Seraphina's POV
Three days to save the world.
Three days to figure out how to stop Hell from opening.
Three days until one of us had to die.
I stood in the destroyed ballroom, staring at the blood message on the wall, and felt absolutely nothing. Not fear. Not panic. Just emptiness.
Maybe I'd used up all my emotions for one night.
"Seraphina." Dante's voice was soft. Careful. Like he was talking to something breakable. "We should leave. Get somewhere safe so we can plan."
"Safe?" I laughed, and it sounded crazy even to my own ears. "There is no safe. Not anymore. Not for me."
"Then we'll make one." He took my hand gently. "Come with me. Please."
I looked at our joined hands. His pale and cold. Mine still glowing faintly with purple light. The bond hummed between us, warm and alive and terrifyingly real.
This morning, I'd woken up expecting to marry Marcus. To become the next High Priestess. To live the life my mother had prepared me for.
Now I was mated to a vampire, hunted by demons, and facing a choice between dying or letting the world end.
How did everything go so wrong so fast?
"Seraphina." Bella's weak voice cut through my thoughts.
I dropped Dante's hand and ran to my best friend. She was awake, barely, the black mark on her forehead pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Bella! Are you okay? Does it hurt?" I touched her face, careful of the mark. "We'll fix this. I promise. We'll—"
"Stop." Bella grabbed my wrist, her grip surprisingly strong. "Listen to me. You can't give yourself to the demons. I don't care what they threaten. You can't."
"But you'll die—"
"Then I die. Better me than the whole world." Her dark eyes held mine. "Promise me, Sera. Promise you won't surrender yourself to save me."
Tears burned my eyes. "I can't promise that."
"You have to. Because if you give up, if you let them win, then my death means nothing. Everyone's death means nothing." Bella's voice grew fiercer despite her weakness. "You're a Twilight Witch. Your mother's daughter. You don't give up. Ever."
"My mother died, Bella. She sacrificed herself and it didn't fix anything. Twenty years later, we're right back where we started."
"No." Dante knelt beside us. "Your mother bought us twenty years. Twenty years of peace. Of life. That matters. She matters."
"And now I'm supposed to do the same thing? Die for twenty more years of borrowed time?" I shook my head. "There has to be another way."
"Then we find it." Dante's eyes met mine. "Together. Like we fought the shadows. Like we'll fight everything else that comes for us."
Before I could respond, the ballroom doors burst open.
Marcus strode in with a group of warlocks behind him. His golden hair was disheveled and his face red with anger.
"ENOUGH!" he shouted. "This madness ends now!"
Everyone turned to stare at him.
"Marcus?" I stood slowly. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving you from yourself." He marched toward me, ignoring Dante completely. "Seraphina, you've been corrupted by vampire magic. You're not thinking clearly. But I can fix this. The council and I have found a spell that can break the mate bond. Free you from his influence."
Ice filled my veins. "What?"
"It's dangerous," Elder Thorne said quietly. She looked uncomfortable. "And potentially fatal. But theoretically possible."
"You want to BREAK the bond?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "That's your solution?"
"It's the ONLY solution!" Marcus grabbed my shoulders, shaking me slightly. "Don't you see? The demons want you and your vampire mate. If there's no mate bond, there's no Twilight Witch. No door opening. Problem solved."
"Except it would probably kill her," Dante said coldly. He stood, his entire body radiating threat. "Get your hands off her. Now."
"Or what, vampire?" Marcus sneered. "You'll attack me in front of the entire coven? Break the treaty?"
"Happily."
"STOP!" I shoved Marcus away from me. "Both of you, just stop. Nobody's breaking any bonds. Nobody's attacking anyone."
"Seraphina, be reasonable—"
"Reasonable? You want to talk about REASONABLE?" All the emotions I'd been holding back exploded out of me. "You cheated on me with my sister. You helped her destroy my reputation. You stood by while the council stripped my power. And now you want to KILL me to fix your mistake?"
Marcus had the grace to look ashamed. For about two seconds. Then his face hardened. "I did what I had to do. Vivienne offered me power. Position. Things you never could because you were too busy playing with potions and hiding from politics."
"I wasn't hiding. I was STUDYING. Learning. Trying to be worthy of my mother's legacy."
"Your mother's legacy got her killed!" Marcus's voice rose. "And now it's going to get you killed too. Unless you let me break this abomination of a bond and fix everything."
"You don't get to fix anything." I stepped closer to him, my magic flaring. "You don't get to touch me. Talk to me. Or make decisions about my life. We're done, Marcus. Completely done."
"You're making a mistake—"
"The mistake was trusting you." I turned my back on him. "Get out. All of you. I'm tired of everyone acting like I'm some pawn to be moved around a chessboard."
"This isn't a game, Seraphina!" Elder Thorne's voice cracked like a whip. "In three days, demons will come for you. They'll kill hostages if you don't surrender. They'll open Hell if you don't close the door. And closing the door requires a sacrifice. Those are the facts. Cold. Hard. Unchangeable."
"Then I'll change them." I didn't know where the confidence came from. Maybe from the bond. Maybe from finally having enough of everyone telling me what I couldn't do. "I'm Elena Ashwood's daughter. I'm a Twilight Witch. And I'm NOT dying because some ancient prophecy says I have to."
"That's not how prophecies work—"
"Then I'll MAKE it work differently." I grabbed Dante's hand, our magic flaring together. "We have three days. Three days to research. To learn everything about this door and how it works. To find a loophole. A weakness. SOMETHING."
Dante smiled, proud and fierce. "That's my witch."
"I'm not yours—" I stopped. Through the bond, I could feel what he felt. Not possession. Not ownership. Pride. Respect. Wonder. He saw me as an equal. A partner. Not something to control or protect or fix.
When was the last time anyone looked at me like that?
"Okay," I said quietly. "Maybe I am yours. A little bit."
His smile grew. "I'll take it."
"This is madness," Marcus muttered. "You're both going to die."
"Maybe. But we'll die trying to save everyone. What are YOU doing besides trying to save yourself?"
Marcus flinched like I'd slapped him. Good. He deserved it.
"The council will not support this suicide mission," Elder Thorne said. "We have to think of the greater good."
"The greater good?" Dante's laugh was bitter. "The greater good wanted Seraphina to surrender to demons. Wanted to break a mate bond that might kill her. Wanted to sacrifice her just like they sacrificed her mother. Forgive me if I don't trust your definition of 'greater good.'"
"Then what do you suggest, vampire?"
"I suggest you give us three days. Let us try to find another way. If we fail—" Dante's voice roughened. "If we fail, then we'll face the consequences. Together."
"And if you succeed?" Elder Thorne looked skeptical. "If you somehow manage to close the door without dying? What then?"
"Then maybe vampires and witches can stop being enemies," I said. "Maybe we can build something new. Something better. The way my mother wanted."
Silence fell over the ballroom. Everyone stared at me like I'd suggested flying to the moon.
"That's impossible," someone whispered.
"So is a vampire-witch mate bond," I shot back. "So is a Twilight Witch being born after five hundred years. So is combining life and death magic without exploding. But we did ALL of that tonight. So maybe, just maybe, impossible isn't what everyone thinks it is."
Vivienne pushed through the crowd, her face twisted with jealousy and rage. "You're delusional. Mother would be ashamed—"
"Mother would be PROUD!" The words exploded from me. "She died trying to build bridges between our kinds. She worked with Dante before he was turned. She believed in peace, not endless war. And if you bothered to remember her at all instead of just using her death for your own gain, you'd know that!"
Vivienne's eyes widened. "How dare you—"
"How dare I what? Tell the truth?" I stepped toward my sister, done with her poison. "You've spent your whole life jealous of me. Jealous of my magic. My position. My engagement. So you destroyed everything I had. But guess what, Vivienne? You did me a FAVOR."
"A favor?"
"You freed me. From Marcus. From the council. From trying to be someone I'm not." I smiled, and it felt fierce. Powerful. "You thought taking everything from me would break me. Instead, it made me stronger. So thank you, sister. Really. Thank you."
Vivienne looked like she wanted to attack me. But Dante moved slightly, positioning himself between us, and she backed down. Smart.
"This conversation is over," Elder Thorne announced. "The council will discuss this situation and make a decision. Until then, Seraphina, you're confined to—"
"Confined?" I laughed. "I don't think so."
"You're still a member of this coven—"
"Am I? Because a few hours ago you stripped my power and kicked me out. You can't have it both ways, Elder. Either I'm a coven member with rights, or I'm an outcast who doesn't have to follow your rules."
Elder Thorne's jaw clenched. "You're playing a dangerous game."
"I'm playing the only game there is. Survival." I looked at Bella, still weak on the floor. "I'm taking my best friend somewhere safe. Then Dante and I are going to research how to close that door without dying. Anyone who tries to stop us can deal with him."
Dante's fangs gleamed in a smile. "I'd enjoy that."
"You're both insane," Marcus said flatly.
"Probably." I grabbed Bella's arm, helping her stand. She swayed but stayed upright. "But we're alive. And we're fighting. Which is more than I can say for people who want to sacrifice others to save themselves."
Before anyone could argue, I pulled Bella toward the door. Dante followed, his presence solid and protective behind me.
We were almost out when Lucia appeared in our path. I hadn't seen her come back, but there she was, her amber eyes twinkling.
"Going somewhere, child?"
"Away from here. Away from councils and prophecies and people who want to use me." I met her gaze steadily. "Are you going to try to stop us?"
"Stop you? No." Lucia smiled. "But I am going to help you. Whether you want it or not."
"Why?"
"Because your mother was my best friend. Because I promised her I'd protect you if anything happened to her. And because—" Lucia's smile grew. "—you remind me of Elena when she was your age. Stubborn. Brilliant. Convinced she could change the world."
"Did she?"
"She tried. That's what matters." Lucia pulled a small leather journal from her robes. "This was your mother's. Her research on the Door of Souls. Everything she learned before she died. It's yours now."
I took the journal with shaking hands. My mother's handwriting covered the pages. Her thoughts. Her discoveries. Her hopes.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"Don't thank me yet. That journal contains dangerous knowledge. Forbidden spells. Research that got your mother killed." Lucia's face grew serious. "Read it carefully. Use it wisely. And remember—some doors are sealed for a reason."
"But can they be closed permanently? Without a sacrifice?"
Lucia's expression was unreadable. "Your mother thought so. She was close to finding a way when the demons attacked. Maybe you'll finish what she started."
Hope flared in my chest. "Maybe I will."
"Then go. Before the council decides to lock you up for your own good." Lucia stepped aside. "And Seraphina? Trust the bond. It's stronger than you think."
We ran.
Out of Thornwood Manor, into the Halloween night. The Blood Moon still hung heavy in the sky, watching everything.
"Where are we going?" Bella gasped, leaning on me heavily.
"My car," I said. "Then somewhere safe. Somewhere we can read this journal and figure out—"
Screams erupted behind us.
We spun around. Thornwood Manor's windows exploded outward in a shower of glass and flames. Dark shapes poured through the openings—dozens of them. Shadow creatures. Nightmares.
"They're attacking the coven!" Bella grabbed my arm. "We have to help—"
"It's a distraction," Dante said grimly. His eyes tracked something I couldn't see. "Look. There. Three figures heading toward the cemetery."
I followed his gaze. He was right. Three humanoid shapes moving through the darkness, away from the chaos. Moving with purpose.
"The demons," I breathed. "They're going to the door. NOW. They're not waiting three days."
"It's a trap," Dante said. "They want you to follow them."
"Of course it's a trap. But we don't have a choice." I clutched my mother's journal. "If they open that door now, we lose. Everyone loses."
"Seraphina, you can't—"
"I have to." I looked at Bella, then at Dante. "Take her somewhere safe. Protect her. I'm going to the cemetery."
"Not alone, you're not." Dante grabbed my hand. "We do this together or not at all."
"But Bella—"
"Can protect herself." Bella pulled a knife from somewhere in her costume. Silver blade. Spelled for killing supernatural creatures. "I'm not helpless, Sera. Now go. Stop those demons before they end the world."
She was right. We were out of time.
Dante and I ran toward the cemetery, the bond blazing between us. Behind us, Thornwood Manor burned. Ahead, three demons waited at a door that should never open.
And somewhere in my mother's journal was the answer to saving everyone.
I just hoped I could find it before it was too late.
We burst through the cemetery gates. Ancient tombstones stretched in every direction, their shadows long and twisted in the Blood Moon's light.
"Where's the door?" I gasped.
"The Sacred Oak. Center of the cemetery." Dante pointed. "There. I can feel the death magic from here."
We ran between graves, our feet pounding against earth that held centuries of dead. The air grew colder. Heavier. Wrong.
Then we saw it.
A massive oak tree in the cemetery's heart, its trunk split down the middle like a doorway. And standing in front of it were three demons, chanting in a language that made my bones ache.
"We're too late," I whispered. "They're opening it."
The split in the tree began to glow. Red light. Hot and angry and EVIL.
Behind that light was Hell itself.
"No." Dante's hand tightened on mine. "We're not too late. We're exactly on time."
"What?"
He pulled me close, our magic flaring together. "You wanted to find another way? To change the prophecy? Then let's do it. Right now. Together."
"How?"
His smile was fierce. Beautiful. Terrifying. "Your mother's journal. What's the first entry?"
I flipped it open with shaking hands. Read the first lines written in Mom's careful script.
*To close the Door of Souls requires three things: A Twilight Witch. A vampire mate. And love strong enough to defy death itself.*
"Love," I breathed. "Not sacrifice. LOVE."
"Then let's show them what love can do." Dante cupped my face. "I love you, Seraphina Ashwood. I loved you from the moment our souls recognized each other. I'll love you until stars die and time ends. Do you believe me?"
I looked into his eyes and saw truth. Pure. Absolute. Impossible.
And through the bond, I felt what he felt. Not lust. Not possession. Love. Real. Deep. Forever.
"Yes," I whispered. "I believe you."
"Good. Because I need you to trust me completely for what comes next."
Before I could ask what, he kissed me.
And the world EXPLODED.