The Chamber of the High Council was deathly still.
Not the quiet of peace—but of dread.
Above the obsidian walls, pale orbs flickered uneasily, casting eerie shadows that danced like ghosts. A pressure hung in the air, like the moment before a storm breaks.
High Chancellor Elowen stood at the heart of the circle—silver robes glinting like moonlight on a blade, her eyes cold, and… afraid.
"She is nearing term," Elowen said. Her voice rang like ice through the silence. "The child grows… unlike anything we've encountered. Her aura breaches our strongest wards across the continent. This cannot be allowed to continue."
A murmuring ripple passed through the ancient circle.
Magister Kaelen stepped forward, palms pressed to the blood-etched stone table. "If this child is born unchecked, she could awaken every cursed relic from the First Age. She's not merely hybrid. She is something older. Something… destined."
Elder Thalor's hands trembled around a scroll. "I warned you all… the prophecy speaks of a child who will 'unbind the veils between blood and shadow.' That child is hers."
Kaelen's lip curled. "The spawn of Maika and Carl. A forbidden child of Vampire, Lycan, and Witch blood. An abomination."
"Enough." Elowen raised her hand, silencing them all. "We let her give birth. Let her believe all is well."
Kaelen's eyes narrowed. "And then?"
"Then we take the child," Elowen said, voice as hard as granite. "It cannot be killed—but it can be hidden. Sealed. Contained."
Thalor gasped. "You mean to separate them?"
Elowen didn't flinch. "Yes. Once born, we'll use the Veil Sigils. Erase her aura. Bury her lineage. She'll be raised human—no knowledge of her blood, her destiny."
"And Maika?" Kaelen asked darkly.
"Erased," Elowen whispered. "She'll remember nothing but grief. The illusion of a stillborn. Enough sorrow to break her. But not enough to raise questions."
Thalor staggered back. "You'd steal a child… doom her to a life of lies… and curse a mother with eternal mourning?!"
Elowen's gaze sharpened. "Would you prefer war? A child with Carello black magic, Lycan dominance, and royal Vampire blood? The realms would crumble before her first birthday."
Kaelen bowed his head. "Then it is done."
"If they come for her?" Thalor said, barely above a whisper.
Elowen turned, eyes glinting like steel. "Then we show them why the Council was never to be crossed."
The light in the chamber dimmed.
And the runes on the walls pulsed like a heartbeat… as fate began to move.
---
Thunder rolled over the mountains.
The storm had arrived.
But within Carl's stone estate, a different storm raged—of blood, magic, and trembling hope.
Maika lay atop the grand birthing bed, her silken shift soaked in sweat, her hands clutching Carl's with desperate strength. Her entire body shook as waves of pain crashed through her.
Around her, the room shimmered with protective enchantments. The witches Vantessa had handpicked whispered spells of relief, their hands glowing with sacred runes. Merrine wiped Maika's brow, whispering prayers through trembling lips.
Carl knelt beside her, his Lycan instincts roaring beneath his skin. But he held still. He was her rock. Her anchor.
"It's time," whispered Genie, the doula. "Push, Maika. One more time."
Maika screamed.
A scream that split the air like lightning.
And then—light.
A burst of golden-white radiance exploded from her belly, washing over the chamber in waves. The air quaked. Magic pulsed, alive.
Vantessa gasped. "By the Goddess… the Soulflame. The child is awakening—already!"
Carl's heart thundered.
Another push.
Another scream.
And then—
A cry.
High and bright. Not just a baby's cry—but a call. A sacred, shimmering note that resonated through the bones of the witches and the very stones of the house.
Sabrah gasped. "A girl! She's… radiant."
Maika's eyes fluttered open, wide with wonder and love. "Let me… let me hold her."
Genie took the child gently, wrapping her in crimson cloth embroidered with ancient sigils.
But then—everything changed.
The magic thinned.
The warmth in the room chilled.
One witch collapsed. Then another.
Sabrah spun. "Something's wrong—!"
From the corner of the room, shadows twisted.
A veiled figure stepped forward—cloaked in power, wrapped in silence.
Elowen.
"NO!" Vantessa raised her staff—but too slow.
"Somnum aeternum."
A spell burst from Elowen's lips—silent but savage.
One by one, they fell into a dreamless sleep.
Everyone… except Maika.
Maika fought it. Her vision blurred. Her breathing slowed unnaturally.
"Carl…" she gasped. "Where is… she?"
Elowen stepped closer, brushing a strand of hair from Maika's face with chilling tenderness.
"Sleep, child. This was never your burden."
"No… my baby…" Maika's arms twitched, instinctively reaching.
"Memoria finita."
A silver mist poured from Elowen's fingertips into Maika's eyes and mouth.
She convulsed—once. Then lay still.
Expression blank.
Elowen turned to Sabrah and took the child gently from her spell-bound arms.
The baby cried again—softer this time. As if sensing the loss.
"You will forget," Elowen whispered. "And she will never know."
Then she vanished—into shadow and silence.
Just as the storm outside cracked open the sky.