Chapter 11: Shadows of the Past
Part 1: The Peace That Follows
The air in Nysa's sanctuary hummed with a quiet, ancient magic. It had been a week since the chaos that brought them there, and though the forest estate seemed peaceful on the surface, tension lingered beneath the leaves.
Kian stood at the edge of a clearing, eyes closed, as he listened to the rhythm of his own heartbeat—and the echoes beyond.
"Again," Nysa said calmly, her voice like wind weaving through trees.
He opened his eyes. His palms lit up with black-red runes. Shadows twisted outward, forming a translucent barrier around him. A gust of magical energy hit, and the shield held.
"Good. The Dark Shield responds to your will now. But let's try something harder."
They moved into another drill. Nysa sliced her palm, the blood falling to the ground. Kian focused, reaching with his mind.
He gasped.
Bloodlines whispered to him.
"She's... your blood is tied to the Firstborn witches... and something older," he murmured.
"Blood Echoes," Nysa confirmed. "A Nightborn gift rarely seen. You're becoming more than a relic of the past, Kian. You're its answer."
Selene watched from a distance. His strength had grown. But so had his silence. He didn't talk much after training, but she saw it in his eyes—the pain, the drive, the need to protect.
That night, she sat beside him near the fire. He didn't speak.
So she did. "You don't have to carry everything alone."
He looked at her then, and for the first time, she saw the boy behind the shadows. The boy who had lost everything.
Part 2: The Heart Remembers
Selene dreamed that night.
Flashes of her childhood—running through frost-laced woods, her father warning her to avoid the cursed ones. The Nightborn. Yet it was one of them who saved her from a rogue werewolf when she was seven. She never forgot those glowing silver eyes.
Years later, she researched Nightborn bloodlines obsessively. Something about them called to her. When she saw Kian for the first time, she didn't recognize the boy—but she recognized the pain.
Now, as she stood by the stream outside the sanctuary, Kian joined her. She handed him an apple. He accepted it wordlessly.
"You remember the crypt?" she asked.
"I remember you pulling me out of hell," he said.
Her hand brushed his. He didn't pull away.
And just like that, under the moonlight and the hum of the forest, she leaned in. Their lips met—soft, unsure at first, then deeper, urgent, like two souls finally breathing after drowning.
When they returned to the house, Rai raised a brow.
"Well, I guess the crypt wasn't the only place something awakened."
Selene laughed. Kian turned crimson.
Part 3: A Whisper in the Dark
Midnight.
Kian trained alone under the canopy. Something rustled. He froze.
Then he heard it: a whisper, soft as falling leaves.
"Kian... come..."
He followed it deep into the forest, further than he'd ever gone. Magic pulsed here—old and angry.
A buried relic waited in a hollow tree, covered in Nightborn sigils. As he touched it, visions consumed him.
He saw fire. A throne of bones. A Nightborn king betrayed. And then—a prophecy:
"When the last blood awakens the Umbra Vitae, the war shall rise anew."
The relic burned into his palm. He fell to his knees.
A voice echoed: "You are the heir of the Nightborn. Wield the Shadow of Life, or be consumed by it."
He staggered back to camp, haunted and silent.
Part 4: Rai's Confession
The next day, Rai found Selene outside.
"Mind if I join?" he asked.
"Of course not."
They sat in silence.
"I used to work for the Blood Hunters," Rai said quietly.
She blinked. "What?"
"I was young. Thought I was hunting monsters. Until I realized... I was helping them enslave and butcher Nightborn. Including his mother."
Selene's face paled.
"They turned on me when I let one escape. Kian's father. Ever since, I've been hunted too."
She touched his hand. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because I'd burn the world before I let them take him again."
In that moment, she saw the depth of Rai's loyalty—and pain.
Part 5: Nysa's Warning
That evening, Nysa awoke in sweat. Her hands trembled.
She called the trio into the circle of runes.
"I had a vision. A city in flames. A star falling. Kian standing over the ruins of the High Council."
"What does it mean?" Kian asked.
"That your destiny is larger than any of us. But also... one of us will betray the others."
The silence was suffocating.
"Who?" Selene asked.
Nysa only shook her head. "I don't know. Be careful."
Mistrust bloomed like a weed.
Part 6: The Council Moves
Far away, in the capital tower of the Supernatural Council, Eldric paced.
"He is the last Nightborn. He must die."
Others around the table murmured.
"He is also a boy," Thalora, a white-haired witch, said. "One who could bring balance."
"Or ruin," Eldric snapped.
A vote was called. Majority ruled for his execution.
But Thalora sent a raven under moonlight, carrying a warning to the sanctuary.
Meanwhile, the Council debated a final measure—the Soulforged Chains, cursed to bind even gods.
Part 7: Betrayal in the Garden
It came at night.
The sanctuary's alarms flared as shadows invaded. Screams. Crashing wood. Fire.
The warding spells were broken.
Someone let them in.
Selene fought fiercely, nearly dragged away by a dark-robed vampire. Kian unleashed his powers—Dark Shield saving her in the nick of time. Shadows whipped through the air, slamming attackers into trees.
Rai skewered one of the intruders with an ancient blade, gifted by Nysa.
They survived. But barely.
Afterward, Kian stood over the body of the vampire. "One of the Blood Hunters."
"How did they get in?" Selene asked.
Everyone looked at each other.
Part 8: Flight Again
Nysa's face was pale. "They found us too quickly. You must leave."
"We can't just abandon you," Selene said.
"You must. I've delayed fate long enough."
She gave them three cloaks enchanted with masking charms, a glowing map that updated magically, and a cryptic message:
"Seek the City of Ashes. There, your path splits. One leads to salvation. The other, to ruin."
They embraced. Nysa kissed Kian's forehead.
"Burn their chains," she whispered.
As they walked away, the sanctuary crumbled behind them.
"Where now?" Rai asked.
Selene looked ahead. "We keep running."
"Aren't they tired of this already?" Rai muttered.
Kian clenched his fist. His eyes glowed faintly.
"They will be."