“Wait!” I shout, but she’s already halfway across the room. But something’s wrong. The vampires’ formation shifts too smoothly, like they expected this exact move.
I surge after her, sparks flying from my fingertips. The attackers part like water, letting us through too easily. My stomach drops as we reach Astra, who now stands calmly among the vampires, no sign of distress on her face.
“Sister,” Astra says, her voice cold and unfamiliar. “So predictable.”
“Astra?” Seraphina freezes, her head whipping around as she takes in the group of leering bloodsuckers. “What’s going on?”
“I think that should be obvious,” Astra sneers.
She’s trapped us. Her own sister.
“God, Astra. What have you done?” Seraphina looks stricken.
“What I should have done years ago.” Astra’s violet eyes gleam with triumph. “Always the perfect one, weren’t you? The chosenone. The High Priestess.” She spits the title like poison. “While I stood in your shadow.”
“You…” Horror dawns on Seraphina’s face. “You let them in.”
“Heath and I have a vision for our kind.” Astra’s chin lifts. “Under Lucien’s guidance, we’ll build a new order. No more hiding, no more playing nice with humans. Real power, at last.”
“But…but I defended you. I assured everyone you weren’t involved in what happened. I told them you were innocent.” Seraphina’s voice cracks and her eyes well with tears. I’ve never seen our leader like this, her usually serene features twisted with pain.
“Of course you did. I knew you would.” Astra rolls her eyes. “Always doing the right thing. Always the protective big sister. So fucking blind.”
“You’ve betrayed everything we stand for,” Seraphina whispers.
Vampires close in around us. I extend my hands, ready to fight, but there are too many. Black magic crackles through the air – illegal witch magic wielded by vampire hands.
“Take her,” Astra commands.
They move like lightning. I throw up a shield, but a blast of combined vampire and witch magic shatters it. Seraphina struggles as they grab her, her power flaring desperately.
“No!” I leap forward, knowing I can’t let them take her. If I can just buy enough time-
A vampire flies toward me, fangs bared, death in his eyes.
This is it. The moment that changes everything…
Thick arms suddenly lock around my waist, yanking me backward. I struggle, magic flaring around me, but the iron grip doesn’t budge.
“Let me go!” I thrash against the solid chest behind me. “They’re taking her!”
“You can’t help her if you’re captured too,” Marcus’s voice growls in my ear. His power wraps around us like a dark cloak as he pulls me into the shadows.
The world blurs and stretches, reality bending as Marcus’s shadow power engulfs us. Through the distortion, I catch one last glimpse of Seraphina as the vampires drag her toward a swirling portal of darkness. Her eyes meet mine for a split second, filled with such profound sadness that my chest aches. Then Astra raises her hand, toxic magic spiraling from her fingers, and everything vanishes in a flash of purple light.
The shadows swallow us completely. Marcus’s arms tighten as we move through whatever space exists between reality and darkness. His chest rises and falls against my back, his breath warm on my neck. Despite my fury at being pulled away, our magic resonates, creating a cocoon of power around us as we travel through the void.
“I could have saved her,” I say through gritted teeth, even as the rational part of my mind knows he’s right. We were outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and caught completely off guard by Astra’s betrayal.
“They wanted you too,” Marcus murmurs. “You and your sisters. We can’t let that happen.”
“We”? What does he mean “we”?
The shadows begin to thin, reality seeping back in around us. But I can’t shake the image of Seraphina’s eyes in that final moment – the weight of betrayal, the crushing realization that her own sister had orchestrated her capture.
My feet touch solid ground, and Marcus reluctantly releases me. I look around us.
Where the hell are we?
