登入The dead warriors rose as one.A collective, sickening groan tore through the forest floor as hundreds of ancient bodies forced their way out from the black, waterlogged earth. Their moss-draped armor was coated in centuries of compacted soil, their rusted broadswords dripping with dark mud, and within the hollow sockets of their skulls burned a faint, unnatural silver light.Lorrie stood frozen on the vibrating moss, her arms locked tightly around her newborn son. Across the narrow clearing stood Lorenzo—or the nightmare that had hollowed out her husband's body. His eyes were endless abysses of pure pitch-black, stripped of all human warmth. His tall, broad-shouldered frame was still the man she adored, the face that had filled her dreams across lifetimes, but the presence staring out through his eyes was ancient, monstrous, and utterly devoid of mercy.Lucius raised his sidearm, the silver barrel trembling slightly as he lined up a shot toward his twin brother. "Put the baby down, L
Lorrie felt as though the earth had collapsed beneath her feet.She stood paralyzed, her knuckles white as she pressed her crying baby against her chest. Across the foggy clearing, the stranger watched her with eyes like polished silver—a man who possessed her husband’s tall frame, his sharp jawline, and his dark, commanding presence, yet carried an aura that felt cold, ancient, and deeply unnatural."Don't listen to a single word he says, Lorrie," Lorenzo growled. His voice was a low, lethal rumble, but his hand trembled violently as he gripped his drawn weapon.The stranger’s lips curved into a slow, razor-thin smile. "You still sound exactly the same, brother. Always posturing. Always playing the loyal soldier."Lorenzo stared at the man, his chest heaving under his tactical armor. "I watched you die. I saw them carry your body out of the estate when we were seven years old.""No," the stranger replied softly, taking another measured step forward over the damp moss. "You watched th
"No."The word fell from Lorrie’s lips like a drop of ice into a quiet room. She stood rooted to the damp, mossy ground of the ancient forest, her knuckles white as she squeezed her newborn baby against her chest.She stared at her mother, whose pale face remained terrifyingly calm amidst the rising fog. Then she looked at Lorenzo. His towering, blood-soaked frame was completely still, his dark eyes wide with an emotion Lorrie had rarely seen in him: pure, agonizing vulnerability."The baby's father is Lorenzo," Lorrie repeated, her voice trembling, though she tried desperately to force iron into her tone. "He is a Dimitri. He carries Lorenzo’s mark!"Her mother shook her head slowly, a sad, almost pitying smile gracing her lips. "You believe that because your heart demands it, Lorrie. You believe it because you were written into this tragedy to be his anchor."Lorenzo stepped forward, the heavy boots of his tactical uniform crunching over dead pine needles. His jaw was clenched so ha
"Lorenzo!"Lorrie’s scream tore through the dead silence of the forest as her husband’s blood-slicked fingers slipped from hers. She threw herself onto the cold, black moss, digging her knees into the earth as her knuckles turned stark white, holding onto his left wrist with every ounce of strength left in her breaking body.Below him, the open grave churned like a pit of living quicksand. Black soil and writhing shadows wrapped around Lorenzo’s boots, dragging him down into the subterranean darkness."Lorrie, let go!" Lorenzo roared, his dark eyes wide with an agonizing terror—not for his own life, but for hers. "The pit is pulling with divine weight! If you hold on, it will drag you and the baby down with me!""I am never letting you go!" Lorrie wept, her muscles quivering under the crushing gravitational pull. "We leave together, Lorenzo! We live together!""Think of our son!" he begged, his boots slipping deeper into the abyss. "You have to live for him!""No!" she screamed.Press
Lorrie couldn't breathe.The air in the subterranean vault felt like ice water in her lungs. She stared down at her newborn son, her arms trembling as she held him flush against her chest. His eyes were not the warm, chocolate brown she had prayed he would inherit from Lorenzo, nor were they the sparkling silver of her mother’s divine bloodline.They were black. Pure, hollow, pitch-black voids that swallowed the light around them.And the voice that had just emerged from his tiny, delicate lips was not the cry of an innocent infant. It was deep, metallic, and heavy with thousands of years of ancient hatred.«"Father... I finally found you."»Lorenzo stood frozen beside her, his blood-stained shirt clinging to his chest. Every muscle in his broad frame was locked tight, his face drained of all color."Lorrie..." he rasped, his voice barely audible over the roaring wind outside. "Step back."Lorrie instinctively tightened her arms around the swaddled bundle, taking a defensive step back
The subterranean chamber fell into an absolute, suffocating silence.The air was thick with the stench of ancient dust, ozone, and spent gunpowder, yet the sound that lingered in Lorrie’s ears made her blood run colder than any winter draft. The tiny newborn lay wrapped in white silk inside the arms of the creature wearing Bianca’s flesh. But the voice that had just emerged from those tiny, fragile lips was deep, metallic, and heavy with thousands of years of malice."Mother... kill them all."Lorrie’s heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. She stared down at her son, her hands trembling as a cold sweat broke over her skin. "Lorenzo..." she whispered, her voice barely a thread in the silent vault. "Did you... did you hear that?"Lorenzo didn't answer immediately. His tall, blood-soaked frame was frozen, his dark eyes locked onto the baby with a mixture of profound terror and absolute disbelief. Slowly, his jaw tightened, and he nodded once. "Yes. I heard it."Across the







