Chapter 67

Chapter 67
The Valois Manor was tense.

Inside the labor chamber, the cries of two women filled the air, their voices rising like incantations of life itself.

Emilia clutched Vivienne's arm, her knuckles pale and sweat beading across her forehead. The pain twisted through her like an old storm, and yet she didn’t cry for mercy. Beside her, Calista was breathing hard, her black hair plastered to her cheeks, her jaw tight but her eyes locked with Emilia’s. They had become sisters by fate, rivals by past and mothers by the same strange moon.

Elise and Nyra moved swiftly under Vivienne’s direction, their hands firm but gentle. The room was aglow with a protective spell Nyra had cast earlier, a violet shimmer in the air that hummed with purpose.

“Push, Emilia!” Vivienne urged. “You’re almost there!”

Emilia screamed. Her world narrowed into pressure and heat, into a singular purpose. And then...

A cry.

A tiny, sharp wail that sliced through the tension like a blade. Vivienne’s hands were already lifting the blood-slick child from between her legs, her face breaking into a rare, luminous smile.

“A boy,” she whispered. “A vampire male.”

Emilia’s chest heaved. Tears rolled from her eyes before she even saw him. A boy. Her son. She reached out, and Vivienne laid the child against her chest. His skin was pale, his hair dark, and his cry fierce. Her heart cracked open like the sky in a storm.

“He’s perfect,” she murmured, voice shaking.

As if the moment had been choreographed by something greater, Calista gave a sudden gasp beside her.

“Now, Calista!” Nyra said quickly.

Calista arched her back, her body wracked with the final pains of delivery. Her eyes didn’t close. She focused straight ahead, jaw trembling.

Then another cry came, louder this time. Wailing, angry, defiant.

Elise caught the baby in her arms. “He’s strong,” she said breathlessly. “He’s already fighting the air.”

Calista gave a small, broken laugh as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her arms trembled as she took her son. Like Emilia’s, he bore the mark of the old blood vampire from head to toe. Yet in his gaze was something eerily calm, almost knowing.

“I never thought I’d deserve something this… whole,” she whispered.

“Rest now,” Vivienne said to both women. “You’ve brought life into this world. Let it settle before the world demands more of you.”

Outside the chamber, tension vibrated like a string pulled too tight. Luca stood at the door, his arms crossed, pacing now and then, his jaw grinding. Cyrus, seated but restless, looked like a man waiting for his past to either end or begin again.

And beside them stood Kith.

“I didn’t think I’d see this day,” he said, voice smooth as ever.

“You came all the way to witness their birth. Thank you, Kith” Luca said and payted the older man's back.

Kith smiled. “Oh, don't make a fuss out of it Luca. I’m just as invested in the future of this family as you are.”

Cyrus’s eyes flicked toward him. Ever since Kith had badmouthed him to everyone about his affair with Calista at the EastCity’s palace, theor relationship necer remained the same. They were many words unspoken but that wasn't the time.

Before anything more could be said, Vivienne opened the chamber door. Her expression was equal parts exhaustion and joy.

“They’re both healthy,” she announced. “Two boys. Vampire-born. The babies are healthy and the mothers are strong.”

Luca let out a breath that collapsed his shoulders. Cyrus’s hand gripped the bench so tightly the wood groaned. Vivienne gave them a stern glance.

“But they need rest. Both of them. You’ll see them in the morning.”

Cyrus opened his mouth to protest but closed it just as fast. He knew Vivienne didn’t speak unless it was final.

The men lingered outside, a quiet celebration buzzing in their silence. But Kith’s gaze wandered up to the dark rafters, down the silent corridor. He smiled faintly.

That night, Emilia and Calista were placed side by side in the same chamber. A bassinet stood between them, each child nestled in with blankets that pulsed faintly with protective runes.

Calista turned her head slightly, watching Emilia’s rising and falling chest. “I didn’t know it would feel like this.”

Emilia blinked slowly, still groggy. “Like what?”

“Like the world shifted just to let them in.”

Emilia smiled faintly. “They’re worth it.”

A soft silence fell between them. The children slept without sound amd soon, the mothers were fast asleep too

The world outside was still. And then…

The room grew cold.

Emilia’s breath frosted slightly. Her body, too exhausted to react fast, simply stiffened. Calista sat up suddenly, heart thudding.

Both women saw it at once: a dark, heavy mist curling at the base of the room, like fingers stretching across the floor. Not malevolent. But ancient. Familiar.

And then the dream swallowed them.

Emilia stood at the mouth of a large, circular altar. Calista was standing at the other end. On the stone was her son. Calista’s son beside him. Not harmed, just asleep. The babies were surrounded by glowing glyphs.

And standing above them was a figure.

Not smiling.

But watching.

It reached out a hand, palm glowing with a sickly gold light. Its mouth opened and it whispered something neither woman could hear.

But they felt it. Deep. Bone-deep that this figure was a menace. A threat to their precious little futures.

They both screamed.

They woke up gasping, clutching their chests.

The babies were still sleeping.

But they looked at each other and they knew.

The dream wasn’t just a dream.

Something had been set in motion.

Something tied to their children.