Chapter 86: The shattered bond

Carl paced the sitting room just past dusk, documents clenched tightly in his hands—old parchment files, coded texts, and a single name scrawled in red ink.

Elira.

The fire crackled in the hearth, but it did little to ease the tightness in his chest. He heard the soft pad of Maika's footsteps down the hallway, her presence already brushing against his senses like the breeze before a storm. She'd felt his distress through their bond.

She entered, her long hair falling around her shoulders, her gown a dark wine color that deepened her otherworldly beauty.

"You called me," she said, voice calm but alert. "What is it, Carl?"

Carl turned to her slowly, unsure how to begin. "Maika… I found something. About our daughter."

Her entire body stilled. "What do you mean?"

"I found the council's hidden archive. A folder. A file… labeled Elira: The Nexus."

Maika moved closer, her breath faltering. "She's alive?"

He nodded solemnly. "Yes. She didn't die that night. The council orchestrated everything."

Maika sat heavily onto the nearest chair, her fingers trembling. "What… what did they do to her?"

Carl's jaw clenched. He hated the words he had to speak.

"They knew her aura was unlike anything they'd ever seen—even more powerful than Caveen's. A fusion of elite vampire blood and black magic latent in your bloodline. A nexus... a rare convergence of power."

Maika's eyes widened in horror.

"They feared what she could become. So they cast a ritual to suppress her magic—cut her off from her essence… and from you."

She gasped. "They severed the mother bond…"

Carl nodded again, voice heavy with rage. "They buried her identity. Broke the soul thread. Enchanted her so deeply not even you could sense her. They handed her to a human couple and suppressed her aura completely. But during an outbreak eighteen years ago, the couple died. Elira was taken to a hospital… and she was lost."

"Lost?" Maika whispered, eyes brimming with shock. "What do you mean lost?"

"There were many babies brought in. And with her aura cloaked, there was no way to tell which one was her. Even the Council's seers couldn't locate her again."

Silence fell like thunder.

And then— glass shattered.

Every window in the estate exploded inward. The chandelier above them swayed dangerously as its crystals trembled. The mirror cracked across the wall. The very floor seemed to pulse with a sudden rush of dark energy.

Carl lunged toward her as the invisible force around Maika swelled, wild and uncontrolled. Her aura flared into existence like black fire, licking up her arms, curling from her fingertips in bursts of violet and crimson light. Her eyes glowed with ancient power.

"They stole my child!" she screamed, voice echoing with something older, deeper than fury.

Carl caught her arms, grounding her. "Maika—look at me. Breathe. You need to breathe."

She shook her head, a tear streaking down her cheek. "They broke the bond. I couldn't even feel her. All these years—I mourned her like she was dead."

"I know," Carl whispered, voice shaking now too. "I know, and I should have told you sooner. But this changes everything. And we have to be smart."

Her hands clenched around his shirt, eyes wild. "We have to find her."

"We will," he promised, holding her tightly. "But we need to be the first. If the council finds out that we know, they'll tighten their grip. They'll vanish her forever. Or worse… destroy her when she awakens."

Maika's power trembled beneath the surface again. "When?"

"On her twentieth birthday," he said. "That's when the magic seal will break. Two years from now."

Maika blinked. "Then we have two years…"

Carl nodded. "Two years to find her. To bring her home. Before the Council realizes what she's becoming."

She finally crumpled into him, her strength giving way to grief.

"I missed her first steps," she whispered. "Her first words. I didn't hold her on her first night. I didn't even know…"

Carl pressed his lips to her temple. "But we'll be there for the rest. All of it. We'll find her. We'll protect her. Together."

Outside, the shattered windows let in the evening breeze. The estate was quiet again—but in its walls now echoed the pulse of awakening power.

Unknowingly, Elira, wherever she was, had stirred the world with the first whisper of her return.

And her family had begun the race to bring her back.

Before the world could decide who she would become.

----

Carl stood beside the long mahogany table, his fingers tapping a rhythm of thought. Beside him, Maika sat gracefully, but her eyes carried a quiet storm—years of pain buried beneath regal poise.

They had spent weeks orchestrating it all.

The illusion.

A well-crafted ruse meant to deceive the ever-watchful Council into believing they had abandoned all hope of finding Elira. The shattered grief had to look authentic. And what better way to mask their hunt than by redirecting focus to the legacy of their firstborn?

Caveen.

As if summoned by the very name in their hearts, the heavy doors opened and Caveen entered, dressed in dark gray robes, his hair tied back in a loose knot, silver eyes alert.

"You summoned me?" he said, a touch of wariness in his voice. He had been dreaming of Elira again—another fragmented image of her face in the mist. He hadn't told anyone this time.

Maika stood and smiled softly. "Come sit, love. We have something to discuss."

He took the seat opposite them, noting the faint tension in the air.

Carl began. "You'll be twenty-eight this coming moon. One more year and you'll reach the Marrying Age under Lycan tradition. The age of the Bloodmoon Blessing."

Caveen arched a brow. "You've never brought that up before."

"We've avoided it because your future should be yours to choose," Maika said gently. "But… we believe now is the right time. For many reasons."

He leaned back slightly, studying their expressions. "This has to do with Elira."

Carl's jaw tensed before he nodded. "We're being watched. Every movement. Every spell cast. If they suspect we're still looking for her… we'll lose the upper hand."

"So you want me to marry?"

"We want you to appear invested in your role," Maika said. "As the heir. As a man focused on continuing the line. The Council will ease their eyes on us. They'll believe we've accepted things."

"While we search in secret," Carl added.

Caveen gave a slow nod, the strategy settling in his chest. "I understand."

Maika pulled a thick scroll from the velvet pouch beside her and laid it before him. "These are names of young women from elite families—vampire, witch, lycan and human. All unbound. You are allowed to choose from any house you wish. You are of all three bloodlines, after all."

Caveen sighed and unrolled the scroll. The names swirled before his eyes like formal echoes: Lady Anya of Velethorn, Vera Caelwyn, Naomi of the Moonridge Line, Diana Serovelle, Isla Valemar…

They were powerful names. Prestigious. But they meant little to him.

He paused, eyes scanning one name after another, searching for something—anything—that stirred his soul.

Nothing.

Not a flicker.

He folded the scroll back up and leaned back, mind drifting to a familiar face—sharp gray eyes, midnight-black hair, and a guarded heart that softened only for one woman.

Alaric.

His best friend. The iron-willed Duke of Ravenshade.

He remembered their conversation not long ago, under the moonlight over tumblers of wine.

> "Why her?" Caveen had asked.

Alaric's voice had softened in a way Caveen rarely heard. "She makes my soul quiet. Every time I look at her, I feel… peace. Like home. Like something long-lost returning to me."

Caveen's fingers tapped lightly on the table.

He wanted that.

Not a strategic alliance or a union to please the clans.

He wanted peace. A feeling of home.

He looked up. "I'll review the list. But I'm not promising anything. I won't choose just to deceive the Council. If I'm going to take a bride… she'll be someone who makes my heart still."

Carl gave a proud nod. "We wouldn't ask for anything less."

Maika reached across the table and touched his hand. "We're proud of the man you've become, Caveen. You've borne the weight of your lineage better than we ever hoped."

He smiled faintly. "I'm just trying to live well… even with ghosts in my dreams."

Carl exchanged a glance with Maika.

"Speaking of which…" Caveen began, eyes darkening, "she's still there. My sister. In my dreams. I see her. I hear her laughter sometimes… feel her presence in the fog."

Maika's fingers curled against her palm.

Carl swallowed hard. "Hold onto that, son. Dreams are sometimes the only truth we're allowed until the time is right."

"I just hope I find her before it's too late," Caveen murmured.

There was silence.

Then, Maika rose, returning to her regal mask. "For now, let's distract the world. Appear normal. Play their game."

"And when the time comes…" Carl added, "we'll burn the whole board."

As Caveen walked to the balcony later that night, scroll in hand, he looked out into the city below. The moon hung high over Santossa, a pale silver eye watching all.

He closed his eyes and thought of Alaric.

Of the way he smiled now, softer than ever, because of her.

Caveen's heart whispered into the wind.

> I hope I find you too… whoever you are. Wherever you are… make my soul quiet.