Morning light crept slowly through the curtains, painting faint gold on the walls. The night's events still clung to the air — heavy, unreal.
Asher sat on the edge of his bed, tracing the mark near his collarbone. The **locket** resting against his chest felt strangely connected to it — as if the locket were the key, and the mark the door. When one stirred, the other seemed to answer.
It didn't glow anymore, but the skin around it felt warm, almost like the echo of a heartbeat that wasn't his.
Downstairs, he could hear Grandma Elara and Eli moving softly, whispering to each other. They had no memory of the creature or the strange wind that shook the house — Lucian had seen to that. His kind could blur the fragile edges of memory when needed. But Asher remembered everything.
The quiet broke when a shadow fell over his window.
"Asher," came the familiar voice, low and calm.
Lucian stood outside, crimson eyes softened by the daylight, his black coat stirring gently in the breeze. He looked tired — which seemed impossible for someone like him.
"You should rest," Asher said, opening the window.
Lucian tilted his head, a faint smile touching his lips. "Vampires don't sleep easily. Not when old magic wakes beneath their feet."
Asher's gaze lowered to the faint mark on his chest. "You mean Amara's power."
Lucian nodded. "It's growing restless. That thing from last night wasn't meant to cross the barrier. Someone… or something… helped it through."
Before Asher could respond, a new voice drifted from behind the trees.
"Then we're not the only ones watching her remnants."
Lucian's expression hardened instantly.
A man stepped from the shadows — tall, with short dark hair, wearing a long hunter's coat marked by silver runes. His eyes were sharp, amber-gold, and carried the calm of someone used to danger.
"Victor," Lucian said flatly.
Asher blinked. "You know him?"
The man offered a polite nod. "We've crossed paths before. Though I prefer hunting vampires, not chatting with them."
Lucian's tone cooled. "And yet you're here."
Victor's gaze flicked to Asher. "Because something older than both of us is waking — and if the rumors are true, the blood of the First flows again. You've felt it too, haven't you?"
Asher's breath caught, his fingers brushing the locket instinctively.
Lucian moved subtly, placing himself between them. "He's not your concern, hunter."
Victor smirked faintly. "Maybe not now. But when that mark flares again, it won't just draw vampires — it'll draw everything that feeds on power."
The silence that followed was sharp, humming with tension.
Then Victor stepped back, his gaze unreadable. "I'll be watching. For your sake, boy, pray that I'm on your side when the time comes."
As he vanished into the trees, Lucian exhaled softly — almost a sigh. "He always was dramatic."
Asher tried to smile. "You're one to talk."
Lucian's eyes met his then, crimson and calm. "Maybe. But I keep my promises." His voice softened. "And I promised I'd protect you, Asher — even from what's already inside you."
To be continued....