Chapter 13
The doors slammed shut behind them the moment they entered, sealing the west wing in oppressive darkness. Elara swallowed hard, her fingers tightening instinctively around Lucien's sleeve. The air felt charged—alive—with whispers she couldn't quite make out.
Lucien lifted his hand, summoning a faint silver glow that illuminated the vast hall ahead. Elara froze.
The room stretched endlessly, pillars rising like ancient guardians carved with runes that pulsed with a dark heartbeat. Shadows clung to the ceiling like living ink.
"Elara," Lucien murmured, "stay close. This place doesn't remember kindness."
She believed him.
As they walked deeper, the floor beneath them shimmered—smooth black stone marbled with streaks of deep crimson.
Elara frowned. "Is that…?"
"Blood," Lucien answered quietly. "Long dried. Some vampire. Some human."
The hall whispered again, this time louder, voices curling through the air like smoke.
Betrayer… oath-breaker… human… forbidden…
Elara flinched. "Why is it saying that?"
Lucien's eyes hardened. "Because this hall was built to judge. And it senses what you are."
Before she could respond, the shadows ahead twisted, spiraling into a familiar form.
A man stepped out, coat sweeping behind him like wings made of darkness.
Kade.
His crimson eyes glowed with cruel amusement.
"You came," he said, spreading his arms. "How loyal of you, little brother."
Lucien moved in front of Elara, voice cold as winter stone. "I came to end this."
Kade laughed. "End? Lucien… this is only the beginning."
He snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the runes on the pillars blazed blood-red. The ground trembled beneath them, and Elara felt something tug at her chest—an invisible force trying to pull her forward.
Lucien grabbed her hand, but the pull intensified.
"Kade!" Lucien shouted. "Stop this!"
"I can't," Kade said with a mockingly sad tilt of his head. "The hall recognizes you both now. One bound by oath… one tied by heart."
Elara's breath hitched. "I'm not tied by anything!"
"Oh, but you are," Kade whispered. "Lucien let you in. And the hall knows a forbidden attachment when it sees one."
The pull grew stronger, dragging Elara forward. Lucien tried to anchor her, but the ground beneath him fractured, forcing him to release her.
"Elara!" he shouted.
She stumbled toward Kade, powerless against the ancient magic.
Kade reached out, brushing a cold fingertip along her cheek. "You see? The hall chooses the truth."
"Don't touch her!" Lucien lunged forward, but a barrier of red light erupted between them, throwing him backward.
Kade smirked. "You always fought against what you are. And for what?" He leaned closer to Elara. "A fragile girl who won't survive the transformation?"
Elara's eyes widened. "Transformation?"
Lucien struggled to stand. "Don't listen to him!"
Kade tsked. "She deserves to know. When a human steps willingly into a bonded oath hall with a vampire…" He smiled, slow and wicked. "The hall marks her."
The runes beneath Elara flared bright, encircling her.
A sharp pain shot through her veins—burning like liquid fire.
Lucien screamed her name.
Kade whispered:
"Welcome to the beginning of your change."
The hall swallowed her scream.
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