The wind howled as Yevana exited the obsidian gates. Not a soul dared stop her especially the guards who once bowed to her shadow.
She walked alone, but every step showed her pain.
Behind her, Elarian's palace burned in her memories. That throne, that smirk, that lie of love. She touched her own belly - Lucian and Alexa were the best gift he had given her. She remembered a time when she too thought power came from someone else.
She vanished into the darkness. Away from the man she once loved.
-
Allison sat beside Tianlei, who had fallen asleep while pretending not to be tired.
The boy clutched his charcoal pencil like a weapon.
She tucked a blanket around him and rose quietly, stretching. Her back ached, but she didn't complain. Her body was different now, blood colder, bones stronger, instincts sharper .
She touched her belly gently, whispering, "You okay in there?"
Then the door creaked open.
Lucian stepped in, freshly showered but his hair still disheveled. His knuckles were wrapped in gauze, his hair damp, and his eyes unreadable.
"You're bleeding," Allison said softly, nodding toward the gash above his brow.
He didn't reply at first. Instead, he crossed the room and sat down opposite her, the quietness between them growing like mist.
Then he spoke up,"I wasn't fast enough."
She blinked. "What?"
"I should've known they would strike tonight. I should've doubled the guards. I should've-"
"Stop blaming yourself," she cut in, sharper than intended. "You're not a god."
His eyes lifted slowly to meet hers. Moonlight caught the silver in his gaze.
"No" he murmured. "But I was made to be close."
She looked away first, cheeks warm. "Lucian... there's something I've been meaning to ask."
He leaned forward. "Anything."
Her voice dropped, uncertain. "What am I turning into?"
He didn't answer right away.
Instead, he reached out to touch the ruby pendant on her neck that Han Liuhua once wore.
It glowed faintly as he brushed it with the tip of his fingers.
"Your power," he said, "was forged before you were born. Your mother hid you in this world, hoping you'd live a quiet and normal life."
He closed his hand gently around the pendant. His voice softened. "But the First Flame doesn't die. It only waits for the right person to be chosen."
Allison inhaled sharply. "And now someone wants it."
"They all do," Lucian said, eyes hardening. "Because the First Flame can heal, or destroy. And if the wrong hands get it..."
---
LATE NIGHT
Beatrice sat at her desk, carefully stitching the tear in her sleeve. Her arm ached where the bullet had grazed her, but she didn't care. She had fought worse.
A knock at her door.
She didn't turn. "It's open."
Ren entered, his silhouette caught in the warm glow of her lamp. For a moment, he just stood there, watching her with that quiet intensity that always made her feel like he knew more than he let on.
"I didn't come to argue with you," he said.
She arched a brow. "That'd be a first."
He cracked a smile. "I came to ask if my apologies was accepted. And... to ask if I can stay. Just for tonight."
She paused, needle in hand.
Then nodded once. "Don't make it weird."
He closed the door behind him and settled on the couch.
"Beatrice," he said after a long pause, "when this is over... what will you do?"
She didn't look at him. "I didn't plan that far ahead."
"But if you could?"
Her hands slowed. "Maybe... take Tianlei somewhere quiet. Grow herbs. Read books. Try being a normal civilian for a while."
He smiled faintly. "You would hate it."
She snorted. "Probably."
Then silence again - companionable this time.
Ren closed his eyes and whispered, "I missed you."
Beatrice didn't reply.
But she didn't stop him when he reached out and brushed his fingers with hers and kissed her fervently.
---
UNKNOWN LOCATION
Elarian cloak shimmered with dusk and storm. His footsteps made no sound.
He stopped before a single surviving agent, barely breathing, slumped against the wall.
"Speak," he ordered.
The man gasped out, "We thought... It would be easy... just the girl and that child..."
The silver-eyed man crouched, lifting the agent by the chin.
"Did Elarian send you?"
The agent trembled. "No... we... got orders from someone else... a woman... her name... unknown to us..."
The man's eyes narrowed.
Then he let go.
The assassin gasped once more.
And then choked.
As shadow split his chest from inside.
Elarian eyes fixed at a spot he said , "I warned her not to act without me."
He turned toward the darkness behind him. "Bring her to me. She's getting ahead of herself."
-------
The candlelight flickered across a long table.
A woman sat alone at its head, her fingers tapping a steady rhythm against the surface as if keeping time with her own ambition. Around her, the blue eyed woman leaned on a pillar, arms crossed, watching the shadows curl and twist.
"Failed," the woman muttered, lips curling with distaste. "I gave them exact coordinates. Lu Villa wasn't supposed to stand."
Her voice was honey dipped in poison.
The blue-eyed woman said nothing. Her eyes were unreadable, reflecting light.
The other woman rose, trailing her fingers along the edge of the table where the empty vial of Allison's blood stood.
"She's carrying his child. The power inside her is growing fast... not just because of her bloodline, but because of him." Her eyes flashed. "We need to separate them."
A breeze moved unnaturally through the room.
Then, the shadows convulsed.
The silver-eyed man appeared beside her without making a sound.
She stiffened.
"You were warned not to do anything rash," he said quietly.
She didn't speak, didn't flinch. She merely placed the vial back on its stand and turned to face him with practiced calm.
"You were taking too long," she replied. "The opportunity was ripe. You hesitate-"
"I calculate," the man interrupted, his voice now glacial. "Your rashness nearly cost everything. She was almost awakened too early."
Li Anya laughed, but the sound was empty. "She already is awakened."
"Not completely." His silver eyes glinted like winter stars. "Not until the child is born."
That froze her.
She tilted her head. "The child... is the key?"
He stepped closer. "The child is more than that. A fusion of Celestial-blood and the First Flame. The prophecy was never about Allison alone."
There was a long silence.
Then she smiled again. This time, it reached her eyes but the smile was mad. "Then we kill the baby."
The silver-eyed man didn't move. "Touch it... and Lucian would do the unthinkable."
"I don't care." Her voice turned venomous. "He used to love me. He gave me everything until that girl showed up. Even when I faked my death, he never thought of being with someone else."
"She didn't take him from you," the man said. "You lost him before she ever arrived."
Li Anya's hand slammed into the table. Her voice thundered through the room. "Don't lecture me."The worm like parasite had really eaten her body but she didn't decay. Elarian had saved her fast. What Yevana buried an old rotten body the silver eyed man had kept.
The blue-flamed woman finally spoke, her tone soft but deadly. "He won't choose you."
Li Anya looked at her. "You don't know that."
"I do." She stepped forward now. "I've seen him hold Allison's hand while she sleeps. I've seen him stare at her like she's the last thing he ever wants to lose. He won't trade her. Not even for the world."
Something cracked behind Li Anya's eyes.
Then she smiled again. This time cold. Sharp and certain.
"Then I'll make her choose" she whispered. "Her bab or the man she loves."
---
LU VILLA - DAWN
Allison stood on the balcony, arms crossed over her hoodie, her eyes scanning the city skyline painted in early morning hues. Below, the estate was a hive of motion - reinforced patrols, guards moving in coordinated rotations, emergency lockdown protocols underway.
Behind her, Lucian appeared. Quiet as always.
She didn't turn. "I know someone tipped them off."
His silence confirmed it.
Allison's fingers curled into the railing. "They came straight for the living room. They knew where Tianlei was. Where I was. This wasn't random."
"No," he said softly. "It wasn't."
She turned now, slowly. "Was it her?"
His eyes darkened, the storm returning. "I don't know yet. But I have suspicions."
Allison stepped forward. "Li Anya."
His face was carved from stone. "She died, the parasites fed on her."
"You said that. But your eyes always betrayed doubt."
He looked away.
He stepped closer, brushing his fingers near her cheek . "But you have to promise me something."
"What?"
"If I lose myself... if I ever stop being who I am... don't try to save me."
"Lucian-"
"Promise."
Her voice caught. "No. I won't promise that."
A slow smile touched his lips.
Then a knock came, urgent and sharp.
Beatrice entered, her face devoid of any emotions.
"We have a problem."
---
LU VILLA - BASEMENT CHAMBER
The surveillance room glowed with screens.
Beatrice, Allison, Ren, and Lucian gathered around one particular monitor replaying a frame - over and over.
A drone camera caught it.
A face in the crowd just outside the Villa perimeter during the attack.
It was blurry but unmistakable.
Blue eyes. Pale hair. A scar above her lip.
Allison asked . "Who is she?"
Lucian answered grimly, "Her name is Aliah. She served mom once . She was banished after trying to assassinate one of the royal line but now she serves Elarian."
Ren said," I've seen her with Li Anya a couple of times."
Lucian looked between them. "Then we know who backed the strike."
"But why now?" Allison asked. "Why not months ago? Why wait until..."
Her hand dropped to her stomach.
And she understood.
The blood. The child. The prophecy, it wasn't all about her. They would do anything to get to get her power even if it means using a child.