Flames. Callista loathed them, yet they plagued her dreams. A woman danced in the inferno, her eyes burning embers against the darkness, a terrifying familiarity twisting in Callista's gut.
It wasn't a premonition; it was a memory. The burning church, the golden eyes, the woman's chilling stare – all came rushing back with horrifying clarity. Yet, her face remained obscured.
Callista jolted awake, dread coiling in her gut. Golden eyes... Athena?
No! Athena's golden orbs sparkled with amusement or amusement, never this… sorrowful. Panic clawed at her. Had she met this woman before the orphanage fire? Her memories were frustratingly blank, an emptiness that mirrored the void where answers should be.
A text from Adam, sent at midnight, offered a welcome distraction.
Callista hurried through the deserted city streets, her brow furrowed in a map of worry. The investigation into the ghouls offered a flimsy shield against the tide of unwelcome emotions she couldn't afford to dwell on. Or so she thought.
"You won't believe what I found!"
Pushing the unwelcome emotions aside, Callista forced her voice into a semblance of normalcy. "The ghouls' origin, I presume?"
"That's right, Callie," Adam chuckled, a hint of nervous energy in his eyes. "There's a trace of werewolf DNA in the samples. Someone's playing Dr. Frankenstein with a vengeance." He gestured towards a screen displaying a complex analysis of werewolf genome sequence.
A sliver of suspicion pricked at Callista. Werewolf blood? Someone was playing a dangerous game.
"Whoever did this," she murmured, her gaze fixed on the data, "needed a significant amount of blood."
The weight of her words hung heavy in the air. Adam nodded, his expression mirroring her grave concern. They pieced together the puzzle – a large-scale extraction of blood, unlikely from unwilling werewolves. The answer dawned on them simultaneously.
"The werewolves... they volunteered!" they exclaimed in unison.
But as the realisation settled, a troubling question emerged. "Just… which party is strong enough to command the werewolves themselves?" Adam murmured, rubbing his chin in contemplation.
Callista's frown deepened, unease gnawing at her. The revelation added a new layer of complexity to their investigation. Was there a bigger picture she was missing?"
A soft meow shattered the tense silence. A sleek black cat with eyes like glowing emeralds fixed Callista with an unnerving intensity. It wasn't a house cat's curious stare; it was a gaze that held a chilling intelligence.
"Oh, this is Blackie," Adam said, scooping up the purring feline. "Found him injured a few days ago. Needed a companion, you see."
Callista could have sworn the cat's emerald eyes held a flicker of amusement, but surely it was just a trick of the light. Wait! A memory slammed into her - the inferno, the acrid smoke, the sterile lab. Eydis.
"If Eydis burnt the lab…" Callista murmured, piecing things together, "and ghouls attacked Amelia… perhaps it was the work of her enemy." Her gaze darted back to the cat, catching a flicker of something akin to fear in its emerald depths.
This was no ordinary feline. Curiosity battled with wariness as Callista crouched down, her hand outstretched. But the cunning creature seized the opportunity, twisting and leaping back into Adam's arms.
"So, a royal conspiracy against the Queen, then?" Adam chuckled, oblivious to the undercurrent of tension. Blackie purred contentedly, licking his hand.
Eydis' words echoed in Callista's mind – "family reunion" interrupted. The hunter's focus had been on the Queen, but she did recall Eydis finishing a fight with Adrian shortly before her arrival.
Could the Prince be behind this? And why? Adrian had always advocated for peace within the realm. Or was that just a political ploy?
There was a link, a connection that could answer everything - Adrian's sister, Eydis's… lover: Princess Athena.
Adam's voice, laced with concern, broke through her thoughts. "Callie, are you alright? Your face just went… well, stormy."
Callista unclenched her fists, unaware of the white-knuckled grip. With a strained smile, she offered, "I owe you dinner… maybe later this week?"
"It's a date, Callie," Adam grinned, oblivious to the storm brewing within her. Callista managed a ghost of a smile, her crimson eyes flickering to the black cat. It watched her with a hint of… annoyance?
Strange cat indeed. But she had a bigger mystery to unravel. She needed to see Athena.
Perhaps, a bitter truth Callista had to swallow, the Council was right. Athena was the key. But unravelling the truth from the enigmatic princess, the woman who ignited a firestorm within Callista, felt like a perilous dance with a viper. Could she trust Athena enough to get the answers she needed, or was the princess playing a game of her own, one that could put them both at risk with the Guardians of Humanity?
*****
Theo's breath hitched, a cold memory wrapping around him like a shroud. His father's voice, once a soothing murmur like falling snow, echoed in his mind: "Blood ties... that's what separates us from the vampires. Loyalty... that's what keeps us alive." Theo had clung to those words, a lifeline in the harsh world. Until his eighth birthday, when loyalty bared its fangs and tore his world apart.
The full moon, a cold, indifferent eye, watched the deserted woods bathe in an eerie silver light. A searing scream tore from his throat as claws ripped across his skin, the transformation a brutal agony. Was this how it was supposed to feel? Or was it the fear gnawing at his insides as his "guardians" circled, silver glinting in their hands?
Panic flickered in their eyes before hardening into a steely resolve. Silver gleamed in the moonlight as they gritted their teeth. "Sorry, pup," Tony snarled, fangs bared. A hulking black wolf loomed over Theo's writhing form. "Seems your leadership potential has… evaporated."
Betrayal coursed through Theo as he fled deeper into the woods, tears blurring his vision. He just wanted to live. Why him? What had he even done wrong? He tripped on a gnarled root, tumbling face-first into the snow. The sound of paws pounding on leaves sent shivers down his spine.
Was this the end?
"The Whitlock reign ends tonight," Tony growled, flanked by four other wolves - his supposed guardians. Their menacing shadows swallowed the moonlight. "Blame your inconvenient power surge, Theo."
Tony lunged, a predator savouring his prey. But a sickening crack shattered the tense silence. Tony's neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Fear replaced the hunters' steely glint as they whipped around.
Then, Theo saw her. Bathed in the moon's glow, an ethereal beauty materialised beside him. Her golden eyes held a hint of amusement as her voice, smooth as silk, sliced through the night. "Children are on the menu now, boys?"
"W-Who are you?" a stammered question escaped a beta's lips, fear etched on his face. "How did...?" The question died on his lips as the woman vanished and reappeared behind him, neck snapped with horrifying swiftness.
Theo, a mixture of terror and morbid fascination, watched the carnage unfold. One vampire against five of the Dukedom's strongest guardians? Were vampires always this ridiculously overpowered?
Cool hands covered his eyes. Another voice, calm and aristocratic, cut through the night. "Eydis, a little discretion, please. The little one is traumatised enough."
Through the chilling screams, Theo caught the dark humour in Eydis' reply. "Educational, Thena. A swift, painless demise. Consider it a… methodological upgrade."
A delicate chuckle escaped Athena. "Or perhaps you just didn't want another bespoke suit ruined with werewolf fur? How utterly… you."
Eydis smirked. "Hardly. More like sparing my staff the melodrama of deciphering suspicious stains. Blood, after all, is rather pedestrian." With a flick of her wrist, the final wolf crumpled, its demise as swift and silent as a falling shadow. Eydis emerged from the carnage a whirlwind of black lace and cool composure, her black Victorian suit remained disturbingly spotless. "Though," she leaned in, her voice a sultry whisper against Athena's ear, "some stains whisper far more captivating tales."
As Athena's cool hands slipped away, Theo blinked, the world blurring into shaky focus. A faint blush stained her cheeks, a human imperfection on a face that otherwise seemed sculpted from moonlight. It was a stark contrast to Eydis' ruthless efficiency, the glint of predator never truly leaving her golden eyes.
Unlike Eydis, clad in practical black that clung to her every lethal curve, Athena shimmered in a gown of gold embroidery, an otherworldly serenity radiating from her like moonlight on a still lake. Yet, a disquietting undercurrent lurked beneath the surface, a hint of power as vast and untamed as the night sky.
What were they doing here?
Eydis scooped Theo into her surprisingly strong arms. "Don't worry, little pup," she murmured, her voice strangely comforting. "You're safe now."
As Theo drifted to sleep, a chilling truth settled in. He felt safe cradled by a killer who could snuff out a life in a heartbeat. Somehow, that terrified him more than his betrayal ever had.