Lucien’s POV

For two hundred years, I had never seen fear in Alaric Darkmoor's eyes.

Not when the Blood Moon War consumed half the northern territories.

Not when rogue vampires attempted to overthrow the council.

Not even when famine struck the eastern provinces and forced thousands of our kind to leave

their homes in search of blood.

Alaric Darkmoor feared nothing.

Or so I had believed.

Yet as I strode through the towering halls of Bloodhart Castle toward the council chamber, the

memory of his expression lingered in my mind like a shadow refusing to disappear.

Pale and shaken. Even almost haunted.

The summons had arrived just before dawn.

A royal decree bearing the seal of the Vampire Council.

Mandatory attendance with no explanation or details.

Only a single sentence written beneath the council seal.

The Seer has seen something.

That alone was enough to unsettle the entire kingdom.

The Seer did not waste his visions on trivial matters.

When Alaric spoke, empires listened.

When he warned, kingdoms prepared for war.

And when he looked afraid...

Even immortals prayed.

The massive doors of the council chamber came into view.Two guards stood motionless on either side, their silver armor reflecting the pale glow of the

moonstones embedded within the walls.

They bowed as I approached.

"My prince.

"

I acknowledged them with a nod before pushing open the doors.

The conversations inside died instantly.

Hundreds of eyes turned toward me.

Members of the council occupied the circular stone chamber while representatives from every

major vampire empire filled the surrounding seats.

Bloodhart, Westwood, Darkthorne, Valcrest; Every powerful family in the kingdom was present.

Which meant whatever Alaric had seen was serious enough to concern us all.

I ignored their stares and made my way toward the front.

A familiar voice stopped me.

"Late as always, Bloodhart.

"

I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

Nicholas Westwood. Arrogant, annoying and unfortunately impossible to kill.

I glanced over my shoulder.

The heir to the Westwood Empire leaned casually against a pillar, his dark hair perfectly styled

and his silver eyes gleaming with amusement.

The idiot looked as though he had mistaken an emergency council meeting for a social

gathering.

"I arrived before the meeting started,

" I replied.

"Which means I'm not late.

"

Nicholas smirked."Yet.

"

I resisted the urge to punch him.

Barely.

Our rivalry had existed long before either of us had inherited our titles.

Centuries of competition. Centuries of arguments.

Centuries of trying to prove which empire deserved dominance.

Neither of us had succeeded.

And judging by his smug expression, today would be no different.

Before I could respond, the chamber doors opened once more.

Silence immediately descended.

Alaric Darkmoor entered.

Every vampire in the room rose to their feet.

The Seer moved slowly.

Far too slowly.

His silver robes dragged across the floor as he approached the center platform.

Deep lines marked his face.

His normally calm eyes appeared exhausted.

For the first time in my life, he looked old. Very old.

The kind of old that came from carrying unbearable knowledge.

A strange feeling settled in my chest.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.Alaric reached the center of the chamber and lifted a trembling hand.

"Sit.

"

Everyone obeyed.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

The tension in the room felt suffocating.

Alaric closed his eyes.

When he finally spoke, his voice seemed to echo from somewhere far away.

"For one thousand years, the prophecy remained dormant.

"

A murmur swept through the chamber.

My jaw tightened.

The prophecy.

There was only one prophecy important enough to unite every empire.

The Lost Orb.

The object stolen centuries ago by a human woman.

The object responsible for the curse hanging over our kingdom.

The object we had spent generations searching for.

Alaric opened his eyes.

"The prophecy has awakened.

"

This time the room exploded into chaos.

Council members shouted.

Nobles exchanged horrified looks.Questions flew in every direction.

I remained silent.

Watching.

Waiting.

Because Alaric hadn't revealed the most important part yet.

He raised his hand again.

The noise vanished.

Then the Seer spoke the words that changed everything.

"I have seen the orb.

"

The chamber froze.

No one breathed.

No one moved.

Every eye remained fixed on him.

"I have seen where it is.

"

A council elder rose to his feet.

"Where?"

Alaric's gaze swept across the room.

Something dark flashed in his expression.

Not fear.

Not exactly.

It looked more like dread.

"The mortal realm.

"The silence that followed was deafening.

The mortal realm.

The human world.

The place our ancestors had forbidden us from entering unless absolutely necessary.

The place where the orb had vanished centuries ago.

My fingers tightened against the armrest.

For the first time, genuine interest stirred within me.

After all these years...

A clue.

Alaric lifted both hands.

Moonlight gathered above his palms.

Magic swirled through the chamber.

A glowing image slowly formed in the air.

At first the vision appeared blurry.

Then it sharpened.

A hand.

Small.

Human.

Delicate fingers wrapped around a glowing silver orb.

Gasps erupted around the room.

The orb.

The lost orb.After a thousand years, we were finally seeing it again.

The image shifted.

Long strands of strawberry-blonde hair appeared.

Then a glimpse of pale skin.

Green eyes.

A young woman.

No older than eighteen.

The room held its breath.

There she was.

The girl from the prophecy.

The human who possessed the one object capable of changing our world forever.

I studied her face carefully.

Trying to understand what made her special.

She looked ordinary.

Too ordinary.

A human girl carrying the fate of an entire kingdom.

It seemed ridiculous.

And yet...

Something about her eyes bothered me.

There was awareness in them.

An unsettling awareness.

As though she knew she was being watched.As though she could somehow see beyond the vision itself.

The image flickered for one impossible second, her gaze lifted straight towards me and my body

went still. Green eyes met blue.

Across worlds. Across magic.

Across prophecy.

The corner of her mouth lifted.

Not a smile.

Not quite.

Something stranger.

Something knowing.

Then the vision shattered.

The chamber erupted into confusion.

But I barely heard any of it.

Because a single thought echoed through my mind.

She had looked directly at me.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

Humans weren't supposed to see visions.

Yet somehow...

That girl had.