Elena's chest heaved and her breath came out in shallow pants as she stared at the silver-haired woman. The cave felt smaller, the walls pressing in as the woman's glow illuminated the blood-slicked stone and the grotesque corpse of the vampire creature at her feet. Its severed head lay inches away with its blood shot eyes dimmed but still staring, as if silently accusing her of its death.
"You...," Elena whispered again, her voice barely audible over the distant snarls and crashes echoing from the forest. Her hands trembled as she pushed herself upright, her back scraping against the rough cave wall. "Who... who really are you? Why are you here...again?"
The woman's storm-gray eyes softened, but the weight of her gaze pinned Elena in place. She stepped closer, her movements fluid, as if she glided rather than walked. The light emanating from her skin cast flickering shadows making the cave feel alive and pulsing with an energy Elena couldn't comprehend.
"I am Seraphine," the woman said in resonant yet gentle voice, like the toll of a distant bell. "And you, Princess, are far from where you belong."
"I'm not a princess," Elena snapped back despite her lingering fear paralysis, her voice cracking with a mix of fear and defiance. Her hands clenched into fists making her nails bite into her palms. "Stop calling me that. I'm just...I'm just Elena. I don't even know why I'm here! And it's all because of you!" she screamed out hysterically.
Seraphine's lips curved into a faint, sorrowful smile, but she didn't respond immediately. Instead, she knelt before Elena, her pale hand hovering just above the bloodstained capelet draped over Elena's shoulders. The air around her hand shimmered, and the bloodstains began to fade, as if absorbed by an unseen force.
"You are more than you know," Seraphine said, her tone carrying a quiet solemnity. "The blood that runs through your veins is a dream to them. To the rogues and to others far worse."
Elena's throat tightened. "The... rogues? Those things?" She gestured weakly toward the dead creature, her stomach churning at the sight of its twisted form. "Why are they after me? What do they want?"
Seraphine's expression darkened and her eyes flicked toward the cave entrance. The sounds of battle outside grew louder but Elena remained unconcerned with it. "They are the forsaken," she said turning back to face her. "Vampires who have succumbed to the Hunger, stripped of reason and bound to chaos. They sense what you carry, and they will tear this world apart to claim it."
"What I carry?" Elena's voice rose, frantic. "I don't carry anything! I'm not part of this—this madness!"
Seraphine's hand shot out, gripping Elena's wrist with surprising strength. Her touch was cold, but it sent a jolt through Elena's body, silencing her protests. "You cannot run from what you are," Seraphine said, her voice low and urgent. "Not anymore. The masquerade was only the beginning. They have tasted your scent, and they will not stop until you are theirs—or dead."
Elena's heart pounded so fiercely she thought it might burst. She yanked her wrist free, stumbling back. "You're wrong. I'm not... I'm not special. I'm not who your looking for. I'm not a princess, or a beacon, or whatever you think I am. I just want to go home!"
Seraphine rose, her expression remaining unreadable. "Home is no longer safe. Not for you. Not for anyone who bears the mark."
Before Elena could demand what "the mark" meant, a deafening crash shook the cave. Dust and pebbles rained from the ceiling, and a bloodcurdling howl tore through the air, far too close to where they stopd. Seraphine's head snapped toward the entrance, her glow intensifying until it burned like a star.
"They've found us," she whispered.
Elena's blood ran cold. She scrambled to her feet, her legs wobbling beneath her. "Damien—where's Prince Damien? He told me to stay here!"
Seraphine's eyes narrowed at her sentence as if trying to comprehend her "Your prince fights bravely, but he cannot hold them forever. We must move. Now."
Elena shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I can't—I can't just leave him!." She shivered in slight disgust at her own words. Did she just say that about a merciless killer?!.
"You will," Seraphine said, her voice hardening. She stepped forward, seizing Elena's arm and pulling her toward the cave's mouth. "If you stay, you die. There are so many people counting on you."
Elena struggled, but Seraphine's grip was unyielding like an equivalent to Damien's. The light from her skin flared brighter, and for a moment, Elena glimpsed something within it—flashes of images, like memories that weren't hers. A burning castle. A blood-red moon. A figure cloaked in shadow, holding a blade that dripped with starlight.
"What are you doing to me?" Elena gasped, her vision swimming.
"Showing you the truth," Seraphine said. "Come with me, princess. Or this forest will be your grave."
Another howl split the air, closer now. The mossy curtain at the cave's entrance tore apart, and a pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness, followed by the grotesque silhouette of another rogue vampire.
Seraphine released Elena and turned, her hands igniting with a silver flame that crackled like lightning. "Stay behind me," she commanded.
Elena stumbled back with her heart literally now in her throat. The rogue lunged forward to attack, but Seraphine thrust her hands forward, and a wave of light erupted, slamming the creature into the cave wall with a sickening crunch.
"Go!" Seraphine shouted, her voice echoing with power. "Run to the river! I'll find you!"
Elena hesitated, torn between fear and Damien's resounding warning. But the sounds of more rogues approaching made her think for herself. She bolted toward the back of the cave, where a narrow tunnel twisted into darkness, leading to a narrow path down the river.
As she ran, Seraphine's light flared behind her, illuminating the cave in a blinding flash. The last thing Elena heard was the woman's voice, sharp and commanding, chanting words in a language she didn't understand.
.........
Elena's feet pounded against the uneven path of the forest in a frenzied run. The darkness swallowed her, broken only by the faint silver glow of Seraphine's light from the distance filtering from the cave's mouth behind her.
The tunnel twisted sharply, and Elena stumbled, scraping her hands against jagged rock to catch herself. A red line of blood streamed down her grazed palm but she ignores it, wiping it on her pants as she continued scaling her way through. Her heart hammered, each beat screaming at her to keep moving, to escape the red-eyed horrors that hunted her. But her mind churned with questions.
Who really was this Seraphine and what mark was she talking about? The images she had glimpsed in Seraphine's light—a burning castle, a blood-red moon, a shadowed figure with a dripping blade, clung to her like a fever dream.
She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the wild thump of her pulse. 'Damien', she thought, guilt clawing at her. Not that she cared a lot about him, but he had sacrificed to fight because of her. She'd left him out there, fighting those monsters alone. But Seraphine's command had been absolute: 'Run to the river.'
Elena didn't even know where the river was, or if she could trust the silver-haired woman who seemed to know too much about her.
The tunnel widened suddenly, and a faint rush of water reached her ears. The air grew cooler, damp with the scent of moss and earth. She slowed, her eyes straining in the darkness that shrouded the tunnel. A sliver of moonlight pierced through a crack in the tunnel's ceiling, revealing a narrow exit ahead where the stone gave way to a curtain of tangled vines.
Elena hesitated, her breath hitching more frequently than normal. The sounds of battle had faded together with Seraphine's blinding light, replaced by an eerie silence that pressed against her eardrums louder than any noise. She crept forward, her hands trembling as she parted the vines.
Beyond them lay a steep embankment, sloping down to a river that glittered like liquid silver under the rising moon. She had never been to this part of the forest before.
Its surface rippled gently, reflecting the stars, but something about it felt... off. The water seemed too still, too perfect, as if there was something in it.
A ripple broke the surface ahead, and Elena froze. The water churned springing bubbles that rose in a slow, deliberate spiral. Her breath caught as a figure began to emerge, rising from the depths with an ethereal grace that made the air hum with an heavy energy. The river's glow encompassed around him, as if he were its source of light.
Elena instantly knew he was no ordinary creature. His body was tall and lithe, sculpted with an otherworldly perfection that seemed carved from liquid starlight. His skin glowed with a translucent sheen, pale as moonlight but threaded with veins of silver that pulsed faintly, as if carrying the river's essence. His chest and arms were lean yet powerful, his muscles rippling beneath his milky skin as if he could dissolve into the water at any moment. Droplets clung to his bare form, catching the moonlight and refracting it into prisms of color that danced across his skin.
His gaze was piercing and ancient, carrying years of knowledge that gave him the image of a god. His long and silken silver-blue hair flowed like the river itself, cascading over his broad, rippling shoulders that pulsed with every movement. It drifted in the air as if underwater, defying gravity, each strand glowing faintly like threads of moonlight.
His presence was spirit-like, intangible yet undeniable. The air around him shimmered with a faint mist, and his form seemed to flicker at the edges, as if he were woven from the river's essence rather than flesh. A faint aura of light enveloped him, pulsing in time with the river's glow, and the water seemed to obey his presence, rippling outward in gentle waves that carried a soft, melodic hum.
Elena's mouth went dry as she stared at the divine creature in front of her. God! He was more goodlooking than Damien!
"Who...who are you?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
The creature, a man, spirit, whatever he was tilted his head, his sapphire eyes studying her with an intensity that made her feel exposed, as if he could see through her wet clothes.
"I am Calithar," he said, his voice coming out low with a resonant hum that seemed to echo from the river itself "And who might you be, wanderer?."
Elena's legs wobbled at the sound of his voice. It was like the earth shook beneath her just by hearing him speak! She supported herself against a tree, trying to look as calm and unaffected as possible.
"I'm... I'm Princess Elena of—of Zerethane." As much as the name sounded bitter in her mouth, she knew better than to tell a complete stranger her real identity.
Calithar's smile deepened, but it held no warmth, only a quiet knowing. "You seem lost, Elena. Where are you headed?" he asked, now walking towards her.
A sharp pain flared at the base of Elena's neck, and she gasped, her hand flying to the spot. The skin felt hot, raised, as if a symbol had burned itself into her flesh.
Her vision blurred as she watched the man approach her. He stepped out of the glistening river and that's when she realized it. He was stark naked!. Elena felt a wave of blush creep up her cheeks. She quickly covered her eyes and turned around before he could see her.
Calithar smiled softly before stretching out both arms. A soft light enveloped him and in a flash, a white robe hung from his shoulders,tying itself at his torso.
"You can look now, princess." he said calmly. Elena turned to find him right in front of her and she couldn't help but gape at him. Yes she was married but damn! He was a tasty treat!
Before she could ask anything else, the rogues' growls snapped her back to reality. Across the river, their red eyes glowed brighter and their twisted forms were already pacing the bank. One lunged forward, his claws slashing at her but Calithar moved, instantly grabbing her and pulling her into his arms. The river surged furiously and a wave of silver light slammed the creature back with a force that shook the trees.
Calithar's eyes narrowed, his glow intensifying as he held her in his arms. "They sense you," he said, his voice darkening. "The Hunger drives them, but the river will not yield its chosen." He pushed her away from his arms and looked directly at her " We must leave now. The shrine awaits beyond the current and I'm sure Seraphine didn't send you here as a joke"
Elena's heart raced. "Shrine? What shrine? I don't understand—what's happening to me? Wait. You know the silver woman?"
Calithar's gaze softened, but his words were remained shar and direct "You cannot outrun your fate. The mark binds you to this world, to the war that stirs in the shadows. Cross the river, or the rogues will claim you."
A deafening snarl erupted from the bank, and Elena's head whipped around. More rogues emerged from the trees, swelling in dozens and dozens with their eyes locked on solely on her.
She took a step and the water swirled around her thighs. Calithar glided closer himself with her. "Trust the river," he said, his voice a whisper that seemed to come from inside her mind. "It will guide you."
Elena's tears mingled with the water as she waded deeper, the river's glow enveloping her. The rogues reached the river, raking their claws in the air, but the water held them at bay. The pain at her neck intensified, and the whisper in her mind grew louder as if calling her toward the unknown shrine.
As she moved, Calithar's form flickered, his sapphire eyes watching her with a mix of sorrow and resolve before suddenly disappearing. The river carried her forward to the other side, and the forest faded into a silver haze drowning the rogues' cries with it.
She glanced back into the tunnel, half-expecting to see those glowing red eyes or Seraphine's radiant figure emerging. Nothing. Just darkness and the faint echo of dripping water. Her chest tightened. 'What if Seraphine doesn't come? What if Damien's…'
She couldn't finish the thought.
A low growl rumbled from the trees across the river, snapping her attention back. Her blood froze. Two pairs of molten eyes gleamed from the shadows, their bodies twitching with that same unnatural speed she'd seen before. More rogue vampires? How many of these are there?!
Their fangs glinted, stained with fresh blood, and their claws scraped against the earth as they slunk closer to the water's edge.
Elena's legs buckled, and she dropped to a crouch behind the vines, her hands clamped over her mouth to stifle a whimper. Her mind screamed at her to run, but there was nowhere to go—the tunnel behind her led back to the cave, and the river lay between her and the rogues. She was trapped. Even worse, Calithar was no where to be found.
A soft hum vibrated through the air, and the hairs on Elena's arms stood on end. The moonlight on the river pulsed, growing brighter, and a figure materialized at the water's edge, as if stepping out of the light itself. Seraphine. Her white hair flowed like a cascade of starlight, and her storm-gray eyes locked onto the rogues across the river. The silver flame in her hands flickered, casting long shadows that danced across the embankment.
"Stay low," Seraphine said, her voice calm but edged with steely command. She didn't look at Elena but her focus remained fixed on the rogues as they hissed and snarled, pacing the opposite bank.
Elena's throat was too dry to respond. She pressed herself against the cold stone, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure it would burst out from her chest. The rogues' eyes flicked between Seraphine and the spot where Elena hid and their grotesque mouths twisted into hungry grins.
"You cannot have her," Seraphine raised one hand, and the river surged, its surface erupting into a wall of shimmering water that towered over the rogues. The liquid gleamed with an unnatural light as threads of silver weaved through them like veins. The rogues shrieked, clawing at the ground as the water wall pulsed harder and harder. The second it landed on them, the dissolved into black liquid instantly swallowed by the earth beneath them.
Elena's jaw dropped. What just happened?!
The power Seraphine wielded was unlike anything she'd seen—not even Damien, with his monstrous strength, could command the elements like this.
Seraphine's expression tightened, a bead of sweat glistening on her brow. "Princess," she said, her voice strained but steady. "You must cross this hill. Now."
"Cross?" Elena's voice cracked, barely a whisper. "I can't! What if they're more on the other side"
"They will not touch you while I hold the barrier," Seraphine said, her eyes flicking to Elena for the first time since she returned. There was no warmth in her gaze, only urgency. "The river is your sanctuary. It will protect you. But you must trust me."
Elena's hands shook as she stared at the water. The river's surface rippled, its silver glow pulsing in time with Seraphine's light. It didn't look like any river she'd ever seen—it felt alive, watching her. The rogues' growls grew louder, and another slammed into the water wall, cracks of light splintering across its surface.
"I… I can't," Elena stammered, tears stinging her eyes. "What about Damien? I can't leave him!"
Seraphine's jaw clenched. "Your prince is not your concern now. If you stay, you doom us all. Cross the hill, princess. The mark you bear demands it."
"The mark again!" Elena snapped, her fear giving way to frustration. "What are you talking about? What is with this mark thing—"
A deafening roar cut her off. The largest rogue leapt, shattering the water wall into a spray of glittering droplets. Seraphine staggered, her light dimming as she threw both hands forward, summoning another barrier just as the rogue's claws slashed through the air. The other rogue darted to the side, circling the riverbank, its eyes locked on Elena.
"Go!" Seraphine shouted, her voice cracking with effort. The silver flames in her hands flared brighter, but her shoulders trembled, as if the power was draining her.
Elena's heart lurched. She didn't understand the mark, or Seraphine, or why any of this was happening. But the rogue's eyes—those glowing, hungry orbs—left no room for hesitation. She scrambled down the embankment, her boots slipping on loose stones, and plunged into the river on the other side.
The water was shockingly cold, biting into her skin like needles. But as it closed over her ankles, her knees, her waist, a strange warmth spread through her, as if the river were embracing her. The current tugged gently, guiding her forward, and the silver glow seemed to wrap around her, shielding her from the rogues' snarls.
She glanced back. Seraphine stood at the river's edge, her hands blazing as she held the barrier against the rogues. But the cracks were spreading, and more shadows moved in the trees. Elena's stomach twisted in disgust at the sight. There were just too many!
As she waded deeper, the river's glow intensified, and a sharp pain flared at the base of her neck again. She gasped, her hand flying to the spot. Beneath her fingers, the skin felt hot, raised, as if a pattern had etched itself there.
The mark?
"Elena!" Seraphine's shout snapped her back. The barrier was crumbling, and one rogue broke through, its claws raking the air as it lunged toward the river. Seraphine spun, her light flaring into a blinding arc that severed the creature's arm, but another rogue was already leaping toward her.
Elena's legs moved on instinct, pushing her through the water. The river seemed to carry her with its current urging her toward the opposite bank. She stumbled onto the shore, her clothes dripping wet and her breath coming in gasps. The pain at her neck pulsed, and she felt a strange energy coursing through her, as if the river had awakened something inside her.
She turned back with her heart in her throat. Seraphine was surrounded, her light flickering as three rogues closed in on her. Elena's hands clenched into fists. She couldn't leave her—not after she'd saved her. Not after Damien had risked everything.
But before she could move, a deep, guttural roar echoed through the forest, shaking the trees. A figure crashed through the underbrush, cloaked in shadow and blood.
Damien. His crimson eyes burned with fury and his white shirt was torn and stained deeply with black blood, clinging the tightly to his muscular frame. In one hand, he held a silver dagger, its blade dripping with the same liquid that had come out of the creatures. In the other, he gripped the severed head of a rogue, which he flung at the nearest creature, knocking it back.
"Seraphine!" he bellowed, his voice raw. "Get her out of here!"
Seraphine's eyes met his and she nodded. She turned to Elena, her face pale but resolute. "Run," she said, her voice barely audible over the rogues' shrieks. "Find the shrine beyond the river. It will protect you."
Elena shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I'm not leaving you both!"
"You must," Seraphine said, her light flaring one last time. She raised her hands, and the river surged again, forming a new barrier that pushed the rogues back. "You cannot afford to die! Go!."
Damien charged into the midst of the rogues, his dagger flashing as he tore into their skins, ripping their hearts out. Elena's chest ached, but the pain at her neck burned hotter, urging her forward. She turned and ran as the forest blurred around her, stumbling toward the unknown shrine.
The rogues' howls followed her, mingling with the clash of steel and Seraphine's fading chant. And in her mind, that whisper grew louder, calling her
name until...