Chapter 38 The Plot Revealed
SEBASTIAN'S POV
I snatched Aria's phone before she could hide it.
"Who's M?" I demanded, reading the mysterious text about her mother's bloodline.
"It's nothing—"
"Don't lie to me." The bond between us flared, and I felt her fear spike. "You were planning to meet them alone, weren't you?"
Aria's jaw set stubbornly. "If Marcus knows something about my mother, I need to find out."
"Marcus is a coward who sold you out to your stepfamily," I snapped. "This is obviously a trap."
"Then I'll spring it carefully."
"Over my dead body—"
"That can be arranged," Roslyn interrupted cheerfully. She plucked the phone from my hand and studied the message. "Actually, this might work in our favor."
"Absolutely not," I growled.
"Uncle Sebastian, think." Roslyn's eyes gleamed with mischief—and intelligence that reminded me painfully of my brother Marcus. "If this is a trap, we need to know who set it. Morgana? Dante? Someone else? And if it's real, the information might help us."
"I'm not using Aria as bait."
"I'm standing right here," Aria said icily. "And I can make my own decisions."
Before I could argue further, Kieran burst back into the healing house. His ancient face was pale—something I'd never seen in nine hundred years.
"We have a bigger problem," he announced. "I just received word from the palace. Three more Winter Feast brides from fifty years ago have been found dead. Completely drained of blood and life force."
My stomach dropped. "That's impossible. Those brides died during their rituals decades ago."
"That's what we thought." Kieran's voice was grim. "But I had the records checked. These three were marked as 'ritual complete,' but their bodies were never accounted for. Someone's been keeping them alive all this time. And now they're dead—murdered within the last twenty-four hours."
Roslyn went very still. "She's accelerating her timeline."
"Who?" Elena demanded.
"Morgana." Roslyn moved to the map of the catacombs, her finger tracing a specific path. "I told you I've been spying on her. What I didn't mention is what I found in her private chambers three weeks ago." She pulled out a small journal from her jacket. "This belonged to the blood witch who cursed Uncle Sebastian. Morgana stole it from the catacombs years ago."
She opened it to a marked page covered in ancient symbols and disturbing diagrams.
"The blood witch didn't just curse Sebastian," Roslyn explained. "She created a spell called the Eternal Binding. It requires the deaths of seven Sanguine-blessed humans, their life force drained completely and channeled through a vampire lord who's already bound by blood magic."
Horror crept through me. "Seven brides."
"Not just any brides." Roslyn's voice was tight. "Sanguine-blessed ones. Morgana's been searching for them for decades, keeping the ones she found hidden and alive. She needed Sebastian cursed and bound to the Winter Feast ritual to make the spell work. That's why she fought so hard to keep the tradition going."
Aria's face went white. "What does the spell do?"
"It gives the caster complete control over the vampire lord," Roslyn said quietly. "Body, mind, and soul. Morgana would own Sebastian entirely. And with his power under her command, she'd be unstoppable."
The room fell silent as the truth sank in.
"She's been planning this for centuries," I whispered. "Every bride I drained, every ritual I performed—I was helping her build this spell."
Aria's hand found mine. Through our bond, I felt her fierce determination. "You didn't know. And we're going to stop her."
"How?" Elena asked. "If she's already killed three brides, she only needs four more."
"She needs seven total," Roslyn corrected. "Which means she still has one from the past hidden somewhere. And she needs three more from the present." Her eyes locked on Aria. "Starting with you. You're the most powerful Sanguine healer born in three centuries. Your death would fuel half the spell by itself."
"Then we hide Aria," Kieran said immediately.
"No." Aria's voice was steady. "We use Marcus's trap to our advantage. If Morgana's behind it, we draw her out. Force her to reveal her plan."
"Absolutely not," I started, but Roslyn cut me off.
"Actually, that's brilliant. Morgana thinks she's being subtle, but if we set our own trap, we can catch her in the act." She looked at me. "You have to trust Aria, Uncle Sebastian. She survived the Winter Feast. She broke your curse. She's stronger than you think."
Every instinct screamed at me to lock Aria away where nothing could hurt her. But through our bond, I felt her resolve—and her trust in me to let her do this.
"Fine," I said through gritted teeth. "But we do this my way. Full protection, multiple escape routes, and at the first sign of danger, you run. Understood?"
Aria nodded. "Understood."
We spent the next hour planning. Kieran would position guards around the old church. Elena would watch from a nearby building with a signal flare. Roslyn would use her shadow-walking to stay hidden but close. And I would be right there with Aria, invisible to human eyes but ready to strike.
As midnight approached, Aria and I walked toward the old church. Snow fell softly around us, and I remembered another night six months ago when she'd first changed everything.
"Whatever happens," I told her quietly, "know that you gave me back my life."
"Don't talk like we're going to die," she said firmly. "We're going to win."
The church loomed ahead, dark and abandoned. Aria pushed open the door, and we stepped inside.
Marcus stood by the altar, looking terrified. But he wasn't alone.
Celeste, Aria's stepmother, stood beside him. And behind them both, smiling with cold triumph, was Morgana.
"Hello, Aria," Morgana purred. "Thank you for coming. Your stepmother has been so helpful in arranging this meeting."
Celeste's smile was cruel. "Did you really think Marcus sent that text? I've known about your mother's bloodline since before you were born. I've been working with Lady Morgana for years."
My blood ran cold.
"You see, Sebastian," Morgana continued, "Celeste helped me identify Sanguine-blessed humans throughout the realm. In exchange, I promised her eternal life as a vampire. And her first task was ensuring her stepdaughter was selected for the Winter Feast."
Aria staggered. "You planned this from the beginning."
"Of course." Celeste moved closer. "Your mother was Sanguine-blessed too. When she died, I thought I was finally free. But then you started showing the same gifts. So I made sure you'd end up exactly where you needed to be—in Sebastian's ritual."
"Except Sebastian broke the ritual," Morgana said coldly. "Which forced me to accelerate my plans. But now you're here, and everything can proceed." She raised her hand, and magical symbols blazed to life around the church. "This building sits on a convergence point—perfect for the Eternal Binding spell. And I have everything I need."
The church doors slammed shut. Windows sealed with ice.
"The three hidden brides are already dead," Morgana said. "Now I just need you, Aria. Your death will power the spell. Sebastian will become mine. And anyone who stands in my way will burn."
I moved to attack, but magical chains erupted from the floor, wrapping around my limbs. Aria screamed as similar chains grabbed her.
"Did you think I didn't know you were here?" Morgana laughed. "I've been planning this for two hundred years, Sebastian. Every detail. Every contingency."
She approached Aria with a ceremonial knife. "Your mother died too quickly for me to use her. But you—you'll die slowly, powering every second of my spell."
Through our bond, I felt Aria's terror—and her desperate love for me.
Then Roslyn dropped from the shadows above, her own blade flashing toward Morgana.
But she never made it.
Dante stepped out from behind a pillar, catching Roslyn mid-strike. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "But Morgana offered me something I can't refuse."
Roslyn's eyes widened in betrayal. "You're working with her?"
"The spell requires a willing vampire lord to channel the power," Dante explained. "Morgana promised to make me that lord. Sebastian's power will be mine."
He knocked Roslyn unconscious with casual brutality.
Morgana smiled. "Now then. Shall we begin?"
She raised the knife above Aria's heart—
And my niece's body began to glow with dark energy that felt nothing like the girl who'd walked into the healing house hours ago.