The stronghold did not sleep.
Even after the council dismissed them, Ariana could feel the shift in the air — tension tightening like a wire pulled too far.
They had been given temporary chambers deep within the ancestral fortress. Stone walls. Iron doors. Guards posted discreetly outside.
Protection.
Or surveillance.
Jayden stood near the balcony archway overlooking the dark mountain range, his posture rigid.
The twins slept in the adjoining room, exhausted from the emotional and magical strain of the day.
Ariana watched him silently.
"You're angry," she said softly.
He didn't turn around.
"I'm calculating."
"That's worse."
That earned a faint breath of humorless air from him.
He finally turned to face her.
"You walked into the lion's den pregnant with my child."
Her hand instinctively rested over her stomach.
"It wasn't planned."
His gaze softened for a fraction of a second.
Then hardened again.
"They felt it immediately."
"Yes."
"And Valerius didn't look surprised."
Ariana's stomach tightened. "You think he already knew?"
"I think," Jayden said quietly, stepping closer, "that something inside this council has been waiting for the third."
A chill slid down her spine.
Before she could respond—
A pulse hit her abdomen.
Sharp.
Wrong.
She gasped, grabbing the edge of a stone table.
Jayden was at her side instantly.
"What is it?"
Another pulse.
Stronger.
It felt like something was pressing outward — reacting violently.
Dark magic.
"It's here," she whispered.
The chamber doors exploded inward.
Two masked figures rushed inside — fast, coordinated, blades coated in black runes.
Jayden moved.
He didn't hesitate.
He intercepted the first attacker mid-strike, snapping their wrist and slamming them into the wall hard enough to crack stone.
The second lunged toward Ariana.
But this time—
She didn't freeze.
Energy flared from her hands instinctively, brighter than before, fed by fear and fury.
The blade struck her shield and shattered.
The attacker recoiled in shock.
Jayden finished the first and turned — eyes blazing.
"Touch her again," he said coldly, "and I will erase your entire bloodline."
The attacker faltered.
That hesitation cost them everything.
Jayden tore through them with merciless precision.
The room fell silent again.
Too silent.
Ariana was shaking now — not from fear.
From the energy surging through her body.
Jayden rushed back to her.
"It's reacting," she breathed. "The baby— it's reacting to the dark magic."
His expression darkened.
Footsteps thundered down the corridor.
Guards.
And behind them—
Elder Valerius.
He stepped into the ruined chamber slowly, surveying the bodies.
"Assassins," he murmured.
Jayden didn't bother with diplomacy.
"You said they wouldn't be harmed."
Valerius' gaze sharpened.
"I said the council would not harm them."
Realization dawned.
"A traitor," Ariana whispered.
Valerius inclined his head slightly.
"It appears so."
Jayden's power rolled through the chamber like a coming storm.
"Find them," he said.
"That is not how the council functions—"
Jayden stepped forward.
The air trembled.
"I am not asking as a council member."
His voice dropped lower.
"I am claiming my family."
Silence fell heavily.
Even Valerius seemed to measure his next words carefully.
Jayden turned toward the corridor, his voice carrying beyond the broken doorway.
"Let it be known," he declared, power resonating through stone, "Ariana and her children stand under my blood oath. Any attack on them is an attack on me."
Whispers rippled through the hall.
Vampires gathered at a distance.
Shock.
Curiosity.
Fear.
Blood oaths were not spoken lightly.
They were binding.
Ancient.
Absolute.
Valerius' eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"You understand the consequence of that declaration."
"Yes," Jayden said evenly. "Do you?"
The message was clear.
War would not remain internal if they crossed him again.
Ariana watched him, heart pounding.
He wasn't just protecting them privately anymore.
He had made it political.
Permanent.
The twins appeared in the doorway, woken by the explosion.
They rushed toward Ariana.
Jayden instinctively stepped between them and the bodies.
The older twin looked at him with wide eyes.
"You're glowing," they whispered.
He hadn't realized.
Golden light was still flickering under his skin.
Ariana exhaled slowly.
The pulse in her abdomen began to settle.
Jayden noticed.
He stepped closer carefully, placing his hand over hers.
Warmth flowed from him — steady, grounding.
The erratic energy eased.
The child inside her responded to him.
Calmed by him.
Valerius watched the exchange with sharp attention.
"It is stronger than expected," he murmured.
Jayden's eyes flashed toward him.
"Do not speak of my child like an experiment."
Valerius held his gaze.
"The third was always meant to shift power. But I did not anticipate it awakening this soon."
Ariana's throat tightened.
"What does that mean?"
"It means," Valerius said quietly, "that whoever orchestrated this attack is afraid."
"Afraid of a child?" Ariana asked.
"Afraid of what that child becomes."
Silence stretched.
Jayden turned toward Ariana fully now.
"I won't allow you to stay here."
"You can't just leave," she said. "Running makes us vulnerable."
"Staying makes you targets."
The twins clung to his coat unconsciously.
He looked down at them.
Then back at her.
His voice softened.
"I lost you once."
Emotion cracked through the statement.
"I won't lose any of you again."
Ariana stepped closer.
Close enough that she could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat — powerful, ancient.
For the first time since she returned…
She didn't feel alone.
"You're not losing us," she whispered.
He lifted his hand, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face.
Intimate.
Unrestrained.
Not hidden.
"We fight together this time," she said.
His jaw tightened slightly.
"Together."
Behind them, Valerius spoke again.
"The traitor will reveal themselves soon. Power attracts fear."
Jayden didn't turn.
"Then let them be afraid."
The message had been sent.
The claim had been made.
The council now knew where he stood.
And somewhere in the shadows of the fortress…
Someone had just realized their plan had failed.
But this wasn't over.
Not even close.
Because the third child had reacted.
Awakened.
And if the prophecy was accelerating—
Then the enemies waiting beyond the council walls would not remain patient.