The carriage that carried Mira away from her aunt's home was silent—eerily so. No horses pulled it, yet it moved. No driver guided it, yet it followed the night like a servant. Mira sat wedged between Lucien and Darian while Varek and Kaelen sat across from her, watching every breath she took like it offended them.
"Stop staring," she muttered, her arms crossed tightly.
"You don't get to give orders, girl," Varek snapped, the glow in his eyes flickering brighter for a moment. "You are not among humans anymore."
Kaelen chuckled. "But let her try, brother. It's been a long while since we've had something so entertaining around here."
Darian leaned closer, his voice like crushed velvet soaked in blood. "You're trembling, Mira. Is it fear—or anticipation?"
Lucien remained silent, but his grip on her wrist was iron.
They crossed through what felt like layers of time before the carriage stopped in front of a towering estate veiled in perpetual dusk. Twisting trees with bone-white bark loomed like watchmen. The manor was massive, sprawling like a cathedral built for sin. Windows glowed faintly with candlelight that flickered unnaturally, never truly still.
"This is your new home," Kaelen announced with a mock bow. "Welcome to the House of Shadows."
As they entered, the grand doors opened without touch, revealing a vast hallway with walls adorned in black tapestries and silver filigree. The air tasted of old secrets and unspoken violence.
And then Mira saw her.
Standing by the grand staircase, dressed in a crimson dress that hugged her curves like sin incarnate, was Salene.
Her gaze locked with Mira's, a flicker of recognition crossing her face.
"You," Mira said slowly. "We went to college together."
Salene tilted her head with a knowing smile. "We did. You were the quiet one in the back. Always scribbling in your journals."
Mira's eyes narrowed. "You're human. What are you doing here?"
Kaelen grinned. "Ah, Salene. Our darling human pet. She chose us. Long before fate chose you."
Salene stepped forward, her heels echoing through the hall. "I always knew they were more than just shadows. And I wanted them. All of them."
Darian's eyes gleamed with pleasure. "And she's been quite obedient."
"But you—" Salene's voice sharpened, venom laced beneath her sultry tone— "you walk in with their mark on your blood. You didn't earn it. You were born with it. That makes you dangerous."
Mira stared back, defiant. "Maybe I am. But I'm not like you. I didn't beg for their attention."
That earned a smirk from Lucien. "Careful, Mira. Some in this house don't take well to defiance."
Varek motioned toward the winding staircase. "Your room is in the east wing. Don't wander. The manor is… alive."
"Alive?" Mira echoed.
Kaelen leaned close, whispering in her ear, "It remembers blood. And it remembers betrayal."
Salene's voice followed her as Mira began to walk. "Watch yourself, little legacy. You may have their blood's favor… but I've had their teeth."
Later that night, in a chamber that smelled faintly of incense and decay, Mira sat by the window. The moon refused to show its face. She held her mother's letter again, the words etched into her mind like scars.
A soft knock came at the door.
It was Salene.
"I brought you tea," she said coolly, stepping in without permission. "Thought you could use something warm before your next… encounter."
Mira didn't take the cup. "What do you want?"
Salene stared at her, something unspoken burning behind her eyes. "You don't know what you've stepped into, Mira. These men—these lords—they don't love. They consume. And if you think your blood makes you special, you're wrong. It makes you a target."
"Then why are you still here?" Mira asked.
"Because I'd rather be consumed by them than forgotten by the world."
Mira said nothing, watching as Salene turned and walked away, the door shutting softly behind her.
Outside, something howled.
Inside, the shadows shifted.
And Mira, finally, whispered to herself, "I'm not afraid of being consumed. I'm afraid of what I'll become once they do."
To be continued…