Chapter 74: The Reckoning

Aurelia's fingers closed around the shard.

The moment her skin made contact, the world screamed.

A shockwave of pure darkness erupted from the oak, blasting Kael off his feet. He hit the ground hard, his vision whiting out as the pact-bond in his chest convulsed, writhing like a speared eel. Through the haze of pain, he saw Aurelia—

—or what had been Aurelia.

Her body arched backward, suspended in the air as tendrils of inky blackness erupted from the shard, coiling around her limbs, her torso, her throat. The mark on her neck blazed, spreading like wildfire across her skin, burning through fabric and flesh alike.

Kael tried to scream, but no sound came out. His limbs refused to obey, pinned by some unseen force as the darkness swirled thicker, coalescing into a familiar, terrible shape behind Aurelia—

The Original.

Not fully formed, but close enough. Her shadowy hands gripped Aurelia's shoulders, her hollow-eyed face pressed close as if whispering secrets. The two figures—one solid, one smoke—mirrored each other perfectly, connected by the pulsing shard.

"Little thief," the Original crooned, her voice layered with Aurelia's own. "Did you really think you could hide from me forever?"

Aurelia's mouth opened in a soundless scream as the shard began to melt, flowing up her arm in liquid ribbons, disappearing beneath her skin. With each passing second, the Original's form grew more solid, more real.

Lucian moved first.

The vampire lunged, his reclaimed sword flashing silver in the unnatural gloom. The blade passed clean through the Original's shadowy form—and lodged deep in Aurelia's stomach instead.

Kael's heart stopped.

Aurelia's eyes snapped open—fully black now, no whites remaining. She looked down at the sword protruding from her abdomen, then up at Lucian. When she spoke, her voice was layered with the Original's:

"Wrong move."

She grabbed the blade and yanked, pulling Lucian close enough to press her free hand—the one not fused with the shard—against his chest. Black veins spiderwebbed across his tunic instantly, spreading up his neck as he choked.

The pact-bond in Kael's chest burned, screaming at him to move, help, do something—

With a roar that tore his throat raw, Kael broke free of whatever force held him. He scrambled forward, grabbing Lucian's shoulder just as Aurelia—or the thing wearing her face—released him. The vampire collapsed, gasping, the black veins receding as quickly as they'd appeared.

Aurelia's head tilted, her expression shifting to something almost... curious. The shard was nearly fully absorbed now, only faint traces of darkness still swirling around her fingertips. The Original's form had solidified further, her hands now fully visible where they gripped Aurelia's shoulders.

Kael met those endless black eyes. "Aurelia. Fight her."

For a heartbeat—just one—he saw her. The real her. A flicker of recognition in the void.

Then it was gone.

Aurelia's hand shot out, clamping around Kael's throat. The contact sent agony lancing through every nerve ending as the pact-bond flared, becoming a conduit for something far worse. Visions flooded his mind:

—Aurelia as a child, screaming as shadows poured from her mouth—

—The Original carving pieces from her soul like a butcher portioning meat—

—Centuries of running, hiding, stealing fragments of power to replace what was taken—

The last image burned brightest:

—Aurelia standing over Kael's corpse, her hands dripping black, the Original's smile on her lips—

Darkness crept at the edges of Kael's vision. His fingers scrabbled uselessly at Aurelia's grip as the Original's laughter echoed through his skull.

Then—

A sound like shattering glass.

Aurelia's grip loosened as she staggered back, her free hand flying to her temple. The mark on her neck cracked, fissures spreading through it like broken pottery.

Behind her, the Original's form flickered, her triumphant expression shifting to rage. "No!"

Kael collapsed, gasping, as Lucian dragged him back. The vampire's sword still protruded from Aurelia's stomach, its hilt now glowing faintly blue.

Aurelia's voice, strained but hers, gritted out between clenched teeth:

"Get... the sword... out."

Lucian didn't hesitate. He yanked the blade free in one smooth motion—and with it came a stream of inky blackness, the partially absorbed shard torn loose again.

The Original shrieked, her form unraveling at the edges as the connection severed. Aurelia fell to her knees, the mark on her neck still cracking apart, black blood oozing from the fissures.

The shard hovered between them, pulsating wildly, caught between two forces—Aurelia's will and the Original's call.

Kael reached out instinctively, his fingers brushing the darkness—

The world exploded.