Chapter 2 The Threat
Chapter 2: The Threat
Lyra's POV
I don't sleep.
By dawn, I've researched every loophole in donor contracts, called three legal aid hotlines, and learned what I already knew: when vampires summon you, you go.
The coffee tastes like ash in my mouth.
Stella finds me at the kitchen table, staring at that white envelope like it might spontaneously combust.
You got summoned. Not a question. She's seen these before, heard the whispers at school about what happens to donors who attend elite vampire parties.
It's fine. Just a formality. The lie sits heavy on my tongue.
Sarah Chen's older sister went to one of those parties six months ago. Stella's voice is quiet. She came back, but she doesn't talk anymore. She just stares at walls.
My stomach turns. Stella
Don't go. Please. Her eyes are too old for thirteen. We'll figure something else out.
There is nothing else. I pull her into a hug. But I'll be careful. I promise.
Three sharp knocks on the door cut through the moment.
We both freeze.
Nobody knocks like that in The Hollow. Neighbors tap softly. Bill collectors pound. But that sound precise, measured, cold that’s something else.
I check the peephole.
A man in an expensive black suit stands in our dingy hallway. Paper-white skin. Dark sunglasses hiding his eyes even though the sun hasn't risen yet.
Vampire.
Stay in your room, I tell Stella. Now.
She doesn't argue.
I open the door, leaving the chain on. Yes?
Lyra Thorne? His voice is silk over steel. I'm here on behalf of Lord Nightshade.
The vampire prince. The most powerful immortal in Nocturne Heights.
Why would he send someone to my apartment?
I already received the summons. I'll attend.
This isn't about the summons. He holds up a black folder. Lord Nightshade protects his investments. You're registered to Nightshade territory. That makes you his property, and he wishes to clarify certain expectations.
Property. The word lands like a slap.
He opens the folder.
The photograph inside makes my blood turn to ice.
Stella. Walking to school. This morning, based on her blue backpack and the snow on the ground.
They've been watching her.
Your sister is lovely, the vampire says, showing too many teeth. It would be unfortunate if anything happened to her while you're attending the Solstice celebration.
Red-hot rage floods through me. If anyone touches her
You'll do what, exactly? He leans closer. I smell death and expensive cologne. You're a blood donor. You have no power, no rights, no recourse. But Lord Nightshade is generous. Attend the Solstice. Behave. Cause no trouble. And everyone stays safe.
He drops the folder at my feet.
Three days, Miss Thorne. Don't disappoint us.
He's gone before I can respond, his footsteps echoing down the stairwell.
I slam the door and sink to the floor, clutching that photograph. They know where she goes to school. Her route. Her schedule.
This isn't just about attending a party.
This is a trap, and I just walked us both into it.
Stella emerges from her room, eyes wide. What did he want?
Nothing. Just confirming attendance. Another lie. They're getting easier.
Lyra
Get ready for school. You'll be late.
She knows I'm hiding something, but she also knows not to push. Three years of scraping by has taught us both when to ask questions and when to just survive.
After she leaves, I pick up that photograph with shaking hands.
On the back, written in elegant script: Three days. Don't disappoint us.
No signature. No name. Just a warning.
I grab my phone and call the Donor Rights hotline. Twenty rings before someone answers.
I need to report a threat against
Are you calling about the Winter Solstice summons? The woman sounds bored.
Yes, but
Attendance is mandatory for all registered donors. Refusal results in immediate blacklisting and loss of income. Is there anything else?
They threatened my sister
Threats of what nature?
I hesitate. What do I say? They took a picture? They implied something might happen? I have no proof. No evidence.
I see. The woman's voice turns cold. Vampires have legal right to monitor their registered donors to ensure contract compliance. If you're concerned about family safety, perhaps you shouldn't have registered in the first place.
Click.
I stare at my phone.
There's no help coming. No legal recourse. No way out.
I'm registered property in a city that treats humans like livestock, and the vampire prince just reminded me exactly what that means.
I spend the next hour calling everyone I can think of. The blood bank. Other donors. Even the police, who laugh when I mention Lord Nightshade's name.
Ma'am, Lord Nightshade owns half this city. If he wants you at a party, you go to the party. That's how things work.
That's how things work.
I want to scream. I want to break something. I want to grab Stella and run until we hit a city where vampires don't rule and humans aren't commodities.
But there is no such city. Not anymore.
Nocturne Heights is one of three major vampire territories in North America. The others are just as bad, if not worse. And the human settlements outside vampire protection? Those are where the rogue vampires hunt freely, where there are no regulations or contracts, just predators and prey.
We're trapped.
I look at that photograph of Stella again.
They're watching her. Right now, probably. Making sure I understand the stakes.
The message is clear: attend the Solstice and cooperate, or suffer consequences I can't even imagine.
I have three days to prepare for whatever they have planned.
Three days to figure out how to survive something I don't understand.
Three days before I walk into the Crimson Spire and discover why the vampire prince is so interested in one broke donor from The Hollow.
That night, after Stella falls asleep, I stand at our cracked window and stare out at the city.
In the distance, the Crimson Spire rises above everything else, massive tower of black glass and ancient stone, lit from within by thousands of lights. It's beautiful in a terrible way. A monument to vampire power.
And in three days, I'll be inside.
I touch the glass, cold against my palm.
I'm sorry, Mom, I whisper to the darkness. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect us.
But even as I say it, something hardens in my chest.
I've spent three years letting this city break me down piece by piece. Selling my blood. Swallowing my pride. Accepting humiliation because survival meant more than dignity.
But they've made a mistake.
They threatened Stella.
And for Stella, I won't just survive.
I'll fight.
I don't know how yet. I don't know what I'm walking into. But I do know this:
The vampire prince thinks I'm just another disposable donor.
He's about to learn otherwise.
Two days until Winter Solstice.
Two days until I find out what they really want from me.
And two days to become someone who can survive it.