The windows exploded.
Glass rained across the floor.
Nadia screamed.
Damien pulled me against him, shielding my body with his own.
“Everyone down!”
Another explosion shook the cottage.
Isabella didn’t move.
She simply stood in the middle of the room, watching the darkness outside.
“They’re early.”
Adrian grabbed a weapon.
“Mother, what did you do?”
Isabella looked at him.
“I didn’t bring them here.”
Her eyes moved to me.
“She did.”
My heart stopped.
“Me?”
“The stone.”
I touched the necklace around my neck.
“It brought them?”
“It awakened your blood.”
Damien looked toward the broken windows.
“How many?”
Isabella’s expression became grim.
“Enough.”
A figure appeared outside.
Then another.
Then another.
They stood silently among the trees.
Hundreds of them.
All dressed in black.
Their faces were hidden behind silver masks.
I swallowed.
“Who are they?”
Isabella whispered:
“The Blood Court.”
One of the masked figures stepped forward.
He removed his mask.
He was young.
Beautiful.
And terrifyingly calm.
His eyes immediately found me.
“Amara Bell.”
Damien stepped in front of me.
“Stay away from her.”
The stranger smiled.
“Damien Vale.”
He said the name like he’d been waiting years to speak it.
“You’ve grown.”
Damien raised his gun.
“How do you know me?”
“We know everything about you.”
The man’s gaze moved to me.
“Especially the two of you.”
He smiled.
“Just as the prophecy predicted.”
“Take them.”
The masked soldiers moved.
Damien fired.
The first man fell.
Then another.
Adrian joined him.
Isabella raised her hand.
The air changed.
A powerful force slammed into the soldiers, throwing several of them backward.
I stared at her.
“What was that?”
“Magic.”
The word barely left her mouth before another wave of soldiers attacked.
Damien grabbed my hand.
“Stay with me!”
We ran through the back door.
Nadia followed.
Adrian and Isabella stayed behind.
“Dad!”
“Go!”
We ran into the forest.
Branches scratched my arms.
My lungs burned.
Behind us, the sound of fighting grew louder.
Then Damien suddenly stopped.
I crashed into him.
“What?”
He looked around.
“We’re surrounded.”
Figures emerged from between the trees.
Ten.
Twenty.
Maybe more.
The masked man from the cottage stepped forward.
“You can’t escape.”
Damien pulled me behind him.
“You’ll have to go through me.”
The man smiled.
“That was always the plan.”
He raised his hand.
A strange red light appeared in his palm.
The black stone around my neck began burning.
I cried out.
Damien turned.
“Amara!”
The light grew brighter.
Something inside me awakened.
I could hear whispers.
Hundreds of them.
*Heir.*
*Blood.*
*First blood.*
*Awaken.*
I fell to my knees.
“Make it stop!”
Damien knelt beside me.
“Look at me.”
I grabbed his shirt.
“I can’t!”
“Look at me.”
I forced my eyes open.
His face was the only thing I could see clearly.
“Breathe.”
I tried.
“Again.”
I breathed.
The whispers slowly faded.
The masked man stared at us.
His smile disappeared.
“No.”
Damien stood.
“What?”
“You’ve already bonded.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
The man looked at our hands.
A faint silver mark had appeared across both our wrists.
My heart stopped.
“Damien…”
He looked down.
“What is that?”
The man whispered:
“The Blood Bond.”
Damien stared at the mark.
“What did you do to us?”
“I did nothing.”
The stranger looked at me.
“She chose you.”
“I didn’t choose anything.”
“You did the moment you fell in love with him.”
My stomach tightened.
“What does love have to do with this?”
“Everything.”
He stepped closer.
“The prophecy never said the two heirs would destroy the Blood Court.”
He smiled.
“It said they would **awaken it**.”
The forest went silent.
Damien shook his head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
The stranger looked at me.
“Your grandmother lied.”
I froze.
“About what?”
“She didn’t protect you from us.”
“Then what did she protect me from?”
He smiled.
“Your own blood.”
A loud explosion came from behind us.
Isabella appeared through the trees.
Her clothes were torn.
Blood ran down her arm.
“Amara!”
I ran toward her.
“Where are Adrian and Nadia?”
Her expression changed.
“Nadia is safe.”
“And my father?”
She hesitated.
My heart dropped.
“Where is Adrian?”
“He stayed behind.”
“No.”
“He told me to take you and leave.”
“I’m not leaving him.”
“Amara!”
I turned.
The masked soldiers were approaching again.
Isabella grabbed my shoulders.
“Listen to me.”
“You said you could protect us.”
“I can.”
“Then save him!”
Her eyes filled with sadness.
“I can’t save everyone.”
I froze.
“That’s what my mother said.”
Isabella’s expression changed.
“What?”
“My mother.”
I stepped closer.
“She died trying to protect me.”
Isabella looked away.
“You don’t know the whole story.”
“Then tell me.”
“Not here.”
“When?”
“When we’re somewhere safe.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Safe?”
I looked around.
“Does that place even exist?”
Isabella looked at the black stone.
“Yes.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out an old photograph.
It showed a huge stone building.
At the bottom was a familiar symbol.
“The vault.”
My heart stopped.
“That’s St.
Catherine’s.”
“Yes.”
“The hospital?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“What you knew as St.
Catherine’s Hospital was built on top of it.”
I stared at the photograph.
“The original structure is underneath.”
“That’s where my mother went.”
“Yes.”
“And Jonathan?”
“Yes.”
“Then he’s there.”
Isabella nodded.
“Your father discovered the entrance.”
I looked at Damien.
He understood immediately.
“We go there.”
Isabella shook her head.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if you enter that vault without knowing how to control your blood…”
She looked at my glowing wrist.
“…you may never come back out.”
A scream echoed through the forest.
I turned.
“Nadia!”
She appeared between the trees.
Running.
Alone.
“Nadia!”
I ran toward her.
She crashed into my arms.
“Amara!”
“What happened?”
Her whole body was shaking.
“They took Dad.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
“The Blood Court.”
I looked at Isabella.
She closed her eyes.
“They took Adrian.”
Damien stepped forward.
“Where?”
Nadia pointed toward the road.
“They said…”
She swallowed.
“They said if Amara wants her father back…”
She looked at me.
“…she has to bring the key to the vault.”
Silence.
Then my necklace began glowing again.
Brighter than before.
And somewhere deep beneath
the earth—
something answered.
A low, ancient sound.
Like a heartbeat.
**Boom.**
I looked at Damien.
**Boom.**
He looked at me.
**Boom.**
Isabella whispered:
“The vault has opened.”
And suddenly, every masked soldier in the forest dropped to one knee.
Not toward Isabella.
Not toward the Blood Court.
Toward **me**.
The stranger lowered his head.
“Welcome, Your Highness.”
I froze.
“Your Highness?”
He looked up.
“You are not merely the heir.”
A smile slowly spread across his face.
“You are the last queen of the Blood Court.”