Chapter 100
Elizabeth
The creature lunged.
It moved impossibly fast.
One second it was standing in the shattered window.
The next—
Damon was gone.
A blur of black and silver collided with it.
The force of the impact sent both of them crashing into a table.
Wood splintered.
Books flew everywhere.
I jumped backward with a gasp.
“Elizabeth, move!” Adam’s voice thundered from the staircase.
I looked up.
He was already running downstairs, still wearing dark slacks and a white shirt, his golden-brown eyes sharp and alert.
Apparently, no one in this family ever slept.
The creature shoved Damon away.
It wasn’t human.
Not even close.
Now that I could see it properly, black markings crawled over its skin like living vines. Gold eyes glowed unnaturally in the darkness.
And it was staring directly at me.
Not Damon.
Not Adam.
Me.
Its smile widened.
I hated it immediately.
“Found you,” it repeated.
Aurelia’s face had gone pale.
“No…”
Lucien appeared beside her.
“That thing has terrible manners.”
Nobody laughed.
Not even him.
The creature took one step toward me.
Then another.
Damon was suddenly in front of it.
His expression was ice.
Pure ice.
“You don’t get another step.”
The thing tilted its head.
Almost curiously.
Then it smiled again.
“The Wolf King.”
Silence.
I blinked.
It knew.
It knew exactly who Damon was.
Damon’s expression didn’t change.
But I saw it.
The tiny shift in his eyes.
He wasn’t expecting that.
The creature looked amused.
“I’ve heard stories about you.”
“Wonderful,” Damon said dryly. “I’m famous.”
I nearly laughed.
Nearly.
The situation wasn’t remotely funny.
The creature ignored the sarcasm.
Its gaze shifted past him.
Back to me.
“The Key.”
The mark on my hand suddenly burned.
I hissed.
The creature’s smile widened.
“Yes.”
Aurelia took a sharp breath.
“No, don’t react to it!”
A little late for that.
The burning intensified.
Gold light spread beneath my skin.
The creature looked delighted.
Like I’d just confirmed something.
“Oh, this is bad,” Lucien muttered.
Adam moved to my side.
His expression remained calm, but I could feel the tension radiating from him.
“What is it?” I whispered.
He didn’t look away from the creature.
“I don’t know.”
That wasn’t reassuring.
Not even a little.
The creature suddenly laughed.
The sound was wrong.
Too deep.
Too old.
“You have no idea, do you?”
Nobody answered.
“You’ve hidden her.”
It looked around the room.
“The Key hidden among strangers.”
Its gaze settled on Damon.
“A wolf. A vampire. Exiles.”
Silence.
Then—
“Interesting.”
Damon’s jaw tightened.
“Who are you?”
The creature smiled.
“You’ve forgotten us.”
Us.
Plural.
I didn’t like that.
Not one bit.
“We never forget our jailers.”
The room fell silent.
My stomach dropped.
Jailers.
The prison.
No.
No, no, no.
Aurelia’s face had turned completely white.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
The creature looked at her.
For the first time, its smile disappeared.
“You.”
Aurelia stepped back.
“You died.”
The creature’s voice had changed.
It sounded almost…
Angry.
Aurelia swallowed.
“Unfortunately for you, I didn’t.”
The creature’s eyes narrowed.
Interesting.
Apparently they knew each other.
Which was somehow even worse.
The thing looked at all of us.
Then slowly smiled again.
“You’ve made this easier.”
Nobody moved.
“What do you mean?” I asked quietly.
Every head turned toward me.
The creature’s gold eyes locked onto mine.
“You gathered exactly as we hoped.”
The mark burned again.
Hard.
I grabbed my wrist.
Damon immediately looked at me.
“Elizabeth.”
The creature laughed softly.
“Oh, yes.”
Something cold settled in my stomach.
No.
No.
I didn’t like that tone.
At all.
The creature pointed at me.
“The Key.”
Then Damon.
“The Wolf King.”
Its eyes moved toward Aurelia.
“The Lost Disciple.”
Then it smiled.
“Everything is finally where it belongs.”
Nobody spoke.
Nobody breathed.
Then Adam said calmly,
“I think that’s enough talking.”
I almost laughed.
Even during supernatural disasters, Adam somehow sounded like a disappointed teacher.
The creature looked at him.
“And the noble brother.”
Lucien sighed.
“It’s naming everyone. I don’t like this game.”
Neither did I.
The thing took another step.
Damon’s eyes flashed silver.
“Stop.”
It did.
Not because it was obeying.
Because it found him amusing.
“I wondered if you would be as dangerous as the stories claimed.”
Silence.
“I am.”
The answer was simple.
Quiet.
Deadly.
The creature smiled.
“Oh, good.”
Then it moved.
Fast.
This time toward me.
I didn’t even see it happen.
One second it was across the room.
The next—
Damon caught it by the throat.
Everything happened at once.
Adam moved.
Lucien moved.
Tristan came flying down the stairs from somewhere above.
The creature threw Damon backward.
Damon hit a pillar.
The pillar cracked.
I stared.
Okay.
Definitely not human.
The thing turned toward me again.
Why was everything always turning toward me?
I was tired.
Very tired.
Aurelia suddenly stepped in front of me.
“No.”
The creature paused.
It looked genuinely surprised.
“You still protect her?”
Aurelia’s expression hardened.
“Always.”
Silence.
The thing’s smile vanished.
Then I noticed something.
Something strange.
Aurelia looked afraid.
Not of dying.
Not of being hurt.
Afraid of what would happen if it reached me.
I looked at her.
Then at the creature.
Then back.
A terrible thought occurred to me.
“Why does it want me?”
Nobody answered.
The creature did.
“Because you are the door.”
Silence.
I swallowed.
“We established that already.”
Its smile returned.
“No.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
“You misunderstand.”
I didn’t like those words.
At all.
The creature’s eyes glowed brighter.
“The Key opens the prison.”
I nodded slowly.
We knew that.
Then it said—
“The door creates it.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
I blinked.
What?
“What?”
Aurelia looked horrified.
“No.”
The creature laughed.
“She doesn’t know.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because apparently I was the only person who had absolutely no idea what was happening.
I looked at Aurelia.
“What does that mean?”
She didn’t answer.
“Aurelia.”
Nothing.
“Aurelia!”
Her eyes found mine.
And somehow she looked sad.
That terrified me.
Because I had met her less than an hour ago and she already looked sorry for me.
No.
Absolutely not.
The creature looked delighted.
“The prison was never simply a place.”
I hated every word.
“It was made.”
The mark on my hand burned.
“The prison requires a living door.”
Burn.
“And every age…”
Burn.
“…creates another.”
Silence.
I forgot how to breathe.
No.
No.
No.
Aurelia looked away.
Which was answer enough.
I stared at her.
Then at the creature.
Then at Damon.
Nobody looked surprised.
Nobody.
Oh.
Oh no.
They knew.
At least partly.
I looked at Damon.
His expression had become unreadable.
“Damon?”
Silence.
“Damon.”
His eyes met mine.
And somehow that was worse.
Because there it was.
Concern.
The kind that said he knew something.
Not everything.
But something.
“You knew?” I whispered.
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
“But you suspected.”
Silence.
I swallowed hard.
The creature smiled.
“At last.”
I hated it.
I hated all of it.
Then—
Aurelia stepped forward.
“You’ve said enough.”
The thing looked amused.
“I’ve barely started.”
Suddenly the entire mansion shook.
Everyone froze.
A low rumble echoed beneath our feet.
Books fell from shelves.
Glass trembled.
The creature smiled.
A slow.
Terrible.
Triumphant smile.
“Oh.”
It looked down.
Then up.
Then directly at me.
“You can feel it, can’t you?”
The mark on my hand pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
A horrible certainty settled inside me.
Something was moving.
Far below the city.
Ancient.
Massive.
Awake.
The creature’s eyes gleamed.
“The Temple has opened.”
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then the front doors burst open.
Cold wind swept into the mansion.
Candles extinguished instantly.
Darkness swallowed the room.
And from somewhere beneath New Orleans—
A howl echoed.
Ancient.
Inhuman.
And answering it—
The creature laughed.