Into the Unknown

Anne's nights were filled with fire.

Every night since the incident in the house, the flames had come. At first, they were small—like whispers, flickering in her hands when she was alone, desperate to control them. But each day, they grew stronger. The heat in her veins grew hotter, the pull of the fire harder to ignore. It was a constant battle now—Anne trying to keep it contained, and the fire pushing against her limits.

She couldn't sleep anymore, not the way she used to. The room felt too small, the air too heavy. The fire wasn't just in her hands anymore. It was inside her, deep within her chest, crawling beneath her skin like an insistent hunger.

Tonight, she found herself standing before the window again, looking out into the dark, her breath fogging up the glass as her gaze tracked the distant lights of the village. She had spent her life in isolation—shielded, hidden away from the world that her mother claimed was too dangerous.

But now? The world seemed closer. And it felt like it was calling to her, like the wind itself was whispering her name.

Her mind wandered back to the stranger—the one who had said she was more dangerous than she realized. She didn't understand what he meant, but something inside her felt like she was on the edge of an answer. Of understanding. The fire within her twisted again, her pulse quickening, and she pressed her hand against the cool window, hoping the chill of it would soothe the heat rising inside her.

But it didn't.

"Anne."

The sound of her mother's voice sent a jolt through her. She turned sharply, her heart thudding in her chest, as Bela stood in the doorway, her presence as commanding as ever. There was a quiet tension between them now, a sense of something unspoken that hung in the air like a storm waiting to break.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Bela asked, her voice sharp with concern, but there was an edge to it—something almost dangerous.

"I can't," Anne replied, a tinge of frustration creeping into her voice. "I can't control it. The fire... it won't stop."

Bela's eyes flickered with a brief moment of something unreadable—pity? Fear? It was gone before Anne could be sure. Then her mother stepped into the room, her gaze fixed on her.

"You can't control it because you haven't been taught how," Bela said quietly. "You think you're the only one who has ever felt this way? Who has ever struggled with the power inside them?"

Anne flinched at her mother's words. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice low. "What power? What are you not telling me?"

Bela sighed, and for a moment, Anne saw something softer in her eyes. Something close to regret. "I've kept you safe from the truth for too long, Anne. It's time you understood. You're not just a human girl. You're not just a child of the village. You are the child of something far more ancient. And the fire inside you is just the beginning."

Anne's mind spun, her thoughts a whirlwind of confusion and disbelief. "What do you mean? What am I?"

Her mother's face hardened again, a wall slamming down that Anne had seen too many times before. "You are the daughter of a dragon and a vampire," Bela said, her voice flat and final. "The power you feel inside you, that heat? It's a gift—and a curse."

Anne's heart seemed to stop. Her breath caught in her throat. "A dragon? A vampire?" The words felt like they didn't belong to her, like she was listening to someone else's life story.

Her mother nodded once, her gaze steady but filled with something like sorrow. "I kept you hidden to protect you, Anne. The world isn't ready for you. And neither are you."

Anne could barely breathe as the weight of her mother's revelation settled into her chest. She was the child of a dragon and a vampire? Was it even possible?

The fire inside her flared, pushing against the walls she had built to contain it. Her hands shook, but she held them together, trying to control the surge of heat that threatened to overwhelm her.

"You knew?" Anne's voice was quiet, almost a whisper. "You knew, and you never told me?"

"I didn't want you to become like... him," Bela said, the pain in her voice unmistakable. "I didn't want you to fall into the same traps, to let the power consume you."

Anne's mind raced as the pieces started to fall into place. "Like who? Who are you talking about?"

Her mother hesitated, as if debating whether to say more, but finally, she spoke. "Lucian," she said, her voice tight. "Lucian was the one who came before you. The one who couldn't control his power. The one who became a threat to everything."

Anne's pulse raced at the name. Lucian. The stranger in the forest.

"So, you know him?" Anne asked, her heart pounding. "What did he do? What happened to him?"

Bela's eyes hardened, her mouth pressed into a thin line. "That's a story for another time. But know this, Anne. The fire inside you is not just a gift—it's a weapon. And if you don't learn how to control it, it will destroy you."

Anne stood frozen, the truth settling in like a stone in her stomach. She had always known she was different, but this—this was something far beyond her understanding. Dragon and vampire blood? It was impossible. It couldn't be true.

But the heat that burned inside her was real. The fire was real.