It had been a month since Aurora's birth.
A month since Prince Romanus's warning, a month since Ezra had scoured the weave in vain for a threat that wouldn't reveal itself. Since then, things had settled into a calm routine that had been deceptively peaceful.
But Ezra never let his guard down.
The Matten estate had beco a fortress, its halls patrolled, different tattoos and fortifications added. Not a single being can creep in without anyone noticing. And he still maintained his habits.
And so, as the sun rose to show the world that it was indeed morning, Ezra found himself once again in the weave chamber, imrsed in his routine inspection.
He sat in the heart of the room, legs crossed beneath him, eyes half-lidded, his senses peeled wide across the threads that governed his land.
The weave was steady today. No shifts in comrce, no magical irregularities, no flaring hostility from noble families. The rivers flowed. Trade moved. Vitality was rich in the air, clouding everything and still stopping teleportation, the Fourth Ring vampire ability.
Then it happened.
A faint tremor passed through the threads, not that noticeable, but distinct enough to catch Ezra's attention. His eyes snapped open. He recognized it instantly.
It wasn't a threat.
It was a thread. Familiar. Old.
Adam.
Ezra's ancestor who had been the guardian of the Ascension well back in First City, when Ezra had taken over Southside. Now, he was back for a visit.
A rare, genuine smile blood across Ezra's face as he stood to his feet. He didn't bother masking his excitent. He sent a ssage to allow passage to his visitor, before leaving the weave room.
He passed through the hallways without fanfare, sweeping silently through his estate like a wraith laced in sunlight. Guards bowed. Staff parted. Red glanced up as he passed and blinked at his uncharacteristically upbeat expression. Ezra just gave her a small nod and kept walking.
He reached the great hall just as the main doors opened.
And there he was.
Adam, the Eternal.
He looked exactly the sa as the last ti Ezra had seen him, unchanged by ti, still carrying the deceptive form of a teenage boy, his black hair tousled from travel, a worn coat slung over one shoulder, and his eyes gleaming with a blend of mischief and old, old wisdom. His smile widened as he spotted Ezra.
"Look at you." Adam said, voice warm. "All grown up and brooding."
Ezra chuckled, stepping forward. "Still dressing like a rebellious teenager?"
"Style never ages." Adam replied, clasping Ezra's forearm in a firm handshake before tugging at Ezra, pulling him into a hug.
Their embrace was brief but real.
There was no mistaking the resemblance between them. If anyone saw them together, they would think Adam was Ezra's son.
"I felt you when you arrived." Ezra said as they parted.
"I wasn't hiding." Adam replied with a grin. "Figured you'd sense either way."
Ezra motioned toward the inner wing. "Co. I want you to et my family."
They made their way toward the private wing of the estate, where Olivia and Red sat together in the nursery. Gen was floating overhead, singing softly to Aurora, who cooed from her cradle, batting her tiny hands at the glowing threads of light that Gen created to amuse her.
As the door opened, Olivia looked up, instantly alert, but relaxed when she saw Ezra. Red, standing beside the cradle, shifted into a more relaxed posture as her eyes scanned Adam from head to toe.
"Adam!" Olivia stood up with a warm smile on her face, giving the teenage looking old man a hug. "Where have you been all this while?"
"Here and there." Adam chuckled. "But I've heard a lot about what you guys have been up to."
"All good I hope?" Olivia chuckled.
"Depends on who I ask." Adam shrugged.
"Red," Ezra said with a smile, "this is Adam. The man who gave more questions than anyone else ever has… and my only living ancestor."
Adam raised his hand in a casual wave. "Pleasure to et another queen of the household."
Red arched an eyebrow, lips twitching in amusent. "The way Ezra talks about you, I expected soone older."
"I am older." Adam said with a wink. "I just age well."
Red snorted in response. "You're a Matten, all right."
Gen drifted closer and looked Adam up and down before whispering to Ezra, "Are we sure this guy didn't run away from ho?"
"Hello to you too, Gen." Adam chuckled, smiling at everyone in the room.
"You can see ?" Gen gasped.
"Nope." Adam chuckled. "But I can hear you."
He smiled as he moved toward the cradle.
"This is my daughter. The greatest accomplishnt of my life." Ezra smiled gently. "Aurora."
Adam leaned over and gazed at Aurora. The smile on his face softened into sothing quieter. Sothing reverent.
"She's… more than I expected." He said after a mont.
Ezra nodded. "I know. Her soul is unlike anything I've ever seen."
Adam knelt slightly, resting a hand near the cradle without touching it. "She's humming with vitality. You can feel it just standing near her. This child isn't just special, Ezra. She's going to walk roads we can't even see yet."
None of the won could hide their proud smiles.
Adam looked up at her and then at Ezra. "She's the first of her kind. A perfect hybrid of Eternal and Vampire, unlike you. Yours is a bit screwed up. And she's not just carrying the future. She is the future."
Ezra's jaw clenched slightly in pride. "I see the signs already."
Adam stood again. "She'll surpass all of us."
They moved to Ezra's study shortly after, and they sat across from one another, both drinking normal wine.
"So," Ezra said, folding his hands together, "you didn't just co here to coo over my daughter."
Adam's grin faded into sothing more thoughtful. "No. I ca because you're still holding back. I felt it the mont I crossed your borders."
Ezra's face beca a mask of calm. "My strength is more than enough."
"Maybe for vampires. But you're not just a vampire, Ezra. You're Eternal. You've always been. But your transformation was stifled the mont your soul beca a vampire's."
"Your power's still there. Dormant. Tied up behind a wall of undeath. And you need it if you want to sit on the Progenitor's throne and open the gate to the Abyss."
Ezra said nothing.
Adam leaned forward, his voice low. "I've watched your rise. I saw what you did to Clentine. What you did in Faewall. And I know… that's not even your final shape."
Ezra's eyes narrowed. "So you're here to awaken it?"
Adam nodded. "The vampiric soul suppresses human traits, yes, but it doesn't completely destroy them. You just need a catalyst. A guide."
Ezra exhaled slowly. "And you're volunteering."
"I am your ancestor, Ezra." Adam said with a wink. "You don't think I'd leave you half-finished, do you?"
Ezra chuckled in response.
"I won't be able to walk you all the way." Adam continued. "But I can open the first door. The rest is up to you."
Ezra rose from his chair. "Then let's begin."
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