The grand hall of the Bride Assembly shimmered with opulence, but beneath the glittering chandeliers and ivory columns lurked something rotten—a snare woven in gold threads.
Alaric stood tall and regal in a black and crimson cloak, his expression unreadable as he prepared for the day's political theatre. The Council had requested his presence, cloaked in formality, to "finalize" the bride selection process before noble spectators. It reeked of staged control, yet he had no grounds to refuse—not without raising suspicion.
Just as he turned toward the waiting car, Celestine appeared, dressed in a flowing silver-blue gown that sparkled like winter frost.
"My lord," she said sweetly, "it would be a great honor to accompany you. The Council will surely be pleased to see me by your side."
Alaric hesitated. The Council watching. Her presence—it was bait. But denying her now would draw attention.
"Fine," he said with veiled disdain.
Celestine smiled in triumph and brushed past him, her hand subtly slipping a tiny jade ornament into the inner fold of his cloak. The object pulsed faintly with dark, ancient magic—a suppressor, one used by the Council to mute Elite powers.
Alaric didn't notice. Not yet.
---
Bride Assembly Hall – Council Fortress
As the grand doors of the hall opened, Alaric entered with silent command. His steps echoed with power—until they suddenly… faltered.
A tightness curled in his chest.
Something was wrong.
He felt it—his strength thinning, his aura dimming. A chill raced down his spine as if some invisible force drained his core.
The ornament.
Too late.
Council guards—cloaked in silver runes—surged forward from every archway. The marble floor lit up with a glowing binding circle.
Chains enchanted with sigils of binding and suppression clamped around his limbs.
"Duke Alaric Vellaria Vaelthorne," boomed the High Chancellor. "You are hereby restrained under the Council's authority for investigation on treasonous rebellion and harboring a forbidden creature."
Alaric clenched his jaw. "You dare—"
But the suppressor choked the rest of his power. His fangs couldn't extend, his energy muted like candlelight in a storm.
Celestine stood at the steps of the platform, hands folded, a picture of faux regret.
"I'm sorry, my lord. This is for the good of the realm," she lied, eyes glinting with cruelty.
---
In the upper chamber of the hall, the Elders gathered around an obsidian orb resting on an altar. It pulsed in anticipation.
"She will come," one Councilor murmured. "She will not leave him to die."
"Yes," said another. "And when she does, we shall awaken the rest of her bloodlines."
"Vampire. Witch. Lycan. She is the perfect vessel," a third said reverently. "Once the tri-blood is extracted and contained, we shall reign eternal."
A dark-robed figure placed the Forbidden Arrow on the ceremonial rack. Its shaft glowed with cursed flames, its tip forged from a fallen star dipped in elderblood.
"If she resists," the head priest said coldly, "we shall strike her down."
---
Back in Ravenshade…
Lady Jane burned a scented letter into her candle.
"She'll come," she said with a cruel smile. "A woman's heart will always betray her. Especially for love."
Episode Title: "Bound by Blood, Fueled by Fury"
The night air in Santossa had been calm—too calm.
Until Caveen stormed into the manor, his aura rippling with untamed power, eyes blazing with crimson fire.
"They took him."
Seraphine turned swiftly from her scrolls. "Who?"
"Alaric." Caveen's voice trembled with fury. "The Council set a trap during the Bride Assembly. Celestine slipped a suppressor on him. He's bound—held at the chambers as we speak."
The words barely finished leaving his mouth when Seraphine vanished from sight.
"SERAPHINE!" Carlos shouted as a gust of wind and a violent swirl of blood magic shattered the front doors.
But it was too late.
She was already gone—nothing but a blur of crimson trailing through the night sky.
"Damn it!" Carlos cursed, summoning his weapon and leaping after her.
"Let's move," Caveen growled, shifting into his Lycan form mid-leap, his silver fur gleaming like lightning beneath the moonlight. "If she reaches the Council alone—she'll be walking into death."
---
The skies above the Council Fortress
Seraphine moved faster than she ever had. The bond—the pull in her blood—told her Alaric was in agony. Her heart screamed with rage, and her power surged dangerously through her veins.
The streets blurred beneath her as she neared the capital. Her skin burned, her fangs had dropped, and her eyes were blazing gold and red—her three bloodlines teetering on the edge of awakening.
The guards stationed outside the Council Hall barely had time to react before their bodies were sent flying.
A single whisper left her lips, carried by fury.
"Where is he?"
---
Inside the Council Hall
Alaric, still shackled in enchanted chains, heard the explosion before he saw it.
A massive crack ripped through the main gate. Marble crumbled. The windows shattered into rain.
And then she appeared.
Seraphine—her presence no longer soft and unsure, but regal, terrifying, divine.
Her hair floated as if in water, her eyes like molten metal. She walked forward, unbothered by the spells flung at her, which evaporated before reaching her.
"Let him go," she commanded, her voice layered with power.
"She's here…" one of the Councilors gasped.
"Contain her!" screamed another.
The altar blazed to life. The obsidian orb began to hum, vibrating violently as it pulled at the energy around her. Seraphine chained down by an impulse aura.
Suddenly—
SERAPHINE!" Caveen roared as he lunged forward, claws extended, his body pulsing with Lycan fury.
Carlos wasn't far behind, sword drawn, his eyes locked on the Council members circling Seraphine like vultures.
But just as they were about to break through—
Boom!
A blinding pulse surged from the ground.
An ancient, golden sigil erupted beneath their feet. A dome of energy slammed down around them like an iron fist.
An Elite Barrier.
"NO!" Caveen snarled as he smashed his shoulder against the translucent wall. It didn't budge. Not even a ripple.
Carlos's rune-marked blade clanged against the barrier with a burst of sparks. "It's reinforced with Elder sigils. This isn't just magic—it's forbidden."
Inside the dome, they could see everything but touch nothing.
Seraphine—tied in the wall with an intense aura
And Alaric, bound in the center, his body bruised, his eyes struggling to stay open.
"Damn it," Carlos hissed, turning to Caveen. "They planned this. They knew we'd come. This was never about Alaric—it's about her. They want her to unleash everything."
"They're trying to harvest her," Caveen growled, his voice raw. "To turn her into a power source."
Seraphine felt them—Carlos and Caveen. Close, but trapped.
"You want my power?" Her voice was low.
A robed Elder stepped forward, holding a silver arrow—its tip drenched in black alchemy.
"Awaken, Seraphine, your tri-power" he hissed. "Or the next arrow finds your heart."
She didn't flinch.
"Then shoot im not afraid," she whispered coldly.
---
Carlos slammed both palms against the glowing surface. "We have to break through—now!"
Caveen's eyes flickered gold. "Then we unleash everything."
But the more they enhance their power, the stronger the barrier it will be. The barrier is especially made for them to absorbed their power and supply power to the barrier.
Caveen and Carlos can only see the Alaric and Seraphine.