The cave turned cold.
Not just from the damp air or the shade of the rocks—but from her presence.
She stood at the edge of the firelight, her pale skin casting a ghostly reflection on the cave walls. Her red eyes gleamed like coals, locked on Alex. Her voice echoed faintly, too calm for comfort.
"Found you."
Adam instinctively stepped in front of Alex. "Back off, Dracula Barbie."
She didn't flinch. Her lips curled slightly, almost amused. "Cute. But I'm not here for you."
Alex stepped forward. "What do you mean 'found me'? Who are you?"
The girl tilted her head. "My name is Lira. I've been searching for you since the night the vault cracked open."
Alex's brow tightened. "You were at the school?"
"I was below it."
Her words hung in the air like dust motes. The fire crackled.
Alex stared at her. He couldn't sense hostility—at least not the kind he'd felt from the creature that attacked them the night before. She was calm. Composed. Controlled. But behind her eyes was something ancient.
"You're… like me," Alex said quietly.
"No," she said. "You are not like me. I am like you. A fraction. A fragment. A shadow of what you were born to become."
Adam looked between them, confused. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Lira stepped closer, slowly, and dropped to one knee.
"I serve the Blood Monarch," she said.
The fire flickered violently. Alex took a step back.
"What did you just call me?"
"You haven't remembered everything," she said, not lifting her eyes. "But I see it. In your blood. In your aura. You are the heir of the First Line. The Monarch who will reclaim the throne of the Forgotten Court."
Adam scoffed. "He's a student, not some vampire king. You've got the wrong guy."
"No." She finally looked up, her gaze soft. "I felt it when he drank the serum. The catalyst. That wasn't meant to turn him. It was meant to wake him."
Alex was silent. His hands clenched into fists.
"Are you saying…" he whispered, "Sabastin knew?"
"He made it," Lira said. "But not alone. Others helped. They believed the Monarch was a myth. A fable. But they still prepared. Just in case."
Alex's stomach twisted. "So what am I now? A science experiment? A prophecy?"
"You are the legacy of something far older than science. Sabastin used his research to create a trigger. But the blood—the power—was already in you."
A long silence passed. Adam stepped back, running a hand through his hair. "This is insane."
Alex turned to Lira. "What happens now? Do I grow fangs? Rule the night? Kill innocent people?"
"You choose," she said simply. "That's what scares them. A Monarch with free will."
He looked down at his hands. They were still shaking from the night before. But something in his chest had gone quiet. Calmer. As if hearing its name for the first time.
"I don't want this," he said.
"But it wants you."
Alex looked up, his eyes darkening. "What if I say no?"
Lira rose to her feet. "Then you run. Hide. But they'll come for you. Sabastin won't stop. And others… worse than him… will follow the scent of your blood."
She stepped back into the shadows.
"But if you rise… you'll have an army."
She vanished.
No flash. No sound. Just gone.
The cave fell quiet again.
Alex sat down slowly, staring into the fire.
Adam crossed his arms. "You okay?"
"No."
A long pause.
"Neither am I," Adam said.
They stayed in the cave until sunset, then made their way to an old train yard near the edge of town. Alex kept his hood up. Every step they took felt like it echoed. They were being hunted—he could feel it now.
"I need to talk to him," Alex finally said.
Adam blinked. "Talk to who? You mean Sabastin?"
Alex nodded. "He started this. He knows more than he's told anyone. And if he thinks I'm going to just play his game in the shadows—he's wrong."
"You think he'll tell you the truth?"
"I think," Alex said darkly, "he won't have a choice."
Adam raised a brow. "You're changing, man."
Alex didn't respond. But he could feel it too.
Not just physically—the heightened senses, the strength, the way his wounds healed faster—but mentally. Emotionally. He was sharper. More aware. And beneath it all, a hunger pulsed. Not for blood… not yet.
But for answers.
They made a plan.
That night, they would break back into Whitmoor Academy. Not to sneak. Not to steal. But to confront Mr. Sabastin face to face.
By midnight, the school was quiet.
Too quiet.
They slipped through a maintenance door Adam knew from his time on the football team. It led straight to the boiler room and up into the science wing.
Alex led the way.
He walked like someone who no longer feared being caught. Like someone stepping into destiny.
Sabastin's office was just as they left it—dark, sterile, and humming faintly with hidden electricity. The vault remained sealed, glowing softly with glyphs and protective wards.
But Sabastin wasn't gone.
He was waiting.
Seated at his desk, hands folded, eyes hollow behind his glasses.
"I knew you'd come back," he said without looking up.
Alex stepped inside. "You knew because you planned this."
Sabastin finally looked at him.
"Yes," he said quietly. "And no."
Adam stayed near the door, alert.
Alex's voice was low and sharp. "Why me?"
Sabastin stood slowly. "Because your bloodline is ancient. Your father was one of the last carriers. He died protecting you."
Alex flinched.
"You knew my father?"
"I worked with him. He tried to bury the Monarch's legacy. I tried to unlock it. We disagreed. He paid the price."
A silence so heavy it hurt.
"You turned me into this," Alex whispered.
"No," Sabastin said. "You were born this way. I just made sure you woke up."
Alex's eyes glowed faintly now. Not with rage. With clarity.
"Then you're going to help me finish what you started."
Sabastin smiled faintly. "Are you sure you're ready to embrace what that means?"
"I don't have a choice anymore."
Sabastin nodded once. "Very well. Then let me show you what you truly are."
He turned toward the vault.
And the glyphs began to fade.