The shadows on the walls twitched unnaturally. Candles quivered, and flames bent in unnatural arcs.
"Protect the child!" Valus barked, instinctively moving forward.
But Queen Vantessa raised a hand, her voice calm yet commanding. "No… Wait. This is not an attack."
Outside, the wind howled—and yet the sky remained eerily clear.
Except for the moon.
It pulsed.
Softly. Like a great heartbeat in the heavens. Light… then dim. Again and again.
Then, above them, the stars shimmered—and shifted. Their familiar constellations twisted into new shapes, forming a symbol none in the room had ever seen.
A perfect spiral… encircled by two crescents.
"A witch's birthmark," Vantessa breathed. "And not just any—"
A soft gasp escaped from the shadows. Salem stepped forward, her voice trembling with awe. "The mark of the Moonborn."
Carl tightened his grip around Maika and Caveen. "What does that mean?!"
Vantessa turned toward them slowly, eyes wide with a dawning truth. "It means the child Caveen saw… is real. And tonight, the world has acknowledged her existence."
As if summoned by those very words, a radiant orb emerged from the hearth.
It rose slowly—an ethereal swirl of silver and violet light—like a star that had slipped from the sky. It floated toward Caveen, humming softly, then pressed against his chest.
A shockwave of gentle energy spread from the boy's heart, rippling outward.
And Maika screamed.
She doubled over, clutching her abdomen, eyes wide in disbelief and wonder.
Carl caught her, panic rising in his voice. "Maika?! What's happening?!"
Her breath came in gasps, tears spilling from her eyes. But she was smiling.
"She's here," she whispered. "She's really here…"
Valus moved swiftly to her side. "You're pregnant?"
Maika nodded, trembling with the force of it. "I didn't know… but I can feel her. She's strong. She's reaching out to me already."
Vantessa stepped forward, her hands glowing with white fire. She pressed her palms against Maika's belly, her eyes fluttering closed.
The room held its breath.
A few agonizing seconds passed.
Then Vantessa opened her eyes, her voice barely above a whisper.
"The child… She holds the essence of vampire and witch," she said. "But not just any witch blood—she carries the mark of the Carellos. And… something more."
Salem's eyes lit with unspoken fear. "The seal. It's already breaking. That girl… she's the convergence."
Maika looked around, voice shaking. "She showed herself to Caveen. She reached across time to let him know."
"She's prophesied," Vantessa said. "The one whose birth will signal the great awakening."
Suddenly, the very walls of the estate thrummed—not in warning, but with raw, ancient power.
The orb lifted from Caveen's chest and drifted upward. Then—it exploded in a gentle burst, releasing a cascade of glowing stardust.
Light fell like rain, shimmering as it touched skin and vanished.
Caveen gazed up, awestruck. "She's watching. She's waiting."
Carl turned to Maika, stunned. "She's… ours."
Maika reached out, took his hand, and pressed it against her stomach. "And she'll be stronger than all of us."
Valus stepped forward, his eyes stormy with concern. "Then we start protecting her. Now."
Malko frowned, his voice low. "Do you think the Council felt that?"
Vantessa didn't hesitate. "They will. If they haven't already."
Carl stood, wrapping his arms protectively around Maika. "Then let them come. We finally have something worth fighting for."
Maika placed Caveen's hand on her belly and smiled. "We all do."
The fire flared—brighter, fiercer. And above them, the moon pulsed again.
A second heartbeat had entered the world.
---
Interlude: In the Shadow of Eldrath
Deep within the obsidian walls of the Eldrath Spire, the Council gathered.
A chamber carved from shadow and time itself. Ancient runes pulsed with dim power, illuminating the grim faces of the Council's most powerful.
Elder Thalor stood abruptly, robes rustling. His irises flickered white, lost in a vision.
"A convergence has occurred," he declared, voice hoarse. "A new force has entered the weave of fate."
High Chancellor Elowen narrowed her eyes. "Speak, Seer. What have you seen?"
Thalor swallowed hard. "A child. Unborn, yet her presence echoes through the aether. She is born of old blood—tainted and pure. Intertwined with the forbidden."
Magister Kaelen stepped forward, eyes sharp. "You speak of the Carellos line?"
Thalor nodded. "Yes. The forbidden line. But it does not end there. She is a nexus. Vampire. Lycan. Witch. Her very soul is woven of ancient and volatile threads."
Elowen's lips thinned. "That power cannot be allowed to rise. If she awakens, the balance we've preserved will fracture."
Kaelen slammed his staff against the ground. "We must act now. Before it's too late."
But Thalor lifted a hand. "No. If we interfere now… we may force the prophecy's hand. Accelerate the fall."
A tense silence followed.
Elowen's gaze was cold and final. "Then we wait. We watch. But we will be ready."
Kaelen bowed, reluctant. "As you command, High Chancellor."
The runes flared—just once—as a distant, unfamiliar heartbeat echoed through the chamber.
And the world tilted.
For the child had already begun to shape it.