ANMELDENThe scratching stopped. For several seconds, there was nothing. No footsteps. No whispering. Not even the sound of breathing. Then three slow knocks sounded against the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
My mother's face had gone completely white. "Don't answer."
I stared at her. "Who are they?"
She didn't respond. Kael moved in front of me, his shoulders tense, his eyes fixed on the sealed doors.
"How many?"
My mother swallowed. "Enough."
A fourth kno
The floor cracked beneath my feet. I grabbed Kael's arm. "What did he mean?"Kael didn't answer. His eyes remained fixed on the ancient vampire.The stranger smiled. "Still silent."Kael's claws extended. "Say another word about her."The vampire laughed softly. "You haven't changed.""Who are you?" The question came from my mother. Her voice was trembling.The vampire finally looked at her. "You know exactly who I am."She shook her head. "No.""Then look at me."She did. Her face drained of color. "Lucien."The name seemed to suck all the warmth from the room. Liora stepped backward. "He's alive?"Lucien smiled. "I've been alive for a very long time."Kael's expression darkened. "Crimson Court?"Lucien's eyes moved toward him. "One of their founders."My stomach twisted. One of the founders.The ancient vampire looked at me again. "And her father."Silence. My mother clo
"Because Alira was never your real name."The whisper disappeared. But its weight remained. I stood completely still. My heart hammered against my ribs. Kael was beside me, his hand hovering near mine."Don't listen to the voice."I looked at him. "Then tell me."His expression tightened. "Tell you what?""My name."He didn't answer. That was answer enough.I stepped closer. "You know.""Alira""Don't." My voice shook. "You knew me before I was Alira."His eyes lowered. "I knew someone.""Who?"He looked at me. "Aria."The name moved through me like a current. For one second, I couldn't breathe. Aria. It wasn't unfamiliar. It felt like something I'd forgotten rather than something I'd never known."Was that me?"Kael hesitated. "I don't know.""You're lying.""I'm not.""You are."His jaw tightened. "I remember calling you Aria."My chest tighte
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything. Not the creatures. Not Liora. Not my mother. Not even my own breathing. There was only one sentence repeating inside my head.The other forty-nine percent is still somewhere inside you.I looked at Kael. His eyes were black. His expression was calm. Too calm."You're carrying half of me."The corner of his mouth lifted. "Not half." His voice was deeper now. "Fifty-one percent."I swallowed. "Give it back."Something almost like sadness crossed his face. "I can't.""Why?""Because it isn't mine anymore."The blackness in his eyes flickered. For one heartbeat, silver appeared. Kael. He looked at me."Alira, listen to me."I stepped closer. "I am listening.""I don't know how much of me is still in control." His breathing became uneven. "Whatever happens, don't let the Hunger make you"His head snapped backward. Black veins spread across his face. He
The scratching stopped. For several seconds, there was nothing. No footsteps. No whispering. Not even the sound of breathing. Then three slow knocks sounded against the door.Knock. Knock. Knock.My mother's face had gone completely white. "Don't answer."I stared at her. "Who are they?"She didn't respond. Kael moved in front of me, his shoulders tense, his eyes fixed on the sealed doors."How many?"My mother swallowed. "Enough."A fourth knock. This time, the entire chamber trembled. Liora backed away from the door."They shouldn't have found us."The woman with my face looked at her. "They didn't." Her voice was quiet. "We brought them here."Liora's eyes widened. "What?"She turned toward me. "Alira did."My stomach dropped. "I did what?"The woman pointed at my chest. "Your memory did."A sharp pain spread beneath my ribs. The system immediately responded.MEMORY RESTORATIO
For a moment, nobody moved. I stared at my mother. At the silver in her eyes. At the sharp points of her teeth. At the woman who had once tucked blankets around me at night. The woman who had kissed my forehead when I was sick. The woman who had held my hand when I was afraid of thunderstorms.A vampire. No. Something worse. The system had said she wasn't human.My mother smiled. "Alira."I stepped backward. Kael immediately moved with me, his body becoming a shield between us. My mother noticed. Something almost amused crossed her face."You still protect her."Kael's voice was cold. "You've given me plenty of reasons not to trust you.""Have I?""You disappeared."Her expression faltered. "I was taken.""You let them experiment on her.""I didn't know.""You knew enough."My mother's eyes flashed. "I knew they were doing something to my children."Children. Plural. My gaze snapped toward Liora. She was crying silently."Children?"My mother closed her eyes. "Yes."I felt something t
I stopped breathing. My mother's voice. There was no mistaking it. Soft. Familiar. The same voice that had once called me downstairs for dinner. The same voice that had whispered goodnight when I was little. The same voice I had spent years wondering whether I imagined loving."Mother?"Nothing.I turned. There was only darkness."Mother?"Kael's hand tightened around mine. "Alira, don't move.""I heard her.""I know." His voice was low. "But that doesn't mean it was her."A faint laugh drifted through the darkness. It was my mother's laugh. My chest hurt."You still don't trust me, Kael?"His entire body went rigid. The voice came again. This time from directly in front of us."You always were protective of her."A small light appeared. Then another. Then another. Silver symbols slowly illuminated the chamber. And there she was. My mother. Standing beneath the broken archway. Exactly as I remembered her. Dark hair. Gentle eyes. The small scar beneath her left eyebrow. The same dress







