Chapter 19

Chapter

Nineteen

Eleanna

I cy winds howl around us as I ride alongside Alexandru, the relentless cold nipping at my exposed skin. Moros, Erebos, and Nyx circle above, their shadows darkening the snowy terrain beneath the moon's pale luminescence.

We dismount before the looming silhouette of my former castle, now a bastion of darkness under Catarina's rule, and tether our horses to a gnarled tree just beyond the perimeter of watchful eyes.

"We must infiltrate the castle unnoticed. The talisman will be heavily guarded." My whisper slices through the silence, a dagger wrapped in velvet.

Alexandru nods while scanning the monolithic walls for any sign of movement. "Catarina's forces will recognize our horses if we ride any closer." He glances back at the steeds, their coats shimmering with a thin layer of ice. "We can't risk being discovered before we reach the talisman."

Stealing through the darkness, we're nothing more than specters in a land once familiar but now foreign. Each step feels like a betrayal against my own flesh and blood, even though I know the very castle that raised me has been turned into a fortress of malevolence.

A shiver runs down my spine from the anticipation of our quest. The Darkened Pulse, the heart-shaped harbinger of doom, awaits us, and with it, a confrontation steeped in dark and great paranormal power. My hand drifts to the hilt of my sword, ready to cut down anyone who tries to stop us tonight.

"Stay close," Alexandru says in a low growl that stirs the flame of vengeance within me.

I need no reminder. Our quest is clear. We seek to extinguish the malignant pulse that beats like a drum of war within these walls.

The slap of winter strikes against my skin as I perch on the stone wall. I cling to the icy edges, my fingers numbed by the cold, as I hoist myself over with vampire ease. The courtyard, bathed in an ominous orange glow from patrolling guards' torches, spreads out before us.

"Shadows are our allies tonight," I remind Alexandru, my gaze darting from one guard to another, calculating their routes and timing.

Together we drop into the cover of darkness.

Every sound sends a jolt through me; every flicker of light sharpens my focus. The frost beneath our boots crunches like bones, a morbid symphony to the night's grim purpose. My pulse quickens, not from fear—no, fear is a luxury I can't afford right now—but from the electric thrill of the hunt, the danger that's become as familiar to me as the taste of blood on my tongue.

"Eleanna, the east wing." Alexandru points to a shadowy alcove, his sharp instincts leading us.

"Right behind you." A surge of power within me bursts through my veins, craving the moment I can unleash it upon those who dare stand in our way.

We slip inside the castle, its once-hallowed halls now twisted with dark magic, a perversion of everything it once stood for. The air buzzes with sinister energy, little wisps of darkness that lick at my skin, reminding me of the evil lurking around every corner. The talisman must be close. I can sense it pulsating, a malignant heartbeat resonating with my own.

"Moros, Erebos, Nyx," I summon under my breath. Immediately, my loyal familiars take position, their red eyes gleaming. "Watch for any surprises."

The ravens kraa softly in response, circling above before settling on high perches, guardians against the unseen.

"Stop." I hold up a hand and peer inside a room that was the castle nursery. "Found it. Time to end this nightmare."

The heart-shaped talisman comes into view, dark energy swirling around it like smoke.

"Quickly, Eleanna," Alexandru urges, his hand on his sword, ready for the inevitable clash. "Before?—"

"Before they even know we were here," I say.

This is our moment, our destiny. And I will see it fulfilled or die trying.

"Let's shatter some hearts then, shall we?" I move like the creature of the night I am.

I approach the heart resting on a black velvet pillow on a stone pedestal. The instant I extend my hand toward the talisman, a searing pain shoots through my fingers. The talisman fights back, dark magic swirling violently around it, desperately trying to protect itself. Gritting my teeth, I focus on my formidable vampire abilities combined with the element of surprise. My resolve is unshakable.

"Damn you!" I hiss in pain as I manage to tear the talisman away from the mystical barrier protecting it. My hands tremble from the effort, but I refuse to let go.

Suddenly, Catarina's soldiers appear in the doorway, their fangs bared and swords drawn.

Alexandru unsheathes his sword in a swift motion, ready for battle. "Moros, Erebos, Nyx!" he calls.

My loyal ravens dive into action, beaks and talons slashing at the enemy. The corridor fills with the sound of clashing steel, each blow echoing off the stone walls. Blood spatters the floor, covering it in scarlet as they fight against Catarina's forces. The air is teeming with guttural snarls, cries of pain, and the snap of fangs meeting flesh.

Alexandru's sword slices through the air, cutting down another foe with brutal accuracy. "Is that all you've got?" He goads his opponents, his voice tinged with both amusement and contempt.

"Die, you bloodsucking fiend!" one of Catarina's soldiers snarls, lunging at Alexandru with incredible speed.

"You're going to need more than your pathetic insults to bring me down!" Alexandru effortlessly dodges the attack while decapitating him with a smooth swing of his sword.

Diving, swooping, and attacking, Moros, Erebos, and Nyx throw themselves into the fray, their red eyes alight with fierce bloodlust.

Alexandru glances at me. "Start the ritual! Destroy the fucking thing. We'll hold them off."

Alexandru and my familiars force the battle into the corridor, leaving me alone in the room. I face the talisman on the pedestal and smile.

"Midnight's blessing, now we call," I say with purpose and intention, "when the veil is thinnest of all."

From my pouch, I retrieve the vial that glimmers with magic. The phoenix's tear at dawn. Its radiance outshines even the moonlight streaming through the window. Unscrewing the cap, I pour the liquid over the heart-shaped talisman. It sizzles upon contact, an ethereal hiss filling the chamber as the dark magic within writhes in agony, fighting against the tear's purifying force.

"Let the light cleanse you," I whisper to the talisman, watching as the phoenix's tear works its power, the first step toward breaking the curse Catarina so desperately clings to.

With the room steeped in silence save for the distant clamor of battle, I reach into my bag for the next ingredient, closing my fingers around a small pouch containing the ash of a vampire turned to dust under a blood moon.

"By blood and bone, by dust and moon," I chant, scattering the ash in a meticulous circle around the talisman. Then, with a deep breath, I extend my palm above the circled heart, igniting the ash with a flame that springs from my very essence—orange and red blazing around the edges of darkness.

The ring of fire blazes fiercely, the heat intense enough to burn me, make me recoil, yet I stand firm. Its energy, drawn from sacrifice and transformation, begins to envelop the room, amplifying my intent to shatter the corruption festering in Catarina's realm.

"Consume the dark, birth the light," I command the flames, feeling the power swell within me as the ritual takes hold. "Tonight, this pulse will beat no more."

The flame flares but doesn't change color, doesn't shift, and I need that before the next part.

The battle beyond the room is an intense chorus, with steel whistling against steel and the guttural snarls of combat seeping through the stone walls. I glance up and through the doorway. I can see Alexandru, a whirling specter of death, his blade a silver arc in the dim light. Moros, Erebos, and Nyx dart above, their cries splitting the air. The nocturnal ravens are a synchronized blur of beaks and talons striking at faces and eyes.

Blood, a scent both metallic and intoxicating, steeps the corridor and sullies the ancient stones. Alexandru moves with vampiric swiftness, a general commanding the very essence of war. His sword plunges into a vampire's heart, a gush of vermilion staining his military garb. He spins, decapitating another assailant, dark blood spewing forth like a grotesque fountain.

My heart races, and I clench my hands. Oh, how I long to be beside him, our blades singing a duet of destruction. But my task here is crucial, the key to ending this nightmarish reign.

The heat shifts, still painful, still hot, and the flame flares cerise telling me the first part of the incantation has taken hold. I need to start the next.

Returning to my task, I remove the mandrake root pulled at the stroke of midnight from my pouch. Its gnarled, humanoid form seems to throb with the latent energy of the earth itself. With a swift motion, I crush it in my hands, releasing a pungent aroma, mingling with the sharp tang of the magic-infused flames.

"By mandrake's might and midnight's hand," I say, my voice steady as I sprinkle the powdered root into the ashes. "Reclaim what was taken, break the bonds that hold."

The earth's energies rise at my call, a symphony of old magic and steadfast strength. The ground beneath my feet thrums with power, eager to aid in the undoing of the wickedness that's seeped into this domain.

"Let this cursed heart be unmade!" I faintly smile despite the gravity of the moment.

The thrill of the impending victory courses through me, a fire that rivals the one encircling the talisman.

"Soon, very soon, Catarina, your time will come to an end. And I'll be the one to turn the hourglass."

With the mandrake's essence now a part of the circle, I turn to the final piece of this precarious puzzle. I retrieve the last item from my bag. The mirror of pure silver in my shaky hand, its surface unblemished, reflecting my hallowed gaze back at me. I give myself a nod—it's time.

Raising the mirror with both hands, I unlock the seal with a deft flick of my thumb. A banshee's whisper, sealed within, begins to stir—its mournful cry a haunting prelude to power unleashed.

"Come forth and sing your song of sorrow and strength," I urge, feeling the vibration of the mirror as the sound builds, a crescendo of loss that resonates with my very being.

It spills into The Darkened Pulse, which writhes as if alive, desperate to escape the inevitable.

"Your pleas won't save you now," I say, tightening my grip on the mirror. "It's over."

The banshee's lament fills the room, swirling around the heart-shaped talisman. My eyes, locked with my own reflection, see not just the vampire queen I've become but also the fierce rebel who has fought tooth and nail to get here, a changed woman, with a softness that's strength, an openness and iron fist that can open, palm up. And a shadow behind me, around me, protecting me.

The talisman shudders, and I can almost hear Catarina's distant shrieks of defiance from somewhere within the castle walls.

I begin to chant the ancient incantation, the words flowing from my lips like a river breaking through a dam. " Tezcatlipoca, quimichtin, nequiya, tonatiuh ..."

With a resounding crack, the ancient talisman splinters into a maze of fissures, each one spreading like a spiderweb across its surface. Its shrill screams pierce my ears, discordant notes clashing against the haunting melody of the banshee. In response, the very foundations of the castle begin to shake, the shock wave of our confrontation reverberating through every stone and bone in its structure. As if in protest, the walls themselves seem to groan and shiver under the strain.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you? Hell hath no fury like a vampire queen scorned," I whisper to the talisman, almost affectionate in my contempt.

A surge of energy ripples out from the heart, an invisible force that throws me backward. I stumble, my heels dig into the ground, muscles tensing, every fiber of my being resisting the onslaught. The room blurs, my focus narrowing to the pulsing artifact before me. Every shattered shard that flies free is a note in the symphony of its destruction, playing the song of my triumph.

"Die, damn you!" I grit out, whether to the talisman or the forces trying to protect it, I don't care.

My will is iron, my resolve unbreakable.

The ancient talisman lets out a bone-chilling scream, its dark energy swirling and crackling until it suddenly collapses in on itself. The oppressive presence that emanated from it vanishes, leaving only a faint trail of smoke in the air.

"It is done," I breathe out, and I grin as the remnants of The Darkened Pulse scatter into nothingness.

"Stay strong, my beloved." Alexandru's voice cuts through the aftermath like a lifeline.

I draw a ragged breath, the sound of his words reverberating in my chest. Around me, the world tilts precariously, and I clutch at the stone pedestal to steady myself, my fingers leaving smudges on the cold surface. His voice is an anchor, steadying the tumultuous sea inside me. But my vision dims, edges fraying into darkness as if night itself seeks to claim me.

With each heartbeat, my strength wanes, ebbing away like the ocean. Yet some stubborn spark within me refuses to be extinguished. I will not falter now, not when victory is so near. My body sways, nearly betraying me, but I remain upright—a show of will over flesh.

"Alexandru," I murmur.

Gritting my teeth, I plant my hands on the edge of the pedestal and push off with every ounce of strength that remains. My body, battered and drained, protests with a litany of aches as I stagger into the corridor beyond.

The battle still rages. The otherworldly whisper of blades scraping against each other all but drowns out the cries of the wounded and the dying. I brace myself against the stone wall, sucking in ragged breaths that burn in my lungs.

But then, I feel it…an insistent thrumming that begins in the marrow of my bones and quickly builds into a surging torrent. My father's ancient vampire blood courses through me, potent and unyielding, flooding my veins with newfound vigor. The lacerations on my hands rapidly knit back together, the flayed skin smoothing over into a seamless expanse once more.

My muscles, only moments ago leaden and feeble, now swell with preternatural might, trembling with the ferocity of the power they've been imbued with. A feral snarl rips from my throat as I straighten, squaring my shoulders and clenching my fists until my knuckles blanch. The haze of fatigue burns away, replaced by the blistering clarity of a vampire's focus.

With a roar that drowns out the din of battle, I surge into the passage, unstoppable, unbreakable, reborn in the fires of my inheritance.

I take my place beside Alexandru, whose sword gleams in the moonlight, an unearthly steel partner in his hands.

"Nice to have you back, my Queen." He grunts, parrying a vicious strike from a burly vampire.

The command ignites something within me, a fierce joy that burns away the last traces of weariness. My blade feels right in my grip, ready to enforce my will. We stand back-to-back, a fortress against the onslaught. With every swing, every block, I lose myself in the rhythm of combat.

My senses sharpen until I can feel Alexandru's movements against my back, synchronized in an uncanny ballet. The metallic odor of blood pervades the air, coppery and as it splashes across the stones, dark and glistening like ink. The cries of pain and rage are a din that drives me, a symphony to which set our fight.

We move in a flash of blades and fury, cutting down any who dare approach.

"Moros, Erebos, and Nyx, heed my call!" I shout, my voice ringing through the corridor.

Moros swoops down from above. His claws are a flash of fierceness—tearing into an attacker's face, flesh yielding to relentless force.

Nyx and Erebos answer my call next, their black feathered forms diving through the bedlam, their midnight wings a blur. They strike, a pair of dark bolts shot from the night, sowing disarray among the horde that swells before us. Their calls sound like laughter, a mocking note amid the chaos.

A vampire lunges at me, eyes brimming with bloodlust, but I'm quicker. My blade sings its deadly arc, finding the space between his ribs. It's not just training; it's the roar of the hunter woven into my very being. I pull my sword free, and he falls, another shadow motionless on the flagstones.

The grit of battle clings to my skin, each breath a maelstrom of ash and frost. The cold no longer touches me—not when the heat of combat burns in my veins, the power of command thrumming in my core.

"Another!" Alexandru roars, his sword cleaving through the air.

With a swift, visceral motion, innards spill onto the ground, steaming in the wintry air. He kicks the body aside, a discarded husk. Alexandru's heckling echoes like a call to those who dare persist in this futile assault.

They come at us—a flurry of fangs and steel. We meet them with a tempest of our own making. Each strike I deliver is a promise, a pledge to protect what's ours, to cleanse these halls of their presence. Blood spatters across my face, warm and strangely alive. I don't flinch away from the gore; it's part of this world we inhabit, this night of reckoning.

I hear Alexandru's labored breathing, the strain of battle etched in every exhale. But there's strength there too—the indomitable will that's seen centuries pass. He fights not just for conquest but for a future free from tyranny.

I fight for love—for the lives intertwined with mine, for the heart that beats in time with my own. I fight for those who can't defend themselves, for the hope that tomorrow might be brighter than today. It's this compassion, this fierce desire to shield and nurture, that lends power to my arm, that sharpens my senses and guides my blade.

"Having fun, Eleanna?" Alexandru says between strikes at the center of the feud that rages around us.

"Just another night of anarchy, my love," I reply, my conviction as unwavering as the mountains that cradle our lands.

"Anarchy? Nay, this is but a prelude to our reign, my Queen."

His words ignite a feral hunger within me, a desire to conquer, to claim what is rightfully ours. I lunge forward, my blade finding flesh, parting sinew from bone. The scent of copper is a heady perfume that sings to the darkness coiled in my soul.

"A reign built upon the ashes of our enemies," I hiss over the clash of steel.

My sword moves in a rhythm that seeks the final, decisive blow. The air feels hot as a forge with the intensity of our combat, and it sparks with ambition and survival.

Alexandru laughs, a sound as sharp as the edge of his sword. "And what a glorious reign it shall be."

I lunge, spinning, taking out another foe. And then Alexandru's eyes meet mine for an instant, the bloodlust of battle passing between us—a decree to paint these halls red with the blood of those who dare stand against us.

"Glorious indeed," I murmur, my lips curving into a cold smile. "But first, we must finish what we started."

With a vampiric grace that belies the ferocity of my actions, I spin again, my blade a whirling instrument of viciousness. It finds its mark, again and again, each stroke a masterpiece of brutality. The ravens circle overhead, their cries a haunting melody that spurs me onward, their red eyes gleaming with an unholy light.

"My beloved, you are breathtaking in red," Alexandru says, his voice a velvet caress against my skin.

I flash him a feral grin, my fangs bared. "And you, my love, are a vision of destruction."

We move as one, our bodies attuned to the primal rhythm of the fight. Each step is a declaration of our power, each blow a testament to our strength. Our foes diminish—one by one, they fall to our relentless onslaught. We are the night's fury, made flesh, the embodiment of vampiric wrath, as our enemies lay at her feet. All of them dead.

We've won this fight, and I like the feeling.

Catarina appears farther along the corridor, but she has a clear view of the room that once held her talisman.

"Look at you now, Catarina, a queen without a heart," I say.

Catarina's hard stare clashes with mine, hers burning with raw, untamed outrage. Her keening yell echoes through the decimated hall, like a descent into desperation.

"I hate you, Eleanna!" Catarina's voice is laced with fury, but there's a tremor in it, the fracture of her once brash confidence.

I step over the debris and fallen vampires, the soles of my boots sticking momentarily in the pooling blood as I stalk closer, savoring the acrid stench of Catarina's fear. It's a bouquet I could become drunk on.

"Without your precious talisman, you're nothing," I say. "Just a husk of a vampire, clinging to delusions of grandeur."

Catarina's lips peel back, revealing fangs stained with the blood of her own folly. "You think this is the end? I'll tear you apart with my bare hands!"

She lunges, a blur of desperate fury. But I'm faster, stronger, forged in the crucible of my own suffering. I reach out, fingers coiling around her throat, squeezing until her windpipe gives beneath my grip.

I sneer. "Pathetic. You thought you could best me, but you're just a pale imitation, a cheap facsimile of true power."

I lean in close, my breath ghosting across her cheek. Catarina squirms in my grasp, her nails scrabbling uselessly against my skin. Panic widens her eyes, the first inklings of true fear seeping in.

"Please..." she gasps, the word a broken whisper. "Mercy..."

A harsh laugh scrapes my throat raw. "Mercy? You, who have shown none, dare to beg for it now?"

I tighten my fingers around Catarina's slender throat, her pulse fluttering frantically against my palm like a terrified bird desperate to take flight. In this moment, I hold her life in the vise of my grip, and the temptation to snuff it out—to crush it as easily as extinguishing a candle's flame—sings through my veins like a siren's call to violence.

But a voice, cool and commanding, cuts through the haze of bloodlust clouding my senses. "Eleanna."

Alexandru. My darling. My anchor in the tempest of my rage.

"Don't become that which you hate most. We'll return for justice. The right way."

I turn and meet his unwavering gaze. In the fathomless depths of his eyes, I see my own reflection—wild, feral, teetering precariously on the precipice of something I can never come back from, a point of no return where the last vestiges of my humanity will be consumed by the all-consuming darkness.

In that crystalline moment, Alexandru's words resonate through my mind, piercing the veil of wrath that momentarily blinded me. Once the blinding haze dissipates, I'm reminded of the very core of my being—a being forged not by the insatiable thirst for vengeance but by an unwavering consciousness of justice and honor.

Catarina's transgressions are grave, her army a formidable force that has sown chaos and despair in its wake. But to strike her down now, in cold blood, would be to surrender the moral high ground on which I stand. It would tarnish the principles that have guided me through centuries of turmoil, reducing me to the very monster I have sworn to vanquish.

No, justice must be served, but through the proper channels—a reckoning that upholds the sanctity of our laws and traditions. If I were to take her life in this moment, I would be no better than the merciless tyrants who have plagued our kind forever. I'd be perpetuating a cycle of violence, one that must be broken.

With a deep, steadying breath, I release my grip, allowing Catarina to crumple to the ground, gasping and clutching her bruised throat.

My gaze meets Alexandru's once more, and in the depths of his eyes, I see not only love but pride—pride in my ability to rein in the beast that dwells within, to rise above the baser instincts that have felled lesser beings.

I stand over her, a vengeful goddess, my power crackling in the air around me.

"Remember this moment, Catarina," I say, each word a razor's edge. "Remember I chose to spare you. And know that if you do not surrender by the next full moon, I will not be so merciful."

The familiar weight of Alexandru's hand lands on the small of my back, a steadying presence that anchors me.

A distant clang of metal against stone reverberates through the hall, growing louder with every breath. We share a terse nod, a command to move.

We hasten toward the arched exit, the torchlight guiding our steps through the night.

High above, through the eyelet of the vaulted ceiling, stars wink in the inky sky. Three solitary specks circle—Moros, Erebos, and Nyx, whose haunting calls resemble an ominous portent.

We pass under the archway of the castle, the first light of dawn rising over the hillside. Alexandru reaches out, his hand finding mine, and I squeeze his fingers, finding solace in his touch.

The world outside has changed; the night's blanket is pulled back to reveal the dawn. We walk in silence toward our steeds, side by side, cloaked in the weariness that follows battle. Yet, there is a feeling of completeness, a chapter closed, allowing for the next to begin.

"Alexandru," I breathe out his name like a prayer, "we have endured much."

"Endured and prevailed, my beloved."

Moros swoops down, its wings brushing against my shoulder before landing gracefully. Erebos and Nyx join, their black feathers glistening in the new light, their red eyes watching vigilantly. They kraa , a triumphant salute to the morning and to survival.

Tonight, we retreat, biding our time and marshaling our forces. I glance back at the castle.

But make no mistake, Catarina—the scales of justice shall be balanced, and you will answer for your crimes against our kind.

For we are not the harbingers of wanton destruction but the guardians of order in a world teetering on the brink of all-out war.