The world snaps back into focus with a jolt, my body aching as if I've been torn apart and stitched back together with thorns. The shattered window gapes like a wound, glass glittering on the floor where the creature with golden eyes vanished into the night. My scream still lingers in my throat, raw and unspent, as Elias and Kael stand over me, their truce a fragile thread stretched taut. The roses outside pulse with a sickly glow, their bleeding slowed to a trickle, but the air hums with a power that coils inside me, heavy and alive.
"You're alive," Kael says, his voice a rough caress, his amber eyes searching mine with a tenderness that stabs me. His hand hovers near my arm, warm and hesitant, and I flinch, the memory of Papa's final push flooding back—his hands shoving me to safety as flames devoured him. I choke on a sob, my chest tightening until I can't breathe, the guilt a chain I can't break.
"Enough," Elias snaps, his crimson gaze cutting between us. He kneels, his cold fingers brushing my wrist, and that electric spark ignites again, pulling me from the abyss.
"She needs strength, not pity. The attack was a test. They'll return."
"Who?" I rasp, my voice trembling with rage and fear. The golden eyes haunt me, a specter of the fire that stole my family, and I clench my fists, the locket digging into my palm.
"What do they want?"
"Your blood," Kael says, his jaw tight. "Moonblooded power can heal my pack—or destroy it. But I won't let them take you."
I feel his words like they carry a vow, a warmth that seeps into my fractured heart, and I hate how it soothes me, how his presence feels like a lifeline I don't deserve.
Elias's lips curl, a shadow of disdain."Romantic notions won't save her. We train her tonight. Her power is a beacon—they'll hunt her until she controls it."
He stands, offering a hand, and I take it, the cold burning against my skin, a stark contrast to Kael's heat. The room spins as I rise, the roses' hum syncing with my pulse, and a vision crashes over me—my brother, little Theo, clutching his wooden rose, his laughter cut short by a howl as flames closed in.
I stagger, a wail tearing from me, the sound raw and primal, echoing off the stone walls.
"Sera!" Kael catches me, his arms strong around me, and I bury my face in his chest, the scent of pine and earth grounding me as tears soak his shirt. "What did you see?"
"Theo," I whisper, my voice breaking. "He was so small, so scared. I heard him calling me, and I ran. I left him to burn."
The guilt overwhelms me, and I claw at Kael's shirt, desperate for absolution I know I'll never earn. My brother's face—those wide, trusting eyes—haunts me, a chain binding me to a past I can't escape.
Elias's hand rests on my shoulder, his touch icy but firm. "The past is a blade, Sera. Wield it, or it will destroy you. Your brother's death fuels your strength now."
His words are cruel, but they light a fire in me, a rage that drowns the sorrow. I pull away from Kael, wiping my tears, my resolve hardening.
"Train me," I say, my voice steady despite the storm inside.
"I'll make them pay." I growl
---
The training begins in the estate's shadowed courtyard, the moon high and full, casting silver light over the thorny rose garden. Elias moves like a phantom, his lessons sharp and unrelenting—how to summon the lunar tide, how to channel it through the locket.
"Feel the moon," he instructs, his voice a whisper against my ear, and I do—its pull is a song in my blood, lifting my hair, tingling my fingertips.
I raise my hand, and the roses sway, their petals glowing, but the power slips, a chain I can't grasp, and I stumble, my frustration boiling over.
Kael steps in, his presence a steady anchor. "It's not just power," he says, his hand guiding mine, his touch warm and calloused. "It's you—your heart, your pain. Let it flow."
He tells me of his pack's losses, a sister torn apart by vampires, her blood staining the earth, and I see the echo of my own grief in his eyes.
We share a moment, our breaths mingling, our minds engaging, and my heart aches with a longing I can't name—love, perhaps, or the need to belong.The lesson deepens as I focus, the locket warming, and a silver thread of light erupts from my palm, weaving through the roses.
They bloom brighter, their thorns retracting, and I feel Theo's laughter, a fleeting joy that breaks me.
"I'm sorry," I sob, the light faltering, but Kael's arms encircle me, his voice a murmur. "He'd be proud."
Elias watches, his expression unreadable, but his eyes betray a flicker of jealousy.
"Enough for tonight," he says, his tone clipped. "Rest. Tomorrow, we face the pack."
As we return inside, the roses' hum grows louder, and a vision seizes me—Mama's face, pale and tear-streaked, holding Theo as flames rise.
"Protect him," she pleads, but I'm frozen, watching them burn.
I scream, the sound tearing through the estate, and the lights flicker, the floor trembling.
Kael pulls me close, his heartbeat a steady drum, while Elias grips my arm, his coldness a counterpoint.
The vision then fades just like that, leaving me gasping, the guilt a chain tighter than ever.
"We felt that," Kael says, his voice hoarse. "Your power—it's tied to them."
"She's a conduit," Elias adds, his gaze intense. "And a target. The next attack will be worse."
Before I can respond, a howl splits the night, closer than before, joined by snarls that raise the hairs on my neck. The roses outside shudder, their petals falling like blood drops, and a shadow moves beyond the garden—golden eyes glinting, a promise of vengeance.
My heart pounds, my grief and rage fusing into a determination that burns. I won't run this time. I'll fight—for Theo, for Papa, for me. The shadow leaps, and Elias and Kael draw weapons, their truce a shield around me.
The courtyard erupts in chaos, thorns rising like spears, and I raise my hands, the lunar light surging.
But as the creature nears, its eyes lock on mine, and a voice whispers in my mind—You can't save them all. The world tilts, my scream lost in the fray
Darkness claims me once again