Chapter 3: Between Fire and Fangs
The next three nights blurred into a strange rhythm of secrecy.
By day, Sahil Raj remained the boy no one noticed—the quiet genius, the invisible soul in oversized shirts and hand-me-down shoes. But by night, he became something else.
He trained alone in the shed, repeating the ancient words that seemed to rise unbidden from his throat. Fire bent at his command. Small objects floated when he whispered to them. He even began hearing things from further away, as if the city itself was whispering through walls and trees.
He should've been afraid.
But there was something… right about it.
Like his body had just been waiting for this version of him to wake up.
Bloodlines and Broken Truths
Sahil was flipping through his old family photo album on the fourth night—one of the few things that had survived the house fire all those years ago. He stared at the faces he could barely remember: his father, with sharp features and serious eyes; his mother, always smiling, her necklace of red stone glowing in every picture.
Something shimmered on the page.
A hidden symbol, drawn faintly behind their images, was now glowing in soft red light. The same one that burned in his dreams every night.
A swirl of fire and blood.
Sahil touched it—and a memory, buried deep and painful, exploded in his mind.
Flames.
Screams.
Eyes that weren't human.
He saw them—his parents—standing between him and something monstrous. His mother whispering an incantation. His father drawing a blade made of light.
And then—darkness.
He gasped, falling backward, sweat running down his face.
It hadn't been just a fire.
It was a war.
Across the Veil
In the forest, a fog had rolled in so thick that not even dogs barked anymore. Trees bent unnaturally, and the air grew cold as if time had stopped breathing.
She walked among the trees like a shadow come to life.
Queen Seraphina, draped in blood-red silk, moved silently toward the city, her presence warping the world around her. She had tasted Sahil's aura in the wind, tracked the magical vibration like a scent trail no other vampire could sense.
He was close.
And yet…
She paused as she reached the edge of a slum.
She had not walked among mortals in over a century. But tonight was no ordinary night.
For the first time in over 700 years, she did something she had never done before.
She smiled.
The Fire in the Alley
Sahil was walking home after checking on Anika again. Her vitals were stable. The doctors still called it a miracle she hadn't died. He knew better.
Something—someone—was watching over her.
But as he turned the corner near the alley behind the local temple, he heard it: footsteps too heavy for a single person. Breathing—sharp and erratic.
He stopped.
A shape emerged from the shadows.
Tall. Pale. Eyes glowing faint green. Skin covered in black scars.
It wasn't human.
Sahil instinctively stepped back.
The creature hissed, revealing fangs like bone knives.
"Heart-Bearer…" it growled in a broken voice. "She'll never have you…"
Sahil's hand moved before his brain could catch up.
A wave of red fire erupted from his palm and struck the creature straight in the chest.
It flew back into the wall with a sickening crack.
But it wasn't dead.
It roared and lunged again, this time faster.
Sahil dodged. Barely. His shoulder tore open from a grazing claw.
Blood hit the ground.
The creature paused, sniffing.
Then screamed like it was burning alive.
Sahil stared.
Where his blood had touched the pavement—it was glowing.
The symbols again. Fire symbols. Protective seals.
The creature tried to retreat, limping, snarling, terrified.
That's when the wind shifted.
A new presence entered the alley.
And everything changed.
The Queen Appears
The world fell silent.
No traffic.
No barking dogs.
Even the air stopped moving.
The creature hissed once—and then fell to its knees, trembling.
Sahil turned.
She stood at the edge of the alley.
Tall, regal, and unreal.
Queen Seraphina's crimson eyes locked onto his.
She didn't speak. She didn't need to.
Power bled from her like perfume.
Time bent around her. Reality seemed afraid of her.
Sahil raised his hand instinctively, but she lifted one delicate finger—and his fire vanished.
"Don't be afraid," she said, her voice like silk wrapped around steel. "I've come a long way for you, Sahil Raj."
He backed away. "Who… what are you?"
She walked forward, each step impossibly silent.
"I am Seraphina Drakora. Queen of the Crimson Dominion. Ruler of the Night Court. Keeper of the Sacred Blood. And you—"
She paused, inches from him, then whispered:
"—you are mine."
The Bond Awakens
The air cracked like thunder.
Sahil's chest burned—not in pain, but in resonance. His heart, his blood, his very bones reacted to her voice.
He couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.
A mark appeared on the back of his hand—a glowing seal, the same as hers.
Their eyes locked.
And in that moment, a bond formed between them. Ancient. Irreversible.
Sahil staggered. "What have you done to me?"
"I didn't do this," Seraphina said calmly. "Your blood did. You are not a boy, Sahil. You are the last of a bloodline that was bound to mine, centuries ago. Born of both light and shadow."
He shook his head. "No… I'm just… I'm nothing."
She stepped closer.
"You are the last hope of two worlds."