Lucien didn't speak for a long time after the vampire vanished.
He just stared at the broken window, jaw locked, knuckles white.
Celeste sat in the corner of the room, curled into herself. The echo of the stranger's voice still rang in her mind.
> "You belong to me."
"I need to know his name," she said quietly.
Lucien didn't turn.
She stood. "If he's hunting me, if he's inside my veins, I need to know who he is."
Lucien's voice was barely above a whisper.
"His name is Rivan Drex."
The name landed like a chill on her skin.
"He was my brother," Lucien added.
---
Two Days Later
They left town at dawn.
Lucien didn't give her a choice. He said staying meant death—or worse.
He drove fast, eyes constantly flicking to the rearview mirror. Celeste stared out the window, thoughts tangled.
"Brother," she finally said. "You mean... like you were both turned by the same vampire?"
Lucien nodded. "Same maker. Same night. We died together. And rose together."
"What happened?"
His hands tightened on the wheel.
"Rivan was always… more. Louder. Braver. Hungrier. When the war ended, I wanted to disappear. He wanted to rule."
"So he became evil?"
Lucien's smile was bitter. "He became what the vampire world celebrates. Ambition. Power. Control."
Celeste frowned. "Then why is he after me?"
Lucien looked at her like he already regretted the answer.
"Because you're the first girl in over a century with a bloodline that matches the prophecy. The Blood Seer."
Celeste blinked. "What prophecy?"
Lucien pulled off the road onto a long gravel path leading into forest.
"I'll show you."
---
Hidden Sanctuary – Underground Vampire Library
The air beneath the forest was cold, damp, and ancient. Candles lit the walls in glass sconces. The scent of ink, dust, and old blood filled her lungs.
Lucien led her through rows of forgotten books, deeper until they reached a sealed case made of bone and silver.
Inside: a scroll.
He unrolled it on the table.
At the top, in black ink faded with time, was a drawing—a woman with white hair, glowing eyes, and a crescent-shaped mark over her heart.
Celeste stared.
"Who is she?"
"She was the first," Lucien said. "The original Blood Seer. Born human. Turned vampire. But her blood never fully changed. It kept something sacred. Something divine."
Celeste touched the scroll.
"And I'm… like her?"
"You might be," Lucien said. "Or something worse."
Her heart dropped.
Lucien leaned over the page. "Rivan wants to turn you because he believes doing so will awaken the Seer's gifts in your body. Visions. Mind control. Blood-binding. He doesn't want you. He wants what you unlock."
She backed away. "Then why mark me?"
Lucien's jaw tightened. "Because he doesn't trust me not to get to you first."
Celeste felt her stomach twist.
"I don't understand—if he's that dangerous, why hasn't someone stopped him?"
Lucien's voice was cold.
"They tried. They're all dead."
---
That Night – Safehouse
Celeste sat on the edge of the dusty bed in the safehouse, listening to the storm pounding the rooftop. Lucien stood at the window again, unmoving, statue-still.
Her voice was quiet. "You said he was your brother."
Lucien didn't look at her. "I also said we died together. But only one of us stayed dead inside."
"Did you love him?"
He turned, surprised.
She met his gaze. "Before the hunger. Before everything else."
Lucien's eyes darkened. "I did. And I hated him for who he became. And worse… I hated myself for not becoming it first."
He walked toward her slowly.
"I don't deserve to protect you," he said. "But I will."
Celeste reached for his hand. "You already are."
---
Meanwhile – Elsewhere
Rivan stood in the ruins of a cathedral, his coat soaked in blood and rain.
A younger vampire knelt before him, trembling.
"She's gone. We… we lost track."
Rivan didn't move.
He ran a pale hand through his ink-black hair and exhaled slowly.
"So Lucien still thinks he can hide."
The young vampire whimpered. "What should we do?"
Rivan crouched low, gripping the vampire's jaw.
"Lucien wants her heart," he whispered. "But I want her blood."
Then he smiled—a twisted, beautiful thing.
"And I always get what I want."