Chapter 26: The Elders Stir
Far from Bloodhaven, in a fortress carved into the jagged cliffs of the Hollow Mountains, the Elders sat in a cold, circular chamber—cloaked in shadows and silence. At the center of the obsidian table, an ancient crystal pulsed a deep crimson.
It had begun to beat again.
Elder Malachai's skeletal fingers twitched as he watched it. "The blood pulse is active. Kairos has awakened."
Across the table, Elder Sylra narrowed her eyes. "Impossible. He was destroyed. We erased his legacy."
"No," came the voice of Elder Vael, soft and laced with venom. "We only buried it. And now, it's digging its way out."
The pulse quickened. Boom. Boom. Boom.
A tremor ran through the crystal.
"They've reactivated Bloodhaven," Malachai said, standing slowly. "And the Knights… they rise with him."
Sylra hissed, fangs bared. "Then we strike. Now. Before his name spreads again. Before the others remember."
"Not yet," Vael said, smiling faintly. "Let the world see him. Let the traitors rally. Then we burn them all—together."
Malachai turned away from the table, his long robes trailing like smoke. "Prepare the Revenants. If Kairos wants a war, we shall bring him a reckoning."
Sylra sneered. "What of the girl?"
Vael's grin sharpened. "Ah yes. The twin."
He raised a hand, and a new crystal shimmered to life, revealing the blurred image of Rhea, Aarav's vampire girlfriend—one of the mysterious twin sisters whose bond had helped trigger his awakening.
"She carries more than just memory," Vael said. "She is the key to controlling him… or destroying him."
Malachai's voice dropped to a hiss. "Then bring her to us—alive."
As the shadows thickened in the chamber and war began to whisper through the bloodlines of the world, a single truth echoed among the Elders:
The King had returned.
And they would not let him reign.
To be continued…