Seraphina's eyes, wide and frantic with a mixture of agonizing grief and bewildering disbelief, darted wildly across the scene. Crimson stained her hands, the rich silk of her once-exquisite gown now marred by a horrifying tapestry of blood, a grotesque counterpoint to its former elegance. Her knees buckled, giving way beneath the weight of her grief, the fine silk of her gown twisting and crumpling around her like a shroud as she collapsed onto the cold, unforgiving marble floor. In her arms, limp and still, lay a lifeless form, a chilling weight against her own trembling body. Each shuddering sob tore through her, a raw, animalistic sound that clawed at the silence, a desperate, heartbroken cry that echoed the emptiness in her soul. Her face, once radiant with life, was now a ravaged landscape of despair, contorted by agony. Hot tears, scalding rivers of sorrow, streamed down her cheeks, mingling with the grime and dust, leaving glistening tracks through the wreckage of her composure. The coppery stench of blood, thick and cloying, hung heavy in the air, a suffocating blanket of horror that mirrored the crushing weight of her loss, a brutal reminder of the vibrant life now extinguished, leaving behind only the bitter tang of death and the desolate ache of a broken heart.
A few feet away, a chilling contrast to Seraphina's devastation, stood Zyrain and Melissa. Zyrain, his short, midnight-purple hair a stark frame for his cruel, dark purple eyes, exuded an aura of predatory satisfaction. His muscular physique, honed from years of brutal training, stood taut with barely contained power. He was a predator, every inch of his real-life presence radiating callous triumph. Melissa mirrored his expression, her face contorted into a sneer of malicious glee.
Around them, the ballroom floor was transformed into a macabre tableau. The bodies of the werewolves lay scattered like discarded toys, their fur matted with their own blood, limbs twisted at unnatural angles. The once-glittering space was now a gruesome testament to the brutal efficiency of the massacre; the polished floor gleaming darkly beneath the crimson pools spreading across its surface. The silence, broken only by Seraphina's heartbroken weeping, was thick with the metallic scent of death.
"Why, Zyrain? Why betray me for her?" Seraphina's voice, a tremor of barely controlled fury and wrenching heartbreak, cracked like ice on a winter lake. Tears welled, blurring her vision of the carnage surrounding them. "What did I ever do to deserve this?" Crimson stained the opulent ballroom floor, reflecting in the polished mahogany and the glittering crystal chandeliers, a macabre mirror to the glittering scene moments before.
Zyrain stepped forward, his midnight purple hair a stark contrast to the paleness of his face, his dark purple eyes burning with a cold, unwavering intensity. He was a predator, beautiful and deadly. "Payback, Rina," he hissed, his voice a low growl. "You don't get to understand my reasons. You were always going to end up like this." He gestured with a contemptuous flick of his wrist towards the scattered bodies, a tableau of death and despair. "Only Lissa here gets me, only she understands me."
Seraphina's gaze shifted to Melissa, who stood amidst the carnage, tall and proud, a grotesque parody of regal bearing. Her eyes, gleaming with a terrifying blend of triumph and a chilling madness that sent shivers down Seraphina's spine, held a chilling glint of something ancient and malevolent. "You... you're just as guilty as he is," Seraphina breathed, the words catching in her throat.
Melissa let out a laugh, a chilling sound that echoed through the now silent ballroom, bouncing off the walls and amplifying the horror of the scene. The sound was devoid of mirth, a cruel symphony of icy triumph. "Guilty? Oh, my dear Rina," she purred, her voice dripping with venomous sarcasm. "We simply embraced our true natures. Something you, with your privileged upbringing, your naivete, could never comprehend." A cruel smile stretched across her lips.
Zyrain smirked, his dark purple eyes narrowing into slits. "Spoiled brat," he sneered, his voice laced with contempt. "Always thinking the world owed you something. Well, look at you now." The words were a brutal condemnation, a savage dismantling of everything Seraphina believed in.
Seraphina's eyes widened as a horrifying truth crashed down upon her. The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place, revealing a betrayal far more profound and devastating than she could have ever imagined. "It was you… you orchestrated all of this, Lissa. But why? What could you possibly gain from my downfall?" The question, raw and desperate, hung in the air, heavy with the weight of unspoken fears.
Before Melissa could reply, a strangled gasp escaped Seraphina's lips. Her eyes, wide with a terror that went beyond mere physical threat, landed on a familiar figure slumped against a far wall. "No… please, no…" she screamed a piercing scream that echoed the shattering of her world.