The grand hall of the vampire palace was cloaked in a heavy silence, the kind that made even shadows hold their breath.
Lord Valus stood at the head of the long obsidian table, his back straight, his hands clasped behind him.
Then came the soft creak of the door.
"Enter," Valus said, not turning.
Marcus, his royal butler and one of the sharpest minds in the kingdom, stepped in, his face etched with unease. In his arms, he cradled a leather-bound file as if it were something dangerous.
"You look troubled," Valus remarked, finally facing him.
"I am," Marcus admitted. "This concerns Lady Maika."
At the mention of her name, a flicker of something unfamiliar softened Valus's crimson eyes. "She's been distant… something weighs on her."
Marcus gave a grave nod. "She came to me two nights ago. She asked for my help unlocking sealed memories. She wanted to know who she was before you found her."
Valus's brow furrowed. "And… did she?"
Marcus opened the file. Scribbled notes. Torn sketches. Scattered names.
And one name glared back like a dagger to the heart: Caveen.
"She remembered everything, Valus," Marcus said softly. "She was Aster—the human child adopted by Vienna. She fell in love with Carl, the Lycan Alpha. They were married. She bore his child."
The world stood still.
Valus's eyes darkened, unreadable. "A… child?"
Marcus nodded. "A son. His name is Caveen. She remembers the birth. Being hunted. The night she fled through the forest. The fall that nearly killed her. That's the night Valco found her… and re awakened as Princess Maika."
Valus's jaw tensed, fingers curling into fists.
"She was a mother before she became your daughter," Marcus said.
"And Carl?" Valus's voice was low, dangerous. "Did he know?"
"Yes. He's known all along."
The silence that followed felt like a blade hanging in the air.
Then Aurion, who had quietly entered, added, "There's more. Maika carries Carello blood black flame. Vienna… her lineage wasn't just witchcraft. It was black magic. The true blood of the Carellos flows through her veins."
Valus stepped to the window, the sunlight catching his silver hair and casting a crimson glow across his face.
"That child…" he said, voice like steel. "He's a threat."
Marcus's breath caught. "He's your grandson."
Valus didn't speak.
"I'm not asking you to reveal him to the Council," Marcus said quickly. "But Maika remembers now. She won't rest. She's her mother's daughter—relentless, passionate… and dangerous if denied."
Valus turned slowly, his gaze searing. "She has Vienna's heart," he said. "And her fire."
He walked back to the table and placed his hand on the paper that bore the name Caveen.
"Where is the boy?"
"Protected by Carl. Hidden. Ancient spells keep him veiled from the Council's eyes."
Valus let out a long, weary breath.
"Bring Maika to me," he said. "No guards. Just her and me."
Marcus bowed and turned to leave.
As the heavy door closed behind him, Valus whispered into the silence of the hall, "You are not just Maika. You were Aster. And you bore a child of two bloodlines that should never have crossed… Gods help us all."
---
Later that Night
The ancient library was a sanctuary of silence. Shelves rose like trees in a forest of knowledge, and the air was thick with the scent of old parchment, wax, and lavender oil.
Maika stood before a dusty shelf, her heart pounding. Her fingers hovered over a journal whose spine bore a name she didn't even realize she remembered: "V.C." — Vienna Carello.
She pulled it free, her hands trembling, and opened it at the center table. Candlelight flickered across the pages, illuminating sketches and entries written in a familiar, looping script.
The first page was a drawing.
A man… Valus..Younger
Maika's breath hitched.
Her eyes flicked to the next entry. The words struck her like lightning.
Aster.
Her mind reeled.
Page after page told the story of a girl—a human girl, adopted, cherished, and trained by Vienna. A girl who grew up with her side.
And then she saw it.before everthing.
A note, almost hidden in the margins, about the night Lord Carello allowed Vienna to follow her dreams as a healer and go to Franza. The elders had chosen Vantessa as heir because they feared what Vienna had become—feared the black magic awakening inside her.
Memories surged.
Laughter under moonlight. Carl's warm arms wrapped around her. Their wedding beneath the Bloodmoon. The soft cry of a newborn baby boy—his blue eyes burning into her soul.
Maika stumbled back from the table, clutching the journal to her chest.
Caveen.
She remembered everything.
The betrayal.
The fear.
Running through the woods with her baby. The howls behind her. The burning sensation of magic unraveling. The fall.
Then… darkness.
And awakening in the vampire palace, stripped of everything she was. The name Aster—gone. The life she lived—forgotten. A new identity, Maika, sealed with a magic anklet and forged by Valus.
A broken cry escaped her lips.
She wept—deep, soul-crushing sobs for the child she lost, the past stolen from her, and the truth that had been buried beneath layers of magic and silence.
---
Moonlight draped across the palace balcony.
Maika stood alone, staring into the night, her hands clenched around the railing.
Behind her, a soft rustle broke the quiet.
"Maika," a deep voice said gently.
She didn't turn. "Father."
Valus stepped beside her, his cloak billowing softly in the breeze. "You found the journal," he murmured.
Tears shimmered in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Valus's voice was low. "You were dying that night. We saved you. And you had no memory. I thought… perhaps it was best. To spare you the pain."
"You didn't spare me," she whispered. "You erased me."
He didn't argue.
"I had a life. I had a family. A child. And you let me forget."
"You needed peace," he said. "You needed healing."
"I needed the truth," she snapped, whirling to face him. "You took my right to grieve. You took my identity. I am not just Maika. I am Aster. And I want my son."
Valus looked at her for a long time.
Then he gave a solemn nod. "Carl has kept him safe. He's alive."
Her breath caught. "I want to see him."
"Are you ready?"
She turned her face to the moon, silver tears trailing down her cheeks.
"I have to be."