Chapter 45 THE BLOOD TETHER
KARINA’S CAVE, NIGHT
Karina sat cross-legged on the stone floor, her eyes rolled back as she hovered her hands over a bowl of shimmering, silver water.
"I can't try that again. The last time I did it, there were repercussions. It's as if the universe itself doesn't want us to know what she is" Karina whispered, her voice strained.
"Do it again" a cold, commanding voice echoed through the cavern.
Nikolai stepped into the light, followed by Shadow. The atmosphere shifted instantly. Nikolai had trimmed his dark, long hair, making his sharp features look even more lethal and undeniably handsome.
Anya found herself staring, her heart skipping a beat despite the gravity of the situation. He looked… different.
"I know I’m handsome, but the staring is getting a bit much" Nikolai remarked dryly, clearing his throat.
Anya’s cheeks flushed a deep red, and she quickly looked away, fumbling with the hem of her shirt. "I-I wasn't..."
"I got something!" Karina suddenly announced, her voice booming. Everyone froze.
"Is it about Anya’s origin?" Alina asked, leaning forward.
"Not on Anya exactly... but on her parents" Karina said, her brow furrowed.
"My parents? That’s impossible," Anya interrupted, her voice trembling. "They died years ago. I saw their corpses myself. I saw them being buried"
Karina looked up, her gaze piercing. "What I’m looking at right here is different. They are very much alive. Breathing. Somewhere far from here"
Anya felt the world tilt. "No... that can't be. Who did I bury then?"
"Probably the ones you thought were your parents," Karina explained. "The blood tells a different story. Your true parents are alive, Anya. And they are not human. Not even close"
"That’s absurd!" Anya cried, her mind racing back to the day her parents were buried to the ground.
"What kind of supernatural beings are we talking about?" Nikolai asked, his eyes narrowing. He moved closer.
Karina took a deep breath. "Her father is a Hybrid—a mix of Vampire and Demon. Her mother is a Tribrid—a blend of Vampire, Witch, and Seer"
The silence that followed was suffocating. Alina gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Even Shadow looked stunned.
"Wait," Alina whispered, doing the math in her head. "If her father is two and her mother is three... then that makes Anya..."
"A Quadbrid" Shadow and Karina chorused together.
A Quadbrid. A creature of four bloodlines: Vampire, Demon, Witch, and Seer.
"A Quadbrid hasn't existed for over a thousand years" Shadow murmured, looking at Anya as if seeing her for the first time.
Anya felt like the walls of the cave were closing in. The silver water in Karina’s bowl continued to shimmer, reflecting the terrifying truth of her existence. She looked down at her hands... the same hands that had conjured blue-gold fire, the same hands that had just felt a vision of death through a simple touch.
"So you're telling me that I'm a Vampire, a Demon, a Witch, and a Seer?" Anya asked, her voice cracking as she looked at Alina. "And that my real parents are alive and they aren't humans?"
Alina nodded slowly.
"How come I don't feel the urge to suck blood like vampires do?" Anya challenged, her voice rising in desperation. "Or even act like a demon? I’ve spent nineteen years eating normal food, living a normal life. If I’m all these things, why am I only feeling it now?"
"I might be a witch, but even I don't fully understand the depth of a Quadbrid’s anatomy" Karina admitted, her voice echoing off the damp stone walls.
"You definitely have Vampire blood in your system, but it's currently dormant. Probably if you drink human blood, it will activate. It would complete the transition"
Anya’s eyes widened in horror. "No! I won't do it! I'm not a monster!" She collapsed against a rock, the tears she had been holding back finally spilling over.
Nikolai’s expression darkened.
He turned to the others. "Leave us, now"
Shadow, Alina, and Karina hesitated for a heartbeat, but the lethal authority in his gaze brooked no argument. They filed out into the cool night air, leaving only the sound of Anya’s sobs filling the cavern.
Nikolai walked toward her, his boots clicking rhythmically on the stone. He stopped directly in front of her, casting a long, intimidating shadow over her trembling form.
"Wipe off those tears, I don't like seeing them"
Anya looked up, sniffing as she used her sleeve to dry her eyes. She tried to pull herself together, but her voice still trembled. "All my life has been a lie, Nikolai. My parents aren't my real parents. I'm not a human either... I'm a fucking Quadbrid. Four bloodlines! Just me! How am I supposed to live with this?"
Nikolai reached out, his fingers surprisingly gentle as he brushed a stray hair from her damp cheek. "You don't just 'live' with it, Anya. You rule with it"
"You're scared because you feel the power waking up, you're terrified that if you taste blood, you'll lose the girl you used to be. But that girl was a shadow. This?" He gestured to her, his eyes glowing with an intense, dark pride. "This is a masterpiece"
"I don't want to be a masterpiece!" Anya cried out.
"I want to be normal!"
"You will get used to it. I can help you master your demon side. The fire, the rage... it doesn't have to control you. You can be the one to hold the leash"
He reached out, his thumb catching a stray tear. "But you have to stop fighting what is already in your veins. You are a Quadbrid. You are the apex"
"It feels like I'm losing my mind already," Anya whispered. "I want to know where my real parents are. I want them to explain to me why they abandoned me... why they left me to live a lie"
"We will look for them together" he promised.
"Thank you" she breathed, looking up at him.
The moment between Anya and Nikolai was shattered by a sudden, sickening sound of tearing flesh. The air was ripped from her lungs as her back arched, a blossom of blood staining her shirt right over her abdomen.
It looked as though an invisible blade had been driven through her. Blood began to pour from her mouth, coating her lips in a metallic sheen.
"Anya!" His arms caught her before she hit the stone floor.
Shadow, Alina, and Karina charged back into the cave. Karina didn't wait for an explanation. She threw her hands out, chanting under her breath as a purple light enveloped Anya’s spasming body. Her eyes snapped open, wide with realization.
"It’s a tether!" Karina cried. "A blood-linking spell. This isn't her wound. Someone out there is mutilating themselves, and Anya’s body is mirroring the damage"
Suddenly, Alina’s phone vibrated violently. She pulled it out, her face turning ashen. "It’s a video call. From Irina"
She swiped the screen and turned it toward the group.
On the screen, Irina stood in a room, her face twisted into a maniacal grin. She held a silver dagger, its edge dripping with fresh blood. Her own dress was soaked, she had just stabbed herself in the stomach.
"Look at her," Irina laughed, the sound distorted and hollow. "I’ve linked our souls. Every cut I make, every ounce of pain I endure, she feels tenfold. If I die tonight, she dies with me"
"What do you want, Irina?" Alina hissed.
"I want him to watch her fade. Or..." Irina’s eyes turned to the dagger. "Come to the Old Cathedral or I’ll drive this blade through my own heart if you don't come. Tick-tock, Nikolai"
"Do it" Nikolai said, his voice dropping to a temperature that seemed to freeze the very air in the cave.
Irina’s laughter faltered. "What?"
"I said do it. You're wasting time already" Nikolai stated, his voice devoid of even a shred of mercy.