Music Suggestions While Reading:
Opening: "In the House – In a Heartbeat" – John Murphy
Council scene: "Moonlight Sonata (1st Movement)" – Beethoven
Lucian's plea: "Experience" – Ludovico Einaudi
Ending: "Exit Music (For a Film)" – Radiohead
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The Castle Bleeds Light
The throne hall hadn't been used in decades.
Now, its torches hissed and snapped as the elders gathered. Stone eyes carved into every pillar watched, silent witnesses to what would become history.
Kyrell knelt in the center, shackled in iron laced with sacred ash. He didn't speak. He barely breathed. But his eyes never left Lucian.
Lucian stood above him, not on the dais—but beside him.
> "He is not the threat you think he is."
Elder Silas raised a bony hand.
> "You said that once about yourself, Lucian. And then the war began."
---
Testimonies and Threats
Renak read from the ledger of crimes. The words were cold:
Memory manipulation.
Unauthorized turning.
Harboring a hybrid without clearance.
Betraying the sanctity of the Council.
Lucian's voice cut through like thunder:
> "He is not turned. He was born this way."
A collective murmur. Shock, confusion, fear.
> "A born hybrid?" one elder whispered. "That's impossible."
Silas's expression turned grave.
> "And yet he lives. And love—your love—shielded him from us."
---
The Vote
A hand lifted. Then another. Then six.
Silas nodded.
> "The Council has spoken. The creature will be executed at dusk."
Lucian stepped forward.
> "Then you'll have to kill me first."
Gasps echoed. Renak stared at him in disbelief.
> "Lucian—"
> "I will not stand by while you murder the only thing that has ever made me feel alive."
---
The Lock Breaks
Kyrell's chains rattled.
Not from motion.
From heat.
From the power rising within him.
His head lifted slowly, eyes no longer soft, no longer human.
But glowing—blazing like moonfire.
> "I don't need saving anymore."
---
The Standoff
In a single, breathless instant, every blade was drawn.
Elder guards surrounded them. Lucian's fangs descended, eyes black as pitch.
Kyrell rose to his feet without touching the ground.
And between them—between Council law and forbidden love—time held its breath.
> "If you run," Lucian said, barely above a whisper, "they will hunt you."
> "Then let them come."