Chapter 51 The Sister's Domain
Stella's POV
"Inside. Now." The silver-eyed woman's voice isn't a request. It's a command.
Kaelen doesn't move. His hand finds mine, squeezing tight. Through our bond, I feel his fear—real, bone-deep terror.
"We had a deal, Nyx," he says quietly. "You swore—"
"I swore to leave you alone. Not your baggage." Her silver eyes focus on me, and I feel like she's looking through my skin into my soul. "The moonblood child. How interesting. Bring her inside before Marcus arrives and ruins everything."
Behind us, footsteps grow louder. Shouting. Marcus's enforcers are almost here.
Kaelen's jaw clenches. Then he pushes me toward the church. "Go. Lyra, Mom, Morgana—everyone inside. Stay close."
We stumble through the broken doorway into darkness so thick it feels solid. The door slams shut behind us, and suddenly the shouting outside cuts off completely. Like the world beyond doesn't exist anymore.
Inside, the church is freezing. My breath comes out in white clouds. Dust covers everything—old wooden pews, a cracked altar, broken stained glass scattered across the floor like jewels.
My legs start shaking. All the running, the fear, Dracula's hand around my throat—it's too much. The power I used on the yacht is completely drained. My illness hits like a hammer.
"Stella!" Lyra catches me as I start to fall.
But before she can hold me up, Kaelen is there. He lifts me like I weigh nothing, cradling me against his chest.
"Rest," he says softly. "I'll carry you."
I'm too exhausted to argue. Too scared. Too everything.
He carries me to a pew that's less dusty than the others and sits down, keeping me in his arms. Through our bond, I feel his worry mixing with something gentler. Something protective.
"Thank you," I whisper.
"Always." He doesn't put me down. Just holds me close, like he's guarding me from the whole terrible world.
The silver-eyed woman—Nyx, he called her—stands at the altar, watching us with an expression I can't read.
"You brought mortals to my sanctuary, brother." She says 'brother' like it tastes bad. "After eight hundred years of silence, this is how you return?"
"I had no choice." Kaelen's voice is tight. "Dracula is awake. He wants Stella. The Council wants her. Everyone wants her, and I—" He stops.
"You what?" Nyx steps closer. "You care about this child? The great Winter Prince, actually caring about something mortal?"
"Yes." The word comes out fierce, protective. "I care. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Lyra and Mom are talking in urgent whispers near the broken windows. Morgana stands guard by the door, her ancient power crackling in the cold air.
I should be listening to them. Should be worried about what comes next.
But I'm so tired. And Kaelen's arms feel safe. And through the bond, I feel something I've never felt from him before.
Peace.
"Is she really your sister?" I ask quietly, my voice barely a whisper.
Kaelen stiffens. "Half-sister. Different mothers, same father. He was... complicated."
"You were alone for four hundred years," I point out, remembering what he told me before. "But you had a sister?"
"Had." His voice goes hard. "Past tense. We haven't spoken in eight centuries. Not since she—" He stops again.
"Since I what?" Nyx is suddenly right there, moving faster than sight. She leans down, her silver eyes boring into mine. "Since I told him the truth about his precious Seraphine? Since I warned him she was using him?"
"Don't." Kaelen's voice is dangerous. "Don't you dare—"
"She needed to die anyway," Nyx continues, ignoring him. "The bond was killing you. I did you a favor."
The words hang in the freezing air like poison.
"You?" Kaelen stands up so fast I almost fall, but he catches me, sets me gently on the pew. "You killed Seraphine?"
"I freed you from a parasite." Nyx doesn't even sound sorry. "She was draining you, brother. Another decade and you'd have been dead. I saved your life."
"You MURDERED her!" Kaelen's voice echoes through the church. His eyes flash full crimson. "You took everything from me!"
"I gave you eight hundred more years of life!" Nyx shoots back. "You're welcome!"
They're going to fight. Right here, right now. Sister against brother.
Then Morgana's voice cuts through the tension. "Enough. Both of you. We have bigger problems."
She points to the church windows. Outside, shadows are gathering. Lots of them. Moving with inhuman speed.
"Marcus found us," Lyra breathes.
"Not just Marcus." Nyx's expression turns grim. "Look closer."
Through my exhaustion, I squint at the shadows. They're not vampire enforcers.
They're worse.
Pale skin. Ancient eyes. Moving with the jerky, wrong movements of creatures that haven't walked in centuries.
"Dracula's army," Kaelen whispers. "He woke them. All of them."
The ancient vampires—dozens, maybe hundreds—surround the church. Waiting.
"This is impossible," Morgana says. "Those tombs were sealed. It would take immense power to—"
"It would take moonblood," Nyx interrupts, looking at me. "One drop of the right blood, used in the right ritual, could wake the dead."
Everyone stares at me.
"But I didn't—" I start.
"Not you directly." Nyx moves to the altar, touches something I can't see. The stone glows with dark light. "But when Dracula grabbed you at the other church, he must have taken a sample. Just a scratch would be enough."
Horror washes through me. "I gave him the power to wake his army?"
"You gave him the key," Nyx corrects. "And now he's coming to collect the rest."
The church doors explode inward with a sound like thunder.
Dracula stands in the entrance, his army of ancient vampires spreading behind him like a nightmare come to life.
And right beside him, smiling with cruel satisfaction, is someone I recognize.
Someone who should be on our side.
Someone who just betrayed us all.
"Hello, daughter," Mom says to Lyra, her voice cold as ice. "Did you really think I came back for you?"