Chapter 2

The Blood Mirror pulsed violently. It looked like a giant, floating heart.

The dark red glow grew brighter. It turned the catacombs into a thick sea of blood.

My blood flowed along the runes. It poured into the ancient glass.

Through the blinding pain, I felt my life fading away.

Ashen cracks spread across my pale skin. My veins bulged like black vines.

"Finally!" Tania smiled in excitement. "Now everyone will see this traitor's true colors!"

In the crowd, my kin pointed. They whispered cruel jokes.

"You can never really know someone. A traitor like her should burn alive in sunfire!"

"She always acted so high and mighty. Who knew she was such trash inside?"

"Look at her sickly body. How dare she try to steal the Lord? Thank God she's not our future Lady. The Nightfall Court would be doomed."

Valerius sat like stone. He watched my execution with dead eyes.

Finally, the image in the mirror steadied.

Everyone expected to see my dirty deals with the Fallen. But the scene on the glass plunged the catacombs into a dead, suffocating silence.

It was a sea of blinding, deadly sunfire.

It was five years ago. The Court was ambushed by vampire hunters at the Central Botanical Garden.

The hunters triggered a dawn-trap hidden in the glass dome.

The sun-runes lit up all at once. The massive crystal roof shattered. A light as bright as dawn swallowed the whole room.

A tall male vampire screamed in agony. His leg was pinned under a massive solid silver pillar.

His body was catching fire in the blinding light. He shrieked. He lost all his noble pride.

By the throne, Julian flinched hard.

His face turned deathly pale.

It was him. Everyone in the Court recognized him instantly.

On the screen, Julian tried to break free. But the burning silver and the UV weapons kept him pinned.

"Help! Somebody help me!" he howled in pure despair. Terror swallowed him whole. He lost his mind.

Right then, a blur of black mist tore through the glowing dust.

It was a female vampire.

She ran against the fleeing crowd. She threw herself blindly into the deadly sunfire.

She moved insanely fast. She dodged the falling, burning debris with ease.

It was me. Five years ago.

I was a pureblood. I had a slight resistance to the artificial sun. But no vampire could survive a direct hit from the dawn-trap.

But to save Julian, I ran right into it.

"Julian!" My voice was raspy from inhaling the burning dust.

I finally reached him. He was barely breathing from the burns. He was trapped under the silver pillar.

The silver glared blindingly.

Steel beams groaned. They were ready to snap.

I didn't hesitate. I shoved my shoulder against the pillar. The second my hands touched the blessed silver, the flesh melted off my bones.

"Ah!"

The sunfire set my back ablaze. You could hear my skin crisping and burning.

Unbearable pain made me shake violently. But I refused to let go.

I pushed. I pushed again and again. My fangs tore my own lips to shreds.

"Julian, wake up! Please, wake up!"

Finally, Julian let out a weak groan.

Just then, a deafening crack came from above. The largest piece of the burning roof snapped.

It carried the dawn-trap's core purifying energy. And it was falling right on top of us.

There was nowhere to run.

In the memory, I didn't pause for a single second. I threw myself over Julian. I spread my arms wide. I shielded him from the deathly light with my own frail body.

The sunfire swallowed me instantly. The pain was beyond words. Everything went black.

The damage was too much. I was almost reduced to ash right there.

I lay over Julian. My back was charred black and bloody.

The hiss of roasting muscle and the stench of burnt flesh filled the air.

I bit my lip until it bled. I used my very last ounce of strength. I shoved him out from under the pillar and into the shadows.

"Julian... run..."

My mind was fading fast.

Right before my eyes slid shut, I saw movement. A woman peeked out from a safe corner in the basement.

It was Tania. She didn't have a single scratch. She just had a little ash on her cheek.

She looked at us. A complicated look flashed in her eyes. Then she ran over to Julian. He was passed out in the shadows.

The memory ended there.

The trial hall went as quiet as a grave.

Every vampire turned to look at Julian in horror. He stood completely frozen.