Chapter 3 Shadows and alliances
The Varex estate stood like a fortress against the night sky, its gothic spires piercing through low-hanging clouds. Iron gates, ancient stone walls, and centuries-old trees created a barrier between the family and the world beyond. Inside, the mansion was a study in contrasts modern luxury wrapped in old-world grandeur. Marble floors, towering ceilings, chandeliers that cast golden light over dark mahogany and crimson velvet.
Tonight, the grand hall felt colder than usual.
Selene Varex stood at the head of the long dining table, her presence commanding even in silence. She was ancient, beautiful in a way that transcended time pale skin that seemed to glow faintly, silver-white hair falling past her shoulders, and eyes that shifted between ice blue and something far more dangerous. When she moved, the air seemed to move with her.
Her children sat around the table, each one a weapon in their own right.
Lucian, the eldest, sat to her right calm, collected, every bit the CEO he pretended to be. But his mind was elsewhere, replaying the vision he'd seen when he touched that woman's hand. Ava Monroe.
Aria sat across from him, sharp-eyed and watchful in fitted black, her dark hair pulled back sleek. She was the balance between Lucian's control and Darion's chaos.
Darion slouched at the far end of the table, looking bored and restless. His shirt was half-unbuttoned, hair still damp from the rain, a faint smudge of blood on his collar he hadn't bothered to clean.
Selene's eyes swept over them, lingering on Darion for a moment longer.
"Thank you for coming," she said, her voice soft but weighted with authority.
Darion smirked. "Did we have a choice?"
Aria shot him a warning look, but Selene merely tilted her head, unbothered.
"No," she said simply. "You didn't."
She moved to the center of the room, hands clasped in front of her. The candlelight flickered as if responding to her presence.
"I've been having visions," she continued, her tone grave. "More frequent. More vivid. And all of them point to the same thing."
Lucian straightened slightly. "War."
Selene nodded. "Not just war. An attack. On us. On this family. They're coming for the Diamond Blood Key."
Silence fell over the room like a heavy curtain.
The Diamond Blood Key was the Varex family's most closely guarded secret a relic forged centuries ago from the blood of their ancestors, imbued with power that could either protect or destroy. It was the source of their immunity to sunlight, the anchor of their telekinetic abilities, and the reason every other coven wanted them dead.
Without it, they were just vampires.
With it, they were unstoppable.
Darion leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "So let them come," he said with a shrug. "We have the Blood Diamond Key. How exactly are they supposed to take it from us? We're more powerful than them, Mom. Always have been."
Aria's eyes flashed. "That doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful moving forward." Her voice was sharp, cutting through his arrogance like a blade. "Mom's visions are never wrong. If she senses impending doom, then it's going to happen. You can't just brush this off because you think we're invincible."
Darion rolled his eyes but said nothing.
Selene's gaze softened slightly as she looked at her daughter. "Aria is right," she said. "Power means nothing if we're careless. They won't attack us head-on. They'll wait. They'll plan. They'll strike when we're vulnerable."
She paused, letting the weight of her words settle.
"Which is why we need allies."
Lucian raised an eyebrow. "Allies?"
"Yes." Selene turned to him. "I want you to reach out to the Morvayne Clan and the Sorrowclaw Coven. We need to form an alliance. If war is coming, we'll need all the help we can get."
Lucian nodded slowly, his mind already working through the logistics. The Morvayne Clan was old, steeped in ancient sorcery and ritual magic. The Sorrowclaw Coven was brutal, berserker-like in their fury, but loyal if treated with respect. Both would be valuable if they could be convinced.
"I'll reach out," he said quietly.
Selene's expression softened with approval. "Good."
She glanced around the table one last time. "The Diamond Blood Key stays hidden. Protected. No one outside this family knows where it is, and it will stay that way. Understood?"
"Understood," Aria said immediately.
Darion gave a lazy nod.
Lucian said nothing, but his jaw tightened.
He hadn't told his mother about the vision. Hadn't told anyone. The image of that battlefield, the crying child, the vampire holding them it haunted him. And the fact that it had come from her, from Ava Monroe, made no sense.
She was human.
Wasn't she?
He needed answers before he said anything. Jumping to conclusions would only create chaos, and chaos was the last thing they needed right now.
So he stayed silent.
And in the flickering candlelight of the Varex estate, secrets began to pile up like shadows in the dark.
Meanwhile somewhere in the depths of an abandoned cathedral, where light feared to tread and the air bit like winter's cruelest breath, they gathered.
The chamber was vast, carved from stone that had forgotten warmth centuries ago. Candles flickered weakly along the walls, their flames struggling against the oppressive darkness. Shadows moved like living things, crawling across the floor, watching.
Five figures sat in a circle, draped in black, their faces obscured by hoods. They spoke in hushed tones, their voices layered with malice and purpose.
"It is time."
"The Varex family grows complacent."
"They believe themselves untouchable."
"Bring him."
The silence that followed was absolute.
Then, from the shadows at the far end of the chamber, footsteps echoed slow, deliberate, confident.
"Draven Valios," one of the hooded figures called out. "You may come forward."
He stepped into the candlelight, and the darkness seemed to part for him.
Draven Valios was striking in a way that felt dangerous. He wore a black tailored suit that fit him like a second skin, every line sharp and precise. His eyes were a haunting mix of black and crimson black enough to see the evil lurking beneath, crimson enough to glow in the dark.
A man rose from the circle and approached him. Tall, imposing, radiating authority and menace.
Thane Valios. Leader of the Blackmar Coven. Draven's father.
"Have you chosen to accept your mission?" Thane's voice was cold, measured.
Draven met his father's gaze without flinching. "I have."
"You have but one goal," Thane continued. "Observe. Plan. Strategize. And when the time is right destroy the Varex family by any means necessary. The Diamond Blood Key will be ours."
Draven's lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile.
"Yes, Father."
The Valios family had been the Varex's sworn enemies for centuries, always hunting the Blood Diamond Key, always failing.
But this time would be different.
This time, they didn't plan to fail.
