Seraphina's POV
The teacup shattered in my hand.
I stared at the blood pooling in my palm, feeling nothing. No pain. No magic rushing to heal me. Just emptiness where my power used to live.
"Seraphina!" Lucia grabbed my hand, wrapping it in a clean cloth. Her amber eyes filled with worry. "You're bleeding everywhere."
"I can't feel it." My voice sounded dead even to my own ears. "I can't feel anything anymore."
Six hours. That's how long it had been since the council stripped my position. Since Marcus stood beside Vivienne and called me a liar. Since my magic went dark like someone blew out a candle inside my chest.
Lucia pressed the cloth harder against my cut. "Your magic isn't gone, child. It's hiding. Protecting itself from the shock."
"Then why won't it come back?" I whispered. "I tried casting a simple light spell. Nothing happened. I'm broken, Lucia. They broke me."
"No." Lucia's voice turned fierce. She grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at her. "Vivienne broke your engagement and stole your position. But she hasn't broken YOU. Not unless you let her."
Tears burned my eyes. "Everyone saw. The whole coven watched me get humiliated. How can I ever face them again?"
"With your head high." Lucia released me and walked to her closet. When she turned back, she held something that sparkled in the firelight. "And with this."
A silver mask. Delicate and beautiful, shaped like butterfly wings with tiny crystals around the edges. It would cover everything from my forehead to my cheeks, leaving only my mouth and chin visible.
"The Grand Masquerade," I breathed. "That's tonight."
"Every supernatural creature in New Orleans will be there. Including Vivienne, wearing YOUR engagement ring and acting like she won." Lucia's smile was sharp. "Unless you show up and remind everyone who you really are."
"I'm nobody now. A witch without magic."
"You're Elena Ashwood's daughter. That name still means something." Lucia pressed the mask into my hands. "Your mother faced worse than this. When your father cheated and brought Vivienne's mother into our coven, everyone expected Elena to fall apart. Instead, she held her head high and became the greatest High Priestess we've ever known."
My throat tightened. "Mom had her magic. I don't."
"Your mother had courage. So do you." Lucia cupped my face gently. "Go to that ball, Seraphina. Dance. Laugh. Show them that losing your position doesn't mean losing yourself. And if nothing else, make Vivienne sweat wondering if you're going to expose what she really did."
I looked down at the mask. Behind it, no one would recognize me. Without my magic signature, I'd be just another masked guest. Anonymous. Safe.
But also invisible. Again.
"What if I run into Marcus?" The thought made me sick.
"Then you ignore him like the trash he is." Lucia pulled a silver dress from her closet. "This was your mother's. She wore it the night she met your father. Before everything went wrong." She smiled sadly. "Maybe it'll bring you better luck."
The dress was gorgeous. Simple but elegant, made of fabric that shimmered like moonlight. I touched it carefully, remembering Mom wearing it in old photos. She'd looked like a queen.
"I can't—"
"You can. And you will." Lucia's tone left no room for argument. "Because right now, Vivienne thinks she destroyed you. She's probably celebrating, planning her coronation as the next High Priestess. Don't give her that satisfaction."
Something stirred in my chest. Not magic. Anger.
Vivienne had stolen everything. My position. My fiancé. My dignity. She'd twisted my research to make me look like a traitor. And now she was probably laughing about it, thinking I'd hide forever.
Well, maybe I was done hiding.
"Okay," I heard myself say. "I'll go."
Lucia's smile was proud. "That's my girl."
Two hours later, I stood at the entrance to Thornwood Manor, my hands shaking inside white gloves. The mask felt strange on my face. The dress hung perfectly, like Mom was hugging me. But inside, I still felt hollow.
Music drifted from the ballroom. Laughter. The hum of magic from hundreds of supernatural creatures gathered for Halloween's most important celebration. Any other year, I would've been announced at the door. Seraphina Ashwood, next High Priestess of the Sacred Oak Coven.
Tonight, I slipped in through the garden entrance like a ghost.
The ballroom sparkled with enchantments. Floating candles cast golden light over dancers in elaborate costumes. Witches, vampires, shifters, even a few fae—all masked, all celebrating the thinning veil between worlds.
I saw Vivienne immediately. She wore red, of course. Bold and attention-grabbing, with MY diamond ring flashing on her finger as she laughed with council members. Marcus stood beside her like a loyal dog.
My stomach twisted. They looked so happy. So perfect together.
"Champagne?" A server appeared at my elbow.
I grabbed a glass, grateful for something to do with my shaking hands. The champagne tasted like ash, but I drank it anyway.
"You came."
I spun around. Bella stood there in a black cat costume, her dark eyes wide with relief. "Sera, I've been trying to call you all day! Are you okay? That thing with the council was—"
"Don't." I couldn't talk about it. Not here. Not when I was barely holding myself together. "I just came to show my face. Then I'm leaving."
"Good. You should be here. Acting like nothing's wrong drives Vivienne crazy." Bella grabbed my arm. "She's been watching the door all night. Looking nervous. I think she's afraid you'll tell everyone what really happened."
"What really happened is that I trusted the wrong people." I took another sip of champagne, wishing it would numb the ache in my chest. "That's my fault."
"That's HER fault. She's the one who—" Bella stopped, her eyes going wide. "Oh no."
"What?"
"Don't turn around. Vivienne's coming over here."
My heart hammered. I wasn't ready for this. Wasn't ready to face her wearing Mom's ring, standing in my place, smiling like she hadn't destroyed my entire life.
"Seraphina." Vivienne's voice dripped false sweetness. "I'm so surprised to see you here. After everything that happened, I thought you'd want to stay away."
I turned slowly, keeping my face blank behind the mask. "It's Halloween. I wouldn't miss the Grand Masquerade."
"Even without your magic?" Vivienne's smile sharpened. "I mean, attending supernatural events when you're practically human now seems... awkward."
Bella stepped forward, but I stopped her with a look. I wouldn't let Vivienne see me break.
"My invitation didn't require magic," I said coolly. "Just a mask. Which, coincidentally, is more honest than some people here." I let my gaze drop to the ring on her finger. "At least I'm only hiding my face."
Vivienne's expression flickered. Anger, quickly hidden. "You always were dramatic. No wonder the council saw through your lies."
"What lies?" The question came from someone behind Vivienne.
Elder Thorne stood there, her wrinkled face stern. Several other council members flanked her. They'd heard everything.
Vivienne's confidence wavered for just a second. Then she recovered, laughing lightly. "Just sister talk, Elder. Nothing important."
"It sounded important." Elder Thorne looked at me, really looked. Recognition dawned. "Seraphina? Is that you?"
Before I could answer, the music stopped. Every light in the ballroom went out at once, plunging us into darkness.
Gasps. Screams. Someone's magic flared, casting wild shadows.
Then the Blood Moon rose outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Full and massive and crimson red.
Power slammed into me like a wave. Not my magic—something else. Something ancient and huge and CALLING to me from outside.
My chest burned. The hollow place where my magic used to be suddenly SCREAMED to life, filled with power that felt like lightning and starlight and midnight all at once.
I gasped, clutching at the wall.
"What's happening?" Bella grabbed my arm. "Sera, you're glowing!"
I looked down. She was right. My skin gleamed with purple-silver light that pulsed in time with my racing heart.
The ballroom doors burst open.
A man walked in. Tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in black with a raven mask covering half his face. But his eyes—I could see them even from across the room. Dark as midnight with red at the edges. Vampire eyes.
Every supernatural creature in the ballroom froze.
Because this wasn't just any vampire. Even behind the mask, power radiated from him like heat. Ancient. Deadly. Wrong.
The Vampire Lord had entered a witch's masquerade. On Halloween. Breaking a century of tradition and supernatural law.
He looked directly at me. Through the crowd, through the darkness, through my mask like it didn't exist.
His lips curved in a smile that made my heart stop.
Then he started walking toward me, and I knew with absolute certainty—
My night was about to get much, much worse.