couldn't sit still. He paced endlessly, his hands trembled, his eyes constantly drifted toward the windows, like he expected something to appear outside. "You're worrying me," Lyra finally said. Noah forced a smile, and said "I'm fine." "You keep saying that." Before he could answer, three heavy knocks struck the front door, the room fell silent. Knock. Knock. Knock. The sound seemed unnaturally loud. Their father stood. "I'll see who it is." "No!" Everyone turned toward Noah, fear flashed across his face, raw, Immediate "Don't open it." Their father frowned. "What nonsense—" BOOM! thee door exploded inward, wood shattered across the room. Rain and wind rushed into the house, and Three figures stepped through the ruined entrance. They wore black cloaks. Silver masks.Their eyes glowed crimson, Vampires, Real vampires. The air itself seemed to grow colder, One of them stepped forward. Tall, powerful, terrifying. His gaze swept across the room before locking onto Noah, instantly. A smile formed beneath his mask. "There you are." Noah stumbled backward, the vampire took another step forward. "Come with us." he said "No." Fear trembled in Noah's voice. The vampire sighed. "As expected." Chaos erupted, their father grabbed a chair. their mother screamed. The vampires attacked. Lyra lunged toward Noah, but one of the intruders struck her aside. Pain exploded across her cheek as she crashed into a table. Through blurred vision, she watched Noah being dragged toward the broken doorway. Rain poured beyond the threshold, thunder roared above. "LYRA!" Noah reached for her desperately. She crawled forward, ignoring the pain.l, ignoring the blood, ignoring everything, but she was too late. The vampires pulled Noah into the storm, and something inside her broke, a burning sensation erupted across her wrist. Agony tore through her arm, she screamed, and crimson light burst from beneath her skin. The room froze. Every vampire stopped moving. A strange symbol appeared on her wrist, glowing like molten blood, the lead vampire stared at it. For the first time, fear entered his eyes. "No..."His voice trembled" No, that's impossible." The symbol blazed brighter, outside, somewhere beyond the storm, a monstrous roar echoed through the night. The earth trembled, the e windows shattered. And the vampire slowly raised his gaze toward Lyra. "The Blood Mark...". His expression turned pale. "You shouldn't exist." Another roar shook the heavens, something ancient had awakened. And it was coming.