The voice vanished.
Yet its presence remained.
Like a scar carved directly into Damian's soul.
The prince stood frozen.
His crimson eyes widened slightly.
His heartbeat thundered inside his chest.
Every instinct screamed at him.
Run.
Fight.
Hide.
Yet beneath those instincts...
Something darker existed.
Something buried inside his blood.
Something that wanted to answer the call.
Something that wanted to descend beneath Darkheart Castle.
Toward the creature.
Toward the First King.
Toward whatever truth waited below.
"My prince."
The words echoed again in his memory.
Not fear.
Not hatred.
Respect.
Recognition.
Almost affection.
That terrified Damian more than anything.
Because he had never met the creature.
So why did it know him?
BOOOOOM!!
Another tremor shook the castle.
This one stronger.
The walls groaned.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Far below...
Something massive moved.
The feeling alone made Sirius grip his sword.
The legendary executioner looked genuinely concerned.
A sight Damian had never seen before.
Fenrir turned toward the door.
"Seal the eastern wing."
Sirius immediately bowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Double the guards."
"They won't stop what's below."
"They aren't meant to."
The king's voice was cold.
"They're there to stop panic."
Sirius disappeared.
The moment he left the room.
Silence returned.
Damian slowly turned toward his parents.
His expression hardened.
"No more lies."
Scarlett closed her eyes.
Fenrir sighed.
The prince pointed toward the floor.
"That thing knows me."
Nobody argued.
Because they couldn't.
"What am I?"
Again.
The same question.
But this time...
Someone answered.
Scarlett.
The queen slowly walked toward him.
Her golden eyes carried sadness.
Regret.
Pain.
Memories.
A mother's pain.
And for the first time in Damian's life...
She looked vulnerable.
Not like a queen.
Not like a ruler.
Not like one of the strongest beings alive.
Simply a mother.
A frightened mother.
She reached out.
Touching his cheek.
"You are my son."
Damian didn't move.
Scarlett smiled sadly.
"And that is exactly why I'm afraid."
The prince frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The queen hesitated.
Then she whispered...
"Because I wasn't supposed to have you."
The room became quiet.
Rain continued falling outside.
Scarlett turned away.
Looking into the darkness beyond the shattered window.
"When I was born..."
"I wasn't Scarlett Rake."
Damian froze.
His mother continued.
"I was Scarlett Moonfang."
The prince's eyes widened.
Moonfang.
Even he knew that name.
One of the oldest werewolf royal bloodlines.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Feared.
A bloodline older than kingdoms themselves.
His mother slowly nodded.
"As strange as it sounds..."
"I wasn't born among vampires."
"I was born among werewolves."
Damian already knew part of that.
Yet hearing it directly felt different.
More real.
More personal.
The queen continued.
"I was supposed to become the next Queen of the Moonfang Clan."
"The strongest werewolf kingdom of the era."
Fenrir crossed his arms.
Listening silently.
Even he seemed lost in old memories.
Scarlett smiled bitterly.
"But destiny had different plans."
Damian remained silent.
The queen looked toward Fenrir.
And for the first time...
A genuine smile appeared.
A smile full of old memories.
Old love.
Old wounds.
"We met during a war."
The prince blinked.
His parents exchanged a glance.
One that only people who had lived centuries together could share.
Scarlett laughed softly.
"We tried killing each other."
Fenrir actually smiled.
A rare sight.
"I almost succeeded."
The queen rolled her eyes.
"No."
"You almost died."
The king laughed.
Damian stared.
Completely confused.
His terrifying parents looked almost normal.
Almost human.
The realization felt surreal.
Scarlett's smile faded.
Returning to seriousness.
"The war lasted seven years."
"Seven years of slaughter."
"Seven years of death."
"Then something happened."
She looked directly at Damian.
"The prophecy appeared."
There it was again.
The prophecy.
Everything led back to it.
The queen continued.
"The witches gathered."
"The gods listened."
"The ancient races learned the truth."
"The Child of Twilight had to exist."
Damian felt his heartbeat quicken.
"The prophecy wasn't optional."
"It wasn't a possibility."
"It was a requirement."
The prince frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Scarlett's expression darkened.
"The world would die without you."
Silence.
Heavy silence.
The queen continued.
"The Child of Twilight needed two bloodlines."
"The strongest vampire bloodline."
"The strongest werewolf bloodline."
Damian suddenly understood.
His eyes widened.
"No."
Scarlett nodded.
"Yes."
"The prophecy required us."
The prince felt his stomach twist.
The implications were enormous.
Vampires and werewolves had hated each other for thousands of years.
Yet the prophecy demanded their union.
Demanded his birth.
Demanded something both races considered impossible.
Scarlett's voice lowered.
"The moment the prophecy became known..."
"The world exploded."
Fenrir nodded.
"The werewolves wanted to kill me."
Scarlett laughed bitterly.
"The vampires wanted to kill me."
Damian stared.
Neither sounded surprised.
Because they weren't.
They had expected it.
The prince slowly understood.
His existence hadn't begun with his birth.
It had begun decades earlier.
The moment the prophecy was discovered.
The moment his parents were chosen.
Or cursed.
Scarlett continued.
"Assassins came."
"Kings came."
"Gods sent servants."
"We survived them all."
Fenrir's eyes darkened.
"Mostly."
Scarlett's smile vanished.
For the first time.
Damian noticed pain.
Real pain.
Ancient pain.
The queen looked away.
Toward the rain.
Toward memories.
"They killed my brother."
The room froze.
Damian had never heard that before.
"They killed my father."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"They killed my mother."
The prince's eyes widened.
Scarlett rarely spoke about her family.
Now he understood why.
The queen clenched her fists.
Blood appeared where her nails pierced her skin.
"They called it justice."
"They called it protecting the future."
"But it was murder."
Her golden eyes glowed.
For a moment.
The queen vanished.
And a wolf appeared.
A predator.
An ancient alpha.
A monster capable of tearing armies apart.
The air itself became heavy.
Damian finally understood.
His mother wasn't gentle because she was weak.
She was gentle because she chose to be.
Scarlett took a deep breath.
Calming herself.
Then she continued.
"When everyone wanted us dead..."
"One person helped us."
The room became silent.
Fenrir frowned.
Damian noticed.
Whoever this person was...
It mattered.
A lot.
The queen slowly spoke.
"A goddess."
Damian froze.
A goddess?
Scarlett nodded.
"She protected us."
"She hid us."
"She guided us."
The prince felt something strange.
Something deep within his chest.
A warmth.
A familiarity.
Almost instinctive.
The queen continued.
"Without her..."
"You would never have been born."
Damian's heartbeat accelerated.
Why?
Why did that feel important?
More important than everything else?
Scarlett seemed to notice.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Then she stared at him.
Carefully.
Very carefully.
The queen looked toward Fenrir.
The king looked equally surprised.
Both of them had noticed.
The reaction.
The connection.
The strange feeling.
Damian frowned.
"What?"
Neither answered immediately.
Then Fenrir slowly spoke.
"The goddess who protected us..."
The king paused.
His expression became complicated.
Almost worried.
Then he finally said...
"She disappeared the day you were born."
The prince froze.
Something moved inside his chest.
A strange ache.
A strange longing.
An unfamiliar sadness.
As though he had lost something important.
Something precious.
Something he couldn't remember.
Then...
BOOOOOOOM!!
The strongest tremor yet struck Darkheart Castle.
The floor shattered.
The walls cracked.
A distant scream echoed throughout the fortress.
And far below...
Very far below...
Another chain broke.
CRACK.
The sound echoed like thunder.
The First King was getting closer.
And somewhere beyond the heavens...
Far above mortal sight...
Golden eyes slowly opened.
A woman sat upon a throne of stars.
Ancient.
Beautiful.
Divine.
Her silver hair flowed endlessly.
Her eyes shone brighter than galaxies.
And for the first time in eighteen years...
She smiled.
Because she had finally felt him awaken.
Damian.
The Child of Twilight.
The boy she had watched since birth.
The boy fate had stolen from her.
And now...
The goddess was coming.
To Darkheart.
To Damian.
To war.