Prologue

The blood moon hung low in the sky, swollen and heavy, painting the ancient marble halls of House Valcour in a deep crimson glow. It should have been a night of celebration. A night of unity.

Instead, it was the night Carmilla Valcour was cast out.

She could still feel the cold weight of her mate's rejection echoing through the blood bond — a bond that had once felt eternal, now splintered and burning through her veins like poison.

"You are no longer mine." His voice, once warm and protective, had been cold as stone, spoken before the entire court.

Her breath caught in her throat as she fled down the grand staircase, the silk of her ceremonial gown torn by claw marks that hadn't quite healed. The whispers of the court followed her like hissing serpents.

Betrayer.

Impure.

She carries another's child.

But the truth was far more terrifying than the lies they spoke.

She had no memory of betrayal. No forbidden night. Only fragments: cold mist swirling beneath a second moon… whispers in a tongue she could not understand… and a touch that felt both foreign and familiar, leaving a mark deeper than any wound.

Carmilla stumbled into the courtyard, the blood moonlight flickering on ancient statues of vampire kings long dead. Her heart pounded in her chest — not out of fear. Out of instinct. Something was calling her.

Her hand dropped to her abdomen. The child. The reason for all of this.

The ancient gates groaned as they swung open before her, and without a backward glance, she ran into the night.

The prophecy had begun.

But someone else was already watching her from the shadows, his crimson eyes gleaming like molten rocks beneath the blood moon.

"Run, little queen," the stranger murmured, stepping into the darkness. "I'll find you soon."