Seraphina's POV
I had three hours until the masquerade.
Three hours to decide if I was brave or stupid enough to walk into Vivienne's trap.
My apartment felt too small suddenly. Too empty. I paced back and forth, my mother's bracelet heavy on my wrist. Every few minutes, I'd pick up my phone and stare at those messages.
The man in the raven mask knows everything.
Your mother didn't die the way they told you.
Who was he? And how did he know about my mother?
"Okay, explain this to me one more time," Bella said through video chat. She'd been listening to my story for the past hour, her face getting paler with each detail. "Some random dude called you, knew about the massacre, and told you to find a guy in a raven mask at the party?"
"Yes."
"And you're actually thinking about going?"
I stopped pacing. "Bella, he said my mother's death was a lie. What if he knows something? What if the council has been lying to me for twenty years?"
"Or what if Vivienne set this whole thing up to finish you off?" Bella leaned closer to her camera. "Sera, she already destroyed your reputation. Stole your fiancé. Got you kicked out of the coven. Why would she stop there?"
Because Vivienne never did anything halfway. When she wanted something, she took it completely.
Like she'd taken Marcus.
My chest ached at the thought. Three years. We'd been together three years. He'd proposed six months ago under a full moon, telling me I was his forever. Had any of it been real? Or had he been planning this with Vivienne the whole time?
"I have to go," I said quietly. "Even if it's a trap. I have to know the truth about Mom."
Bella sighed. "Then I'm coming with you."
"No. If something happens—"
"If something happens, you'll need backup." Her voice turned fierce. "You're my best friend, Sera. I'm not letting you walk into danger alone."
Warmth flooded through me. At least I had one person who still believed in me.
"Okay," I said. "Meet me there at midnight. And Bella? Bring protection spells. Lots of them."
After we hung up, I pulled out the silver dress I'd been planning to wear tonight. Before everything fell apart. Before I knew my perfect life was built on lies.
The dress was beautiful—all flowing silk and delicate beading. I'd bought it weeks ago, imagining Marcus's face when he saw me in it. Imagining dancing with him under the Blood Moon.
Now the thought made me sick.
I put on the dress anyway. Not for Marcus. For me. For whoever this mysterious man in the raven mask was.
And for Vivienne. I wanted her to see that she hadn't broken me completely.
Even if I felt shattered inside.
My phone buzzed. Another text from an unknown number. My third mysterious contact today.
Don't drink anything Vivienne gives you. Don't eat anything from her hand. Don't let her touch your skin. She's been studying poison magic. -L
Lucia. My mother's old friend. The witch who'd texted me earlier.
I typed back quickly: What kind of poison?
The response came fast: The kind that strips magic permanently. She needs you powerless before she can take what's yours. Be careful tonight, child. Your mother's enemies are now yours.
My hands went numb. I dropped the phone.
Vivienne wasn't just planning to embarrass me at the masquerade. She was planning to destroy my magic forever. To leave me completely human. Powerless.
Why? She'd already won. She had Marcus. She had my position. She had the council's favor.
What else could she possibly want from me?
My magic pulsed weakly in answer. That same strange warmth I'd felt from Mom's bracelet earlier. Like something was trying to wake up inside me.
Something Vivienne was afraid of.
I picked up the phone with shaking hands and called the one person who might have answers.
"Lucia? It's Sera. I need to know something." I took a deep breath. "What am I? Why does Vivienne want my magic so badly?"
Silence on the other end. Then: "Meet me at the cemetery. Your mother's grave. Come now, before the masquerade. There's something you need to see."
She hung up.
I grabbed my jacket and keys, my heart racing. The cemetery where Mom was buried. I hadn't been there in months. Couldn't bear to face that headstone and remember the night vampires ripped her away from me.
But if Lucia had answers, I'd go anywhere.
The drive took twenty minutes. The sun was setting now, painting the sky blood-red. In two hours, the Blood Moon would rise. Halloween would truly begin.
And I'd walk into whatever trap Vivienne had prepared.
The cemetery gates were open. I walked through, past rows of headstones, until I reached the oldest section. Where the most powerful witches were buried.
My mother's grave sat beneath a willow tree. Fresh flowers covered it—black roses and purple lilies. Someone had been here recently.
"Lucia?" I called out. "Are you here?"
A figure stepped from behind the willow tree.
But it wasn't Lucia.
It was a man. Tall, dressed all in black, his face hidden by shadows. Even in the dying light, I could see his eyes. They glowed faintly red.
Vampire.
I stumbled backward, magic sparking at my fingertips. Weak magic. Broken magic. But I'd fight if I had to.
"Don't run," he said. His voice was deep, commanding. The same voice from the phone call earlier. "I'm not here to hurt you."
"You're a vampire," I hissed. "You're on hallowed ground. Witch burial ground. You shouldn't even be able to stand here."
"I know." He stepped closer and I saw his face clearly now. Sharp cheekbones. Strong jaw. Hair as black as midnight. He was beautiful the way predators are beautiful—dangerous and mesmerizing. "Your mother gave me permission twenty years ago. Before she died. Her magic still recognizes me."
My mother knew a vampire? Trusted one enough to let him into sacred ground?
"Who are you?"
"Someone who's been watching over you since the night your mother died." He moved closer still, and I saw something in his hand. A photograph. Old and worn. "She asked me to protect you. To wait until you were ready to know the truth."
He handed me the photograph.
My mother stared back at me. Younger, smiling, her arm around this same vampire. They looked... happy. Close.
Friends.
"Your mother didn't die the way the council told you," he said quietly. "She wasn't killed by random vampires during a massacre. She was murdered. Specifically targeted. By someone in your own coven."
The world tilted. "What?"
"Vivienne's mother ordered it. Your stepmother. She wanted the High Priestess position for herself. When your mother refused to step down, she made a deal with rogue vampires. Made it look like a war attack." His red eyes burned with old anger. "I tried to save her. I failed."
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. My mother was murdered by witches? By family?
"Why?" The word came out broken. "Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because tonight, at the masquerade, Vivienne plans to finish what her mother started." He stepped so close I could feel the cold radiating from his vampire body. "She's going to kill you, Seraphina. And blame it on vampires. Just like they did with your mother."
Horror crashed through me. "The council won't let her—"
"The council is exactly who she wants watching." His hand caught mine, his skin ice-cold. "There's only one way to survive tonight. Only one person who can protect you from what's coming."
"Who?"
His lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "The Vampire Lord who's been searching for you for twenty years. The one who made a blood oath to your mother to keep you safe." He pulled something from his pocket. A raven mask, black and gleaming. "His name is Dante Moretti. And tonight, he'll be wearing this."
He pressed the mask into my hands. The moment I touched it, magic exploded through me. Not my magic. Something else. Something powerful and ancient and absolutely terrifying.
A mating bond.
I gasped, dropping the mask. It clattered to the ground between us.
The vampire smiled fully now, showing sharp fangs. "Your mother was a Samhain Witch. Born on Halloween. Bonded to creatures beyond her kind." He picked up the mask. "You inherited that gift, Seraphina. And Vivienne knows. That's why she wants you dead."
"I don't understand—"
"You will. Tonight. When you meet your mate." He placed the mask back in my hands, and this time I felt it. The pull. The connection. The absolute certainty that somewhere in this city, someone was waiting for me. "Find Dante Moretti. Tell him who you are. Let him claim you. It's the only way to survive."
"But I can't—vampires and witches don't—"
"Your mother did. With Dante's father." He stepped back into the shadows. "That's why they killed her. And that's why they'll kill you too. Unless you accept what you are."
"Wait!" I called. "What's your name? How do I find you again?"
"Nikolai." His voice echoed from the darkness. "And you won't need to find me. After tonight, if you survive, we'll be family."
Then he was gone. Vanished like smoke.
I stood alone in the cemetery, holding a raven mask, my entire world rebuilt in the space of five minutes.
My mother was murdered by witches.
I was a Samhain Witch who could bond with vampires.
Vivienne planned to kill me tonight.
And somewhere at the masquerade, a Vampire Lord named Dante Moretti was waiting for me.
His mate.
I looked at the mask in my hands. Felt the power thrumming through it. The connection pulling at something deep in my chest.
Then I looked at my mother's grave.
"I don't know if I'm brave enough for this, Mom," I whispered.
The wind picked up, making the willow branches dance. And I swear I heard her voice in the rustling leaves.
You're braver than you know, my darling girl. Now go. Meet your destiny.
I put the raven mask in my bag, next to my silver one.
Two hours until the masquerade.
Two hours until I'd meet the vampire who was supposed to be my mate.
Two hours until Vivienne tried to kill me.
I pulled out my phone and texted Bella: Change of plans. When you get to the masquerade, find me immediately. And whatever happens, don't let me drink anything. I'll explain everything. Also—bring your strongest protection spells. And maybe a weapon. We're going to need both.
Her response came instantly: Sera, you're scaring me.
I typed back: Good. Be scared. I am too. But I'm done running. Tonight, we fight.
I left the cemetery as the sun disappeared completely.
The Blood Moon was rising.
And somewhere in the darkness, a Vampire Lord waited for his witch.