Chapter 4 Between two brothers
Elara's Pov
What kind of life did this body live to keep dragging me into danger I did not understand? That thought stayed in my mind like a weight. Every time I tried to make sense of what was happening, it only felt worse. I felt as though I was trapped inside someone else’s nightmare and forced to breathe it.
I opened my mouth to say something, but the words never came because the door to the room creaked open. A woman stepped inside. My stomach tightened instantly. I recognized her even before my mind fully placed her. She was the same woman from the chanting—the one whose voice had filled the air and freed me from the chains. She was the reason the vampire guy had collapsed as though something invisible had crushed him.
She did not look surprised to see me. Her eyes briefly swept over me before turning to the man standing across the room.
“She doesn’t seem to remember anything… or she would’ve used her powers,” the woman said.
“That’s better for her,” the man replied, his eyes fixed on me. “At least her second death won’t be as painful as the first.”
My blood ran cold.
They were going to kill me again?
“Do you think we need to do this?” the woman asked, her voice tense. “If the witches find out I—”
“The witches won’t know unless you tell them, Sylvia,” he interrupted calmly. He stepped closer to her, his voice dropping into a low, controlling tone. “Everything you’ve done, you’ve done for your husband, haven’t you? You wouldn’t want all that sacrifice to go to waste.”
“I can’t keep doing this for you,” she snapped. “Turning against my coven because of you, Marcel.” She paused, her expression tightening. “Elara’s mom reached out to me. There’s bad news.”
At the mention of my name, something inside me jolted. My lips parted before I could stop myself.
“What kind of bad news?” Marcel asked.
“She said Elara didn’t return home after her evening school project,” Sylvia replied.
My mind flashed instantly to that night. I had lied to my mother about an evening program at school just to be with Andy for our anniversary.
“She later received a photo of Elara’s dead body from an unknown source,” the woman continued. “They are still trying to trace what remains of her.”
I couldn’t breathe. My mother had seen a photo of my corpse. While she mourned me, I was trapped inside another woman’s skin. Marcel exhaled slowly, looking entirely uninterested.
“It is strange,” he said after a pause. “I am the reason Elara is alive in the first place, and someone dares to kill her? I expected more from her. It turns out her body couldn’t even hold the power I put inside it at birth.”
What did he mean by that?
“Find Elara’s body and bring it to me,” he added. “I need her body.”
“Whatever you need to do to her, be fast,” Sylvia said, glancing at me. “Vincent will likely be tracking Genevieve by now.”
“Then make sure he doesn’t find her scent,” Marcel replied. “That’s your responsibility as my wife and a witch.”
He stopped her as she turned to leave.
“One more thing. Let Sandra know I need to see her first thing tomorrow morning. Whatever you have to do, I need your presence. It looks like we’re going to bury a witch again.”
He looked at me as he spoke those last words. Sylvia left without another word.
After a while, Marcel grabbed my arm roughly. He yanked me forward and dragged me out of the room. I tried to speak, but my voice broke.
“What are you doing?” I managed to choke out.
“Don’t worry… it’ll be painless,” he said.
Just as we reached the door, it opened. A blond-haired man stood there. Marcel stopped instantly.
“Well,” Marcel said slowly. “I didn’t expect you back in the city, Sebastian.”
The guy, Sebastian, ignored him. His gaze shifted from Marcel to me.
“Release her,” he said.
Marcel let out a quiet, humorless laugh.
“You’ve switched sides now? After betraying your brother to his death.”
He helped kill his own brother?
“That has nothing to do with Vincent,” Sebastian replied calmly.
Marcel walked to the table, picking up the knife like it was nothing.
“It has everything to do with Vincent,” he said. “You want to see his reaction when he learns his brother betrayed him.”
He turned the blade slowly between his fingers.
“Step one foot inside my house,” he added quietly, “and I’ll end her here.”
“Oh, I forgot,” Marcel chuckled. “Vampires can’t enter unless invited.”
Sebastian didn’t react to him. He paused for a moment, letting the silence settle before stepping foot inside the house, which clearly surprised Marcel. With speed, he rushed at Marcel, striking him hard enough to send him backward onto the dining table, nearly breaking it. Then he grabbed me.
Everything happened at once, too fast for my mind to process. One moment I was still in place, and the next I was in the middle of the road with him alone. I stumbled slightly as he set me down, my thoughts struggling to catch up with everything that had just happened. Sebastian stayed close, one hand lightly steadying me as if expecting me to fall.
“Genevieve,” he called out, as I stared into his eyes which was filled with too much emotion. “I’ve missed you,” he said suddenly.
The words didn’t belong to the moment.
I blinked at him, confused, my mind still spinning. I thought she was Vincent’s—don’t tell me she also had a fling with his brother. His hand lifted gently, brushing a strand of hair away from my face.
“Are you hurt?” he asked more softly now. “Can you stand?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.
Before I could find my voice, Sebastian was shoved away with speed by Vincent.
His eyes locked onto Sebastian.
“Don’t touch her,” Vincent warned.
The words came out low and sharp, carrying a danger that made the air around us feel heavier. He stood between me and Sebastian like a wall, his body tense and ready for violence.
Sebastian straightened slowly after the shove. There was no fear in his face, only something colder.
“You still react the same way,” he said, brushing imaginary dust from his coat. “Always possessive. Always violent.”
Vincent’s jaw tightened.
“Leave now.”
Sebastian ignored him completely. His eyes moved past Vincent and settled on me again, filled with an emotion I did not understand. His eyes had a look of—maybe longing.
“I don’t think I’ll ever leave her side again. She died because of you. I won't allow that to happen again,” he said.
Vincent went still.
Sebastian took one slow step forward.
“Everyone who gets close to you suffers,” he continued. “That has always been your curse.”
“Enough,” Vincent said, his voice dropping lower.
But Sebastian was not finished.
“You call this protection?” he asked with a bitter laugh. “You couldn’t save her then. What makes you think you’re able to save her now?”
I looked between them, my pulse racing. I didn’t understand who Genevieve had been to either of them, but I could feel years of hatred standing between these two men.
Sebastian’s expression hardened.
“Nobody wanted you back, Vincent,” he said. “Maybe you should have stayed dead.”
The words landed like a strike.
Vincent moved before I could even blink. He turned sharply, snatching up a wooden stake lying near the roadside where broken planks had been discarded. His fingers tightened around it as he advanced with terrifying speed.
“Stop!” I cried. “Put it down!”
He froze for a second, the sharpened wood only inches from Sebastian’s chest.
My breathing was wild, my hands trembling where I stood.
“Please,” I said again, my voice shaking. “Put it down.”
Vincent slowly turned his head toward me, his eyes still glowing.
