The night after Lora opened the box, everything changed.
She hadn't slept. She couldn't.
The name Seraphine echoed in her mind like a ghost calling from across time. Her daughter. Her secret. Her shame.
She stood in the tower room at dawn—if it could be called dawn in a land ruled by eternal twilight—watching the clouds bleed red across the horizon. The blood moon was rising. Early.
That wasn't natural.
Behind her, the door creaked open. Not Dorian. Gabriel. Dorian's friend. Dorian didn't know he was here.
He looked different in daylight—less cruel, more regal. His long black coat was embroidered with blood-colored runes.
"You opened the box," he said simply.
lora didn't answer.
"She's alive," he continued. "But they're close to finding her. The Crimson Court knows you've awakened."
"You lied to me," she said, voice shaking. "You said she was dead."
"I had to lie. I made those promise to Dorian before he erased your memory."
Gabriel handed her something wrapped in silk: a lock of raven-black hair tied with red thread.
"She looks just like you."
Evelyn clutched it, unable to speak.
Then Gabriel added, "But she has his eyes."
Her breath caught. "Dorian's?"
"No," Gabriel said coldly. "The king of the the east."
so Seraphine may not be Dorian's child…
but the heir of their enemy.
Before Lora could ask more, the castle bells rang—a low, urgent tolling. The unnatural wind blew open the tower windows. Black crows scattered in the sky.
Dorian burst into the room.
"They've breached the wards," he said grimly. "They're inside the castle."
"Who?" lora asked.
"Them."
---
The Intruders
The castle halls roared with echoes. Lora followed Dorian through stone corridors lit with flickering torches. Ahead, the grand ballroom doors were flung open.
Five vampires stood inside. Their presence made the air freeze and the shadows crawl.
Each wore a black sigil stitched over their hearts: the mark of the Crimson Court.
At the center stood a woman with ivory skin, ruby lips, and a gold crown shaped like thorns.
Countess Malthea.
"You remember me, don't you, darling?" she purred at Lora.
"I don't remember any of you," Lora hissed.
"Pity. You and I were once very close."
She walked forward—then flicked her wrist.
Gabriel fell to his knees, blood pouring from his nose. He was bleeding from the eyes. Magic.
"You were warned," Malthea said, looking at Dorian. "You awakened your bride. After all she had done. Now the price must be paid."
Dorian stepped in front of Lora.
"You'll have to go through me."
"Oh, we will," Malthea said and smiled. "But not tonight. This is only a message."
She turned to Lora.
Lora's pregnancy wasn't just forbidden—it was prophetic. The Crimson Court fears her daughter will end them.
"You carry the blood of a traitor and the child of an enemy. One you were never meant to love. One who will burn everything we built."
Then she whispered something in an ancient tongue—and vanished into smoke.
---
Later, Lora sits alone in the Moon Garden, blood moonlight on her face.
She reads the second letter in the box, one she hadn't noticed before. A few lines, written in a strange handwriting:
"If they find her, they'll use her to control you.
If you're reading this, it means they're already close.
There is only one place left that's safe.
You must go to the Forgotten Abbey.
And don't trust the one who says he loves you."
Which man does she mean—Dorian… her dead father or Gabriel?
Lora closes the letter and turns to find Dorian standing in the shadows.
"How much of what you told me is a lie?" she asks.
His eyes glitter in the moonlight.
"That depends," he says softly. "How much of the truth can you survive?"
---
The night after lora opened the box, everything changed.
She hadn't slept. She couldn't.
The name Seraphine echoed in her mind like a ghost calling from across time. Her daughter. Her secret. Her shame.
She stood in the tower room at dawn—if it could be called dawn in a land ruled by eternal twilight—watching the clouds bleed red across the horizon. The blood moon was rising. Early.
That wasn't natural.
Behind her, the door creaked open. Not Dorian. Gabriel again.
He looked different in daylight—less cruel, more regal. His long black coat was embroidered with blood-colored runes.
"You opened the box," he said simply.
Lora didn't answer.
"She's alive," he continued. "But they're close to finding her. The Crimson Court knows you've awakened."
"You lied to me," she said, voice shaking. "You said she was dead."
"I had to lie. he made me promise him before he erased your own memory."
Gabriel handed her something wrapped in silk: a lock of raven-black hair tied with red thread.
"She looks just like you."
clutched it, unable to speak.
Then Gabriel added, "But she has his eyes."
Her breath caught. "Dorian's?"
"No," Gabriel said coldly. "The king of the Crimson Court."
Before Lora could ask more, the castle bells rang—a low, urgent tolling. The unnatural wind blew open the tower windows. Black crows scattered in the sky.
Dorian burst into the room.
"They've breached the wards," he said grimly. "They're inside the castle."
"Who?" Lora asked.
"Them."
The Intruders
The castle halls roared with echoes. lora followed Dorian through stone corridors lit with flickering torches. Ahead, the grand ballroom doors were flung open.
Five vampires stood inside. Their presence made the air freeze and the shadows crawl.
Each wore a black sigil stitched over their hearts: the mark of the Crimson Court.
At the center stood a woman with ivory skin, ruby lips, and a gold crown shaped like thorns.
Countess Malthea.
"You remember me, don't you, darling?" she purred at lora.
"I don't remember any of you," lora hissed.
"Pity. You and I were once very close."
She walked forward—then flicked her wrist.
Gabriel fell to his knees, blood pouring from his nose. He was bleeding from the eyes. Magic.
"You were warned," Malthea said, looking at Dorian. "You awake the price must be paid."
Dorian stepped in front of Lora.
"You'll have to go through me."
"Oh, we will," Malthea said and smiled. "But not tonight. This is only a message."
She turned to Lora.
"You carry the blood of a traitor and the child of a king. One you were never meant to love. One who will burn everything we built."
Then she whispered something in an ancient tongue—and vanished into smoke.
Lora's pregnancy wasn't just forbidden; it was prophetic. The crimson court fears her daughter will end them all. The child born out of betrayal.....
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