The moon above the Vampire Palace was bloodless—white, cold, distant. Inside, the halls glowed with the simmering heat of a truth long buried.
The four Lords stood before the throne again, the scent of blood and secrets clinging to their skin. They were not the merciless predators now—they were sons standing before their creators.
Queen Lysaria's sapphire eyes were sharper than any blade. Her silver-black hair fell like a shroud over her blood-red gown as she moved gracefully from the throne to stand before her sons.
King Aldric remained seated, his massive frame cast in shadows. His golden eyes bore into them with the weight of centuries. He didn't speak right away. He let the silence press upon the room like the suffocating grip of fate.
"You four," Lysaria began, her voice like ice cracking on a lake. "You've marked her."
Cadeon stepped forward first, unapologetic. "Only because Seraphina said we must. There's no affection."
"We don't care for her," Kael said flatly. "We did what was required."
"She's nothing but a tie we didn't ask for," Lucien added, his voice as cold as the steel at his hip.
"Nothing more than a punishment sealed in flesh," Darius muttered.
Lysaria stared at each of them. "You think this is about care? Or desire?" She chuckled bitterly. "Fools. This is about power. You know nothing yet."
Aldric finally stood, his presence vast and commanding. "You've forgotten someone."
The four froze. For all their cruelty, all their dominance… this tone from their father drew silence from even their blackened hearts.
"The fifth," Aldric said grimly. "The one who was born before all of you. The one who vanished before your bloodlust began."
Lucien frowned. "He's a myth. He left."
"You wish he were," the King growled. "But you know he isn't. You felt it the night Mira bled."
Kael's jaw clenched.
"Yes," Lysaria said, voice low. "The fifth tie pulled again. Mira is not just yours. She is his too."
"She's not supposed to belong to him," Darius snapped. "We were chosen."
"She wasn't born just for you," the Queen said, stepping closer. "She is the key. And each of you... are locks. Five. Not four."
Aldric's voice boomed. "When he returns… you cannot stop him."
"Even together?" Cadeon growled, eyes narrowing.
The King's gaze darkened. "Even united, the four of you would fall. You know that. You've seen what he became."
Lysaria turned to the flickering hearth. "He drank from the first sun-born priestess. Fed on gods. Mira's blood will call to him just as it did to you. Only louder."
The room grew colder.
"He will mark her," the Queen continued. "He must. And you will not interfere."
Lucien hissed, stepping forward. "And if we do?"
Aldric's voice dropped low. "Then your bones will line the forest where his fury begins."
For a moment, none of them spoke.
Kael's hand curled into a fist. "Where is he now?"
"Below," Lysaria said.
All four turned sharply.
"The basement?" Cadeon asked.
Lysaria walked to a long-forgotten corner of the throne room and placed a single hand over the wall. A section of the stone slid open, revealing stairs carved deep into the earth, bathed in blue flame.
"He sleeps," she whispered. "Bound by his own choice. But Mira's blood is waking him."
Kael's voice was raw. "And when he wakes?"
The Queen's smile was cruel. "He will come for her. And if she resists, he will make her beg."
Lucien's eyes flared, torn between hatred and curiosity.
Darius whispered, "What is his name?"
Aldric's voice echoed like death.
"Valen."
And beneath the palace, far beneath the throne, deep within the ancient basement wrapped in iron and ruin... something stirred.
Chains rattled.
Eyes opened.
And a whisper broke through the walls.
"Mine."