Valena's boots tapped quick against the obsidian floor as she moved through the ancient halls of the High Keep. Her hands trembled slightly. Not from fear—she didn't know what she felt yet. Just that something had changed. Deeply. Permanently.
The air had shifted when she looked into his eyes. That man… Lucifer. He wasn't a king because of his seat or title. He was the seat. The realm bowed not because it wanted to—but because it had no choice.
She reached the grand rotunda and stopped in front of the summoning altar. Old magic lingered here—deep, carved into stone. Her fingers brushed the sigil, and dark veins of red light spread from her palm across the glyphs. One by one, flames rose from the circle's edge. The blood-echo spell activated.
The call would go out to every vampire lord across the realm. Those who ruled cities. Those who ruled bloodlines. Those who ruled silence.
And they came.
Not all at once—but quickly.
