The world beneath the water wasn’t cold.
It burned.
Alessia’s scream vanished into the liquid light as it dragged her downward.
Her body convulsed, limbs flailing, but the more she struggled, the tighter the current coiled around her like invisible hands.
Flashes of red and white swirled in her vision.. blood, moonlight, and sothing ancient.
Her chest tightened, she couldn’t breathe.
The pressure crushed her ribs until her thoughts began to slip away.
Then, all at once, the pull stopped.
She floated.. suspended in a world of silence.
When she opened her eyes, the pool was gone. In its place stretched an endless sea of silver mist, glowing faintly with traces of crimson veins running through it like roots of light.
Her bare feet touched the surface, and it rippled as though it were alive.
"Where... am I?" Alessia whispered. Her voice echoed in a dozen tones, each one sounding more frightened than the last.
The mist parted.
A faint silhouette appeared before her tall, cloaked, with hair that shimred like white fire under the unseen moon.
A woman’s voice answered softly. "You have crossed the threshold, Alessia Morano."
Alessia froze. "Who are you?"
The figure stepped closer, and the fog thinned. It was Lapàtásodà Vàlká, the sa witch Seraphina sought, the sa witch the curse was born from. Her eyes glead with centuries of knowing.
"The one they call the Witch of Cursed Veins," she said, her tone neither gentle nor cruel. "You opened the book that binds your bloodline. And now the moon fully rembers you."
Alessia shook her head in disbelief. "No, this can’t be real. It’s a dream. I was just..... "
"Sleeping beside your husband," the witch interrupted smoothly. "And yet your heart was restless. You were called. Just as your mother was."
"My mother?" Alessia whispered. "What do you know about her?"
Vàlká’s lips curved faintly. "More than she ever told you. The Moranos were never just a family of power and guns, Alessia. They were chosen by the Blood Moon to protect the bridge between worlds. But your marriage..." she paused, "has tilted that balance."
Alessia took a step back. "No... Luca is my balance."
"Is he?" the witch asked quietly. "Ohh... he isn’t shadow the curse warned you about... I know "
Before Alessia could answer, the mist began to shake, voices whispered all around her familiar ones. Luca’s... Donato’s... even Daisy’s.
Then, louder, a different tone—cold, mocking, filled with venom.
"Lorenzo"...
The witch’s eyes darkened. "He’s opening the gate too soon."
"What gate?" Alessia cried. "What does this have to do with ?"
"The curse is reborn through you," Vàlká said. "And if he succeeds, not even Luca’s empire will stand. You must wake up before it’s too late."
"How?" Alessia pleaded. "Tell what to do... "
The witch reached out, her fingers grazing Alessia’s cheek. Her touch was ice. "Find the heart he buried... in the city of n. Only then will the blood moon obey you."
Then the light shattered.
The mist exploded around her, and Alessia was thrown upward... violently, back toward the surface.
She gasped awake.
Water surged from the pool as if rejecting her, crashing against the courtyard tiles.
She crawled out, coughing, drenched and trembling.
The book was gone she ca to read was gone, Only ripples remained, gathered with cobwebs and the moon above looked sharper, crueler.
She clutched her chest.
Her heart raced too fast, as though it no longer beat in rhythm with the world around her.
And then she heard it.
Footsteps... Firm, familiar.
"Alessia?" Luca’s voice, sharp and low, echoed from the hallway. "Where the hell are you?"
She turned quickly, shivering under the weight of his tone.
He stepped out into the courtyard, wearing only black trousers and an unbuttoned shirt, his jaw tight, his eyes dark with panic and rage.
"What the f**k happened here?" he demanded. "You’re soaking wet, what did you do?"
Alessia’s lips parted, but no sound ca out.
How could she explain what she had seen? That she had fallen through water that whispered her na?
"I... I couldn’t sleep," she murmured. "I just needed air." she lied.
Luca’s brows furrowed, his chest heaving. "At three in the goddamn morning? In this early morning drizzling rain?" He stepped closer, grabbing her by the shoulders. "You scared the hell out of , let’s go inside quickly, you are cold."
"I’m fine, Luca."
"No, you’re not." His fingers tightened slightly. "You’re shaking."
He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her.
The warmth of him, the scent of his skin leather, gunpowder, and danger anchored her to reality.
For a mont, she felt safe.
But over his shoulder, in the reflection of the pool, she saw it again, the faint glow of red veins swirling beneath the water.
Her stomach dropped.
"Luca..." she whispered against his chest. "Sothing’s wrong with the water."
He turned, following her gaze but the glow was gone. Only moonlight danced across the surface.
"Nothing’s wrong," he said firmly. "You just had a nightmare and you sleep walk, probably."
Alessia didn’t argue.
She let him lead her inside, her mind still spinning.
But as Luca guided her up the stairs, his eyes flicked once more toward the pool, narrowing.
He had seen sothing, he wasn’t sure what, but it was enough to twist the edges of his composure.
Inside their room, he draped a towel over her shoulders and poured her a glass of water.
His movents were sharp, restless. "You haven’t been yourself lately," he muttered. "Not since Xavier’s incidence... not since that damn book."
Alessia froze. "I forgot.. You knew about the cobweb book?"
"I know everything that enters this house," he said simply. "Including cursed objects."
Her pulse skipped. "Cursed?"
He t her eyes. "That book belonged to Donato - my elder brother."
The words hit her like a slap. "Donato?"
"Yes," he said grimly. "Donato found records in the archives. It was part of the Morano inheritance—sealed decades ago. Only the chosen blood could open it."
Her mind reeled. "Then that ans..."
"It ans he wanted you to open it," Luca said. "And whatever you unleashed tonight.... " his gaze flicked to her trembling hands "... It’s not done."
Before she could respond, his phone buzzed violently on the nightstand.
He glanced at the screen and his entire expression changed.
"Who is it?" Alessia asked softly.
He didn’t answer imdiately. Then, in a low voice, "Seraphina."
Alessia’s breath caught. "What does she want?"
He swiped to answer, putting the call on speaker.
"Luca Morano," Seraphina’s voice crackled through the static, weak but venom-laced. "Tell your wife the witch has spoken."
Luca stiffened. "What witch?"
"Lapàtásodà Vàlká," Seraphina hissed. "The curse didn’t begin with her—it began with my blood. And now it’s reaching for all of us."
Alessia’s hand flew to her chest, her heart thundering.
"What do you an, why did you call at this hour of the day?" Luca demanded.
"Hmh-hmmmmm," Seraphina replied, her voice shaking.
Luca’s eyes narrowed. "Say it."
"She said.... There was a loud hiss..."
The line went dead.
Silence fell like a blade.
Alessia t Luca’s gaze, fear flickering in her eyes. "She ant ."
Luca’s jaw clenched. "Over my dead body."
She reached for him, her hand brushing his cheek. "You can’t fight a curse with bullets."
"I can fight anything that touches you," he said darkly. "Even fate."
Outside, thunder rumbled again.....
**********
Daisy could almost hear her own pulse echoing off the apartnt walls.
Roo had insisted on moving her here after the last ordeal, calling it a "protective asure," but she knew better. The look in his eyes wasn’t just worry, it was fear. Fear of losing her.
She stood before the mirror, adjusting the dark jacket over her shoulders, her reflection sharp and unflinching.
Underneath that calm expression was a storm brewing — one Seraphina had ignited.
"I’m done hiding," Daisy muttered under her breath, slipping a silver pistol into the inside pocket of her jacket. The weight of it grounded her, gave her a strange kind of peace. "If Seraphina wants war... she will get it."
She turned toward the door, determination blazing through her veins but before her hand touched the knob, the door creaked open.
Roo stood there, tall and composed, but his eyes, those stormy eyes , betrayed sothing deeper.
"Be careful when you get to Seraphina," he said softly.
Daisy froze. The words hit her like a gunshot.
"How... how did you know?" she whispered, her breath catching in her throat.
He stepped closer, the faint scent of his cologne mingling with the night air drifting through the open window. "Because," he said, voice low and steady, "ever since I fell deeply in love with you, I have made it my duty to protect you. Even when you think you are alone... I’m always watching."
Her heart stumbled, unsure whether to lt or break.
Before she could form a reply, his hand reached up, cupping her cheek, and then his lips pressed against hers — firm, possessive, but laced with an ache that said please, co back to alive.
When he finally pulled away, Daisy’s breath trembled.
She wanted to fight him, to argue, to tell him she didn’t need protection but her words and actions betrayed her.
The only sound left between them was the soft thud of her heartbeat and the unspoken promise that hung in the air.
Tonight, she wasn’t going as Roo’s lover.
She was going as Alessia’s friend.
And if Seraphina dared to cross that line again... Daisy would end her herself.
********
Across cities, under the sa full moon again, Alessia lay in bed beside Luca.
The night was still, the kind that humd with both peace and hidden danger.
Her hand rested gently on her stomach, feeling the small movents inside her — the rhythm of life, the promise of tomorrow.
"Her babies.. They’re growing perfectly," she whispered, smiling faintly.
But exhaustion soon found her.
The soft glow of the full moon spilled through the window, casting silver light over her face.
She frowned, sitting up, pulling the heavy curtains shut.
Not tonight, she had enough the previous night.
She wasn’t ready for anything tonight.
"Babe," she murmured, slipping back into Luca’s arms, "wrap your hands tightly around , please."
"I will," he whispered against her hair, pulling her closer, his warmth lting the cold edge of the night.
Her eyelids fluttered shut, her breathing steady — but sowhere, deep inside, the night was stirring.
Hours later, under the glow of that sa rciless moon, Alessia found herself standing outside.
Barefoot, Cold,
Before the shimring pool.
The world felt blurred, distant — like she was caught between a dream and sothing far older.
She tried to move, to turn back toward the house, but her body refused her. It wasn’t hers anymore.
Her lips parted in confusion as her feet took another step forward, the moon’s reflection rippling in the water like a mirror calling her na.
"What’s happening to ..." she whispered, voice trembling.
And then, from the depths of the night, a voice.. Ancient, commanding, and eerily familiar — echoed around her:
"You are the Red Moon blood child... and you must co and answer tonight.".....
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