Chapter 8: The Hunter's Creed
The ballroom was chaos.
Guards rushed in, weapons drawn, as green flames licked the marble floor. Noble guests stampeded in panic, their silk masks tossed aside, revealing fangs, fur, and fear. The peace held by threads was unraveling.
At the heart of the storm stood the vampire hunter.
He was tall, silver-plated from boots to shoulders, his black coat billowing behind him like smoke. The golden glyphs on his chestplate shimmered with ancient magic. A blade—part obsidian, part sun-forged silver—hung across his back.
"Elara Voss," he called again, voice calm yet filled with death. "Come with me, or this city falls."
Familiar Stranger
Elara froze at the base of the grand staircase. Lucien stepped in front of her, fang-bared. Kael moved beside her like a shadow, tense, unreadable.
"I know him," Elara whispered.
"You what?" Lucien snapped.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "That's impossible. He's a Sunblade."
Elara's gaze didn't falter. "He was in my dreams. Before I even woke up in the Veiled City."
The hunter's golden eyes locked onto hers. And then… they softened.
"Elara," he said again—quieter this time. "You don't remember me, do you?"
A Memory Reborn
The flames danced in her eyes, and suddenly the ballroom vanished.
Elara fell into a vision.
A boy, maybe twelve, knelt beside her on a stormy night. She was bleeding, shivering, clutching a carved wooden pendant in her hand.
"Don't die," the boy whispered. "Not you."
The vision cracked. Back in the ballroom, Elara swayed.
"I... I think I knew you. Before the change," she said aloud.
The hunter took one step closer, lowering his sword.
"My name is Aeron. I was your brother once—before the witches tore the sky."
Split Loyalties
Kael's hand tightened on her arm.
"You're not going with him."
Lucien flared with fury. "She is under my House's protection."
But Elara stepped forward, steady.
"You said if I didn't go, you'd burn the city," she said to Aeron.
"I said I'd burn it… unless you remembered," he replied. "And now you do."
With that, Aeron turned and vanished into the night, melting into the flames like a ghost.
The Council Fractures
The next morning, the High Council convened in emergency session. Humans blamed the wolves. Witches warned of prophecies fulfilled. Vampires demanded vengeance. The fragile blood truce crumbled at the seams.
Elara was summoned—but not welcomed.
Some called her cursed. Others whispered savior.
She sat alone in the chamber, the eyes of kings, queens, and killers upon her.
And yet, she didn't feel fear.
She felt… power.
And in her hand, the wooden pendant from her vision had reappeared.