Chapter 29: Vampire Rebels

Sebastian's POV

The metal stake missed Sebastian's heart by an inch.

He spun around, teeth dropping as he faced his attacker. Victor, one of his oldest vampires, stood with another stake ready in his hand.

"Traitor!" Victor hissed. "You've doomed us all!"

Sebastian and the others had barely fled the Obsidian Court alive. After Magnus exposed himself, chaos had broken out. They'd fought their way out and fled to the only place left—Sebastian's mansion in the vampire district.

But clearly, safety was a dream.

"Put it down, Victor," Sebastian warned. "You don't understand what's happening."

Behind Victor stood five more vampires, all with guns. Their eyes glowed red with anger.

"We understand perfectly," a female vampire said. "You've chosen the witch and the wolf over your own kind."

Sebastian's cut burned—silver was one of the few things that could truly hurt a vampire. Blood dripped down his chest, but he kept his face calm. Show no fear. That had been his rule for five hundred years.

"Where are they?" Victor demanded. "Where are the witch and the wolf?"

Sebastian smiled coldly. "Safe. Away from traitors like you."

That was a lie. Elara and Thorne were upstairs with Kaela and some of the shifters who had sided with Thorne. If these rebel vampires got past him... "The old ways are finished," Victor said. "The Harbingers offered us safety. All we have to do is deliver the three of you."

"And you believed them?" Sebastian laughed, though his wound throbbed terribly. "Orion and Magnus will destroy us all."

Victor's face twisted with hate. "Better to die fighting than to bow to a witch and a wolf!"

The female vampire stepped forward. "You've gone soft, Sebastian. The great head of the Midnight Syndicate, now playing lap dog to a half-breed witch."

Her words stung more than the silver. For ages, Sebastian had ruled through fear and respect. Now his own people were turning against him.

"Last chance," Sebastian said quietly. "Leave now, and I might let you live."

Victor smiled. "There are six of us and one of you. And you're already bleeding."

Before Sebastian could reply, the doors to the great hall burst open. Elara stood there, her eyes sparkling with silver light.

"Actually," she said, "there are three of us."

Thorne emerged beside her, his eyes glowing gold, halfway between human and wolf.

Sebastian felt their link pulse with energy. The pain from his wound lessened instantly.

"This isn't your fight, Elara," Sebastian called, worried for her safety.

"Yes, it is," she answered, walking down the stairs. "Any fight with you or Thorne is my fight too. That's what the bond means."

The rebel vampires backed up, suddenly unsure. They had expected to find Sebastian alone, weakened. Not facing the trio from the vision.

"Kill them all!" Victor shouted, throwing his second stake straight at Elara's heart.

Time seemed to slow down. Sebastian couldn't reach her in time. But he didn't need to.

Elara raised her hand, and the stake froze in mid-air. With a flick of her hand, it turned and shot back toward Victor, stopping just before touching his chest.

"I don't want to hurt you," she said quietly. "But I will if I have to."

The female vampire charged at Thorne, who caught her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. "Same goes for me," he growled.

Three of the rebels lost their nerve and ran for the door. But Victor and two others stood their ground.

"She's a monster!" Victor shouted to the other vampires in the house who were watching from the shadows. "She'll destroy us all!"

"She saved us," Sebastian countered, his words carrying through the hall. "When Orion opened the door between worlds, she closed it. When the werewolves wanted to lock her away, she chose freedom for all of us."

He stepped closer to Elara, feeling strength flow through their bond. "I've lived for five centuries," he continued. "I've seen nations rise and fall. Trust me when I tell you—change is coming whether we like it or not. We can fight it and die, or accept it and live."

Some of the watching vampires nodded. Others looked afraid. But no one moved to join Victor's revolt.

Victor's face twisted with rage. "Then you're all fools!"

He pulled something from his pocket—a small black device with a blinking red light.

"A gift from the Harbingers," he said with a cold smile. "Enough magic to level this whole mansion."

Elara gasped. Through their bond, Sebastian felt her fear—not for herself, but for everyone in the building. For Kaela, for the innocent vampires who had nothing to do with this fight.

"Put it down," Thorne growled.

"Too late," Victor said, hitting a button. The device hummed to life, glowing with dark energy. "We all die together."

Sebastian moved without thinking, racing toward Victor. But Elara was faster.

She threw out both hands, and a dome of silver light circled the device. Victor tried to back away, but the light trapped him too.

"Elara!" Sebastian called, feeling her stretch through the bond.

"I can't hold it much longer," she gasped. "The magic—it's too strong."

The dome began to shrink, focusing the energy. Sweat poured down Elara's face as she fought to control the explosion.

Sebastian and Thorne moved to her sides, each taking one of her hands. Power surged between them, the link glowing like a visible thread connecting their hearts.

With a scream of effort, Elara collapsed the dome totally. There was a flash of blinding light, and then quiet.

When Sebastian could see again, Victor was gone. Where he had stood was nothing but ash.

The final rebel vampires dropped to their knees.

"Forgive us," one begged. "We didn't know."

Elara rocked on her feet. Sebastian caught her before she fell, holding her against his chest.

"Is everyone okay?" she whispered.

"Thanks to you," Sebastian said softly. Through their bond, he sent her all his thanks and admiration.

The vampires who had been watching from the shadows now came forward. One by one, they knelt before Elara.

"We serve you," an old vampire said, his head bowed. "You saved us when you could have let us die."

Sebastian felt a surge of pride. In all his ages, he had ruled through fear. Elara had earned their respect through mercy.

But before anyone could speak again, the house shook violently. Dust fell from the roof.

"What was that?" Thorne asked, looking up.

A vampire guard burst through the doors. "My lord! The house is surrounded! Hundreds of them—Harbingers, wild wolves, and... something else."

"Magnus," Thorne growled.

Through a window, Sebastian saw dark forms moving across his grounds. At the front stood a person glowing with unnatural light.

Orion.

But he looked different now—taller, stronger, his skin cracked with lines of golden light as if something inside him was trying to get out.

"Send a message to Lyra and the witches," Sebastian ordered. "Tell them—"

He stopped as Elara suddenly grabbed his arm, her eyes wide with fear.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I can feel him," she whispered. "Orion. He's in my head."

Her eyes rolled back, and she went rigid in Sebastian's arms. When she spoke again, it wasn't her voice.

"Brother," she said in Orion's deep tones. "I'm coming for you. All of you. What started with our birth will end with your deaths. The door is already open. You just don't know it yet."

She collapsed as the link broke, and the mansion shook again, harder this time. The walls began to crack.

Sebastian looked at Thorne, real fear in his eyes for the first time in ages.

"What do we do now?" he asked.

Ou

tside, Orion raised his hands, and the ground split open beneath the house.