"Who sent it?" Ulysses asked.
"A Royal Guard from Eira," the soldier replied. "We captured him and searched him. He didn’t seem to know what the ssage contained, only that it was urgent and ant for Sir Kai."
Ulysses fell silent. He was in deep thought. The mbers of the Nightshade Coven knew better than to interrupt his thoughts. They waited.
"Are you just going to sit there dramatically, or are we actually going to read the damn thing?" Isaac blurted out. He wasn’t heartless or overly sentintal, but sotis he got paranoid. "What if the king ordered Sir Kai to kill us because he knows we’re not going to help his kingdom?"
It wasn’t a completely ridiculous theory. In different circumstances, it might’ve made the others pause. But considering Sir Kai was currently shackled hand and foot in the dungeon while the ten most powerful vampires sat comfortably in the sa room, it wasn’t exactly a pressing concern.
"He’s locked behind bars," Griswold scoffed, rolling his eyes. "How exactly is he supposed to kill us all?"
"We haven’t even decided if we’re helping Eira," Silvia reminded them, ever the voice of reason. "How could the king possibly act against us when we don’t even know what we’re doing yet?"
Griswold threw up his hands. "Are we seriously still talking about this? The answer is obvious. Eira’s ss isn’t our ss. Burn the letter, kill the soldier and the ssenger, and let’s all go back to being undead and unbothered."
"Actually," Elijah cut in, "the king might not be waiting around for our decision. If Sir Kai was regularly reporting to him and suddenly went radio silent, that’s suspicious. If I were the king, I’d assu sothing happened. Probably to Sir Kai. Probably because of us. And if I thought that, I’d be making plans accordingly."
"So you’re saying we might be in danger? Great! Even more reason to read the damn ssage!" Isaac practically shrieked as if volu alone would force everyone to agree with him.
"No," Griswold deadpanned, holding up a hand. "This is exactly the ti to do what any sensible person would—ignore everything and go back to our nice, peaceful, vampire lives. If we pretend we saw nothing, then technically, we’re not responsible for anything."
"That’s... not how reality works," Elijah sighed, rubbing his temples. "Laws don’t stop a king from doing whatever he wants. If he’s already decided to co after us, he’s not exactly going to pause and check if it’s legally sound."
"Which ans," Elwin added, "whether we read the ssage or not, he’s going to burn us to ashes anyway. So, really, the only question is: do we want to die inford or die blissfully ignorant?"
The room erupted into chaos. Everyone shouted over one another, each trying to steer the conversation in their preferred direction. Everyone had a different opinion, and naturally, every single one of them was the most important. Argunts overlapped, voices clashed, and not a single soul was listening.
anwhile, Ulysses, the only adult in this dysfunctional vampire daycare, barely moved. While the others were too busy bickering to notice, he casually signaled the soldier forward. Without hesitation, the man handed him the small paper containing King Valentin’s ssage to Sir Kai.
Ulysses unfolded it, skimd the contents, and let out a slow exhale. The soldier hadn’t been lying. But sohow, it was worse. The king of Eira wasn’t planning to attack them. That wasn’t the threat. No, this letter was sothing else entirely—a final push that forced Ulysses to make a decision.
With a sharp crack, his fist slamd down on the armrest of his chair. The force sent a tremor through the wood, snapping the room into silence. Heads whipped toward him, the argunt vanishing like mist in the sun.
Without a word, he lifted the letter and waved it in front of his face, letting everyone see. A few of them gasped. The ssage had been opened—without debate, without consensus.
Ulysses, the owner of this manor, the moderator of the Nightshade Coven, the one who usually enforced order—had had opened the letter.
"Sir Kai,
The demon has resurrected and is becoming more unstable. We are losing control.
At the sa ti, Asvaldur is making his move. I fear Emperor Kaan seeks the demon for himself. If he succeeds, he may use it to conquer the world. We cannot allow that.
We desperately need the Nightshade Coven’s help. Now."
Ulysses read the ssage aloud, then slowly lowered the paper. The room sat in stunned silence.
"There it is. The answer to everything," Silvia said, her gaze narrowing. The ntion of a demon instantly made sense of the strange, volatile surges of power they had all been feeling. "That explains why the energy around us has been so unstable."
A beat of silence followed. Then—
"Demon... Wait. By demon, do you an—?"
"Ol’gaz?" soone whispered, the na hanging in the air like a curse.
"Oh, fantastic," Griswold scoffed. "I thought he was locked up tighter than a vampire in a tanning bed. Wasn’t he never supposed to return? Ever? You know, on account of that whole ’sealed for eternity’ thing?"
"And yet, here we are," Elwin said dryly. "Guess eternity isn’t what it used to be."
"Okay, but how did this even happen?" Lennix asked. "And what does it have to do with the Blood Moon child?"
A long pause. No one had an answer.
"There’s only one way to find out."
Ulysses had heard enough. Without hesitation, he signaled to the soldier who had delivered the ssage.
"Bring Sir Kai. Now."
***
The original vampires had one simple plan: extract as much information as possible while still lounging comfortably at ho. No unnecessary travel, no getting their hands dirty—just so good old-fashioned interrogation from the safety of their armchairs.
Only after that, and only after a thorough cost-benefit analysis, would they even consider helping.
So, they summoned their captives—the soldier caught snooping around the manor and the unfortunate soul who had delivered the king’s desperate plea.
Unfortunately for the ancient vampires, neither of them had a clue about what was really going on. Expected? Yes. Annoying? Absolutely. The ten originals weren’t thrilled about it.
Sir Kai had been away from Eira for over five years—he wasn’t exactly up-to-date on current events. And the ssenger? He was just that: a ssenger. A low-ranking soldier in the Royal Guard. No way King Valentin would entrust him with anything remotely important.
A brief silence fell over the room, heavy with the weight of their collective disappointnt.
"See?" Sandor said, grinning triumphantly. "It’s fate. We have to go to Eira and help them."
Griswold gritted his teeth and jabbed a finger in Sandor’s direction. "Checking, Sandor. We’re checking. Nothing more. Nothing less."
Silvia, watching the inevitable unfold, flashed a dazzling smile. "Well, regardless, we’re leaving for Eira."
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