Chapter 3

Theron and Elias stood frozen, a heavy silence hanging between them.

After a long moment, Theron walked slowly to the young vampire and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Young one… we just discovered the remains of a murdered pureblood here."

The young vampire’s face went white.

"We don't know the victim's identity yet, but…" Theron’s voice was soft as he pointed to the ground. "That ash is…"

"No… it can't be…"

The boy scrambled to his feet, stumbling numbly toward my remains.

"It can't be her… it can't…" His voice broke. "She's just mad at me… She'll come back… She has to come back…"

My soul ached watching his despair.

Just as he was about to completely break down, his communicator rang.

A teasing female voice came through. "That'll teach you to make me angry, you little brat!"

The young vampire froze.

"I brought back your favorite blood-ale. Where are you? Get back here and apologize!"

"Sister!" He burst into a teary laugh, tears still streaming down his face. "Oh my god, sister! You're okay! You're okay!"

"Of course I'm okay! Trying to get rid of me? Dream on!" Her voice was full of affection. "Hurry back, I brought you something good."

The young vampire was laughing and crying at the same time. He turned and bowed deeply to Theron.

"Thank you, Lord Enforcer! Thank you for being willing to help me!"

He wiped his tears and rushed out of the church.

Theron let out a breath of relief, but his brow quickly furrowed again.

My case was still a dead end.

"Another dead end," he said, looking at the ash on the floor, his voice laced with exhaustion.

Two days later.

In the Enforcer's office, case files were piled high.

Elias walked in to find Theron still hunched over his desk.

"You haven't slept in two days."

"There are no useful clues at the scene," Theron said, rubbing his temples. "Melted silver, traces of holy light, and that damned pile of ash. The killer was a professional."

"Theron, we need to talk about Cerys."

"Her again?" Theron’s head snapped up, his eyes blazing. "I don't care where she is! For all I care, she can rot!"

"She's been missing for seven days…"

"She's blackmailing me! She thinks this will force my hand?" Theron stood and paced the office. "I told you, I only care about one thing—Lilith's Blood Moon Festival!"

Just then, his communicator rang.

A gentle, elderly voice came through. "Lord Enforcer, this is Marcus, Cerys's alchemy mentor. She hasn't been to the lab recently. It's not like her. She never misses a lab session without a reason…"

"I don't care if she's dead or alive!" Theron roared. "Stop bothering me about that worthless girl!"

He cut the connection, but his fingers unconsciously tightened around an old picture frame on his desk.

It was the only photo we had from our childhood.

Then, he picked up his communication crystal and sent me a message.

[Cerys! If you're still alive, you'd better crawl back here right now! You will attend the Blood Moon Festival and you will assist Lilith with the ceremony!]

Seeing that message felt like my soul was being torn apart.

Theron, I am right in front of you.

My body is the ash you keep staring at.

When will you finally see it's me? And when you do… will you even be sad?

He had just put the crystal down when the office door opened softly.

Lilith walked in, holding a crimson-red vial.

Tears glistened on her cheeks. She looked pitiful and fragile.

"Brother Theron…" she said, her voice trembling.

"Lilith?" Theron was on his feet instantly, all his anger gone. "What is it? What happened?"

"It's… it's Cerys," Lilith choked out. "I just ran into her on the street."

A cold premonition washed over me.

"I wanted to talk to her about the festival, to try and make her understand… but she was so angry."

Lilith held up the vial in her hands—the special blood potion I made for Theron.

"She shoved me with her magic, and she smashed this on the ground. She screamed that… that she would never make another blood vial for you again."

Then, she pulled something else from her cloak.

My soul shook violently.

It was the moonstone pendant our mother left me. My moonstone. The silver chain glinted, the stone pulsing with a soft, protective glow.

I never took it off. It was my most precious treasure. I would never, ever have abandoned it!

"She threw this at me," Lilith's tears fell faster, "and said she was done. Done with you, done with this family, and done with everyone who hates her…"

"Liar!" I raged, my voice a phantom wind. "I've been dead for seven days! I never saw you!"

But no one heard my desperate cries.

Elias’s face grew grim. He snatched the pendant from her hand.

"This is impossible!" Elias snapped, his voice sharp. "Theron, think! This was your mother's. It's her only protection from the sun! After her failed blood awakening a century ago, she couldn't even stand the morning twilight without it! You think she would throw away the one thing keeping her from burning to ash over a tantrum? It makes no sense!"

"She's that crazy!" Theron snapped, snatching the pendant back, enraged by Elias's doubt. "She’d do anything for attention! I'll prove she's just putting on a show!"

He grabbed his communication crystal and dialed the one number he hadn't willingly called in a hundred years.

As if my answering would prove it was all just a childish game.

And the crystal I thought was destroyed… actually connected.

"I knew it," Theron snarled into the crystal. "Cerys! Get here. Now. You selfish brat, how dare you hurt Lilith? How dare you try to ruin her festival?!"

But the voice that came back wasn't mine.

It was a man's voice. Guttural. A stranger.

"Lord Enforcer Theron? We've located the primary crime scene for the pureblood murder. We found this crystal there."