Chapter 23 : The Rarest Flame

The cobbled roads leading into the outer district of Velmira twisted through long-forgotten forest paths, the kind that once belonged to spirits and old gods. Autumn leaves danced in slow spirals as Lady Callista drove the black, creaking carriage into the outskirts of the town.

Emily sat across from her, one gloved hand pressed against her temple. Her head throbbed. Again.

"You're pale," Callista said, peering over her book. "Worse than usual. Should we stop?"

Emily shook her head, breathing through her nose. "It's just the road. Or fatigue. I've barely slept."

Callista tilted her head. "You were barely awake yesterday too. And this morning, I caught you gagging into the washbasin."

"It's nothing," Emily murmured. "Maybe the food. Or nerves."

Callista arched a brow. "Are you sure?"

Emily nodded but flinched as another wave of nausea twisted her gut. She pressed a hand to her stomach, swallowing hard. "Let's just get to the manor. Please."

The rest of the ride passed in silence, but something gnawed at Emily. Her skin felt too tight. The shadows around her vision swam strangely. She had barely touched food in days, yet her body felt bloated and unbalanced.

When the manor gates came into view, Emily leaned out slightly, not to look for Adrian she knew he wouldn't be there, but because the cold breeze helped calm the growing storm in her stomach.

By the time the carriage came to a stop, Emily was visibly sweating.

...

Two Hours Later – Inside the Manor

Callista helped Emily lie down in the guest chamber. "I'm calling the physician," she said, smoothing her skirts. "You're not just tired. Something's off."

"I don't need a doctor," Emily whispered. "I just need sleep."

Callista folded her arms. "You haven't eaten. You're dizzy, nauseated, and you have that same pain in your lower back you've mentioned three times. If you were mortal, I'd say"

She froze.

Emily slowly sat up. "What? What is it?"

Callista's gaze was unreadable. "Tell me honestly. When was the last time your cycle came?"

Emily blinked. "I—I don't know. I mean, I haven't exactly been keeping track…"

"Think," Callista said, her voice sharper now. "Think, Emily. Has it been weeks? A month? More?"

Emily hesitated.

Then, a cold realization dawned.

"I… I don't remember it happening since before Adrian took me to the old sanctum," she said softly. "That was—gods—that was… nearly seven weeks ago."

The silence between them stretched like a thread pulled taut.

Callista moved swiftly, opening a drawer and pulling out a small, pearl-colored vial wrapped in velvet. "Drink this," she said. "Now."

Emily looked at it with suspicion. "What is it?"

"A truth serum," Callista replied. "Harmless, but it'll reveal what your body's hiding. If I'm wrong, you'll have a bitter taste in your mouth and nothing more. If I'm right…"

She didn't finish the sentence.

Emily uncorked the vial and hesitated. Her heart thundered in her chest.

Then she drank.

At first, nothing. Just the taste of metal and dried roses.

But then—an intense, spreading warmth in her abdomen.

Emily gasped, grabbing the edge of the bedpost as something surged through her. Not pain. Not magic. Not illness.

Something alive.

Something real.

Callista knelt beside her, her voice barely above a whisper. "You're pregnant."

Emily's breath hitched. "No. No, that's—there's no way."

"There is," Callista said, but her voice was tight with disbelief. "You're carrying life. A half-mortal, half-vampire child."

Emily's world tilted.

She sat down hard, hand moving to her stomach as if she could feel the heartbeat already. "But that's not possible. That's—Adrian said it's never happened. Not in centuries."

Callista shook her head slowly. "Not centuries, Emily. Ever. It's never happened. Not like this."

Emily's eyes welled with tears. "I didn't even think—he never said—I didn't know it could…"

"No one knows what it means," Callista said. "We don't even know if it's safe. Your body could reject the pregnancy. Or worse… others could find out."

Emily turned pale. "Adrian. He… he has to know."

Callista looked away.

Emily stood. "He has a right. Even if he doesn't remember me."

"Emily" Callista said gently, "you have to understand something. The Council didn't just wipe his short-term memory. They isolated him during his healing for a reason. If they knew what was growing inside you"

"They don't," Emily snapped. "And they won't."

Callista met her gaze. "Do you want to tell him? Now?"

Emily hesitated.

Her hand pressed to her belly, trembling.

"I want to. But I'm afraid. He'll think I'm lying. Or manipulating him. Or worse—"

She couldn't say it.

Callista did. "He'll reject it. And you."

Emily turned away, her shoulders shaking. "I can't lose him again."

"You haven't lost him," Callista said softly. "You've just been put in a storm you didn't ask for. But the tide is shifting, Emily. You need to decide whether you'll let it carry you—or fight to swim."

Emily looked out the window.

Dusk had fallen.

Somewhere beyond those hills, Adrian was walking the halls of his ancient estate, unaware that the woman who once made him smile in the dark now carried the rarest child the world had never seen.

....

Crimson Manor ; At That Same Hour

Adrian stood in his library, running his fingers across the spine of an old volume. His mind had begun to settle since returning to the estate. The physicians had informed him of his "short-term memory lapse" a disruption caused by the sheer overload of power he had channeled during the trial.

They said it was a miracle he had survived.

They didn't say much else.

The servants avoided his eyes.

Letters poured in. Political alliances were shifting. Vampiric courts from distant territories sent veiled congratulations and covert warnings.

He knew something had happened. Something huge.

But not what.

And most curiously… no one dared mention her name.

Because no one knew it.

Except him.

And he had forgotten her.

...

Back at Callista's manor

Emily sat in her room, writing a letter she wasn't sure she'd send.

Adrian,

There is something you deserve to know, even if you don't know me.

I don't want pity. I don't want your name. I only want to give you truth.

There's a part of you still with me.

And soon, it will have a heartbeat.

She stopped writing.

The ink blurred beneath a falling tear.

She set the quill down, pressing a hand gently to her stomach.

"Hi," she whispered to the life inside her. "I don't know how we're going to do this. But I promise… you were wanted. Even before you existed. You were loved."

Callista watched from the doorway, silently placing a protective ward outside the threshold.

In her eyes, worry warred with wonder.

Because Emily wasn't just carrying a child.

She was carrying history.

Something so rare, so unthinkable, it hadn't existed for thousands of years.

The first known child of a vampire and a mortal.

The one thing that could either save them all…

Or bring the world to its knees.