The summons came at dusk.
It wasn't delivered by messenger.
It wasn't written.
It burned into the air.
A crimson sigil flared above the ruins, ancient symbols twisting into shape before dissolving into ash.
Jayden didn't need to read it aloud.
He already knew.
"The council has felt it," he said quietly.
Ariana stood very still.
The twins clung to either side of him — not her.
Him.
The shift had already happened.
Five years of distance had been erased in a single night of truth.
"They want you," Ariana said.
"No," Jayden replied, voice calm but tight. "They want all of us."
The air grew heavier.
The vampire council did not summon lightly. They ruled from the ancestral stronghold — a territory untouched by humans, carved into stone and shadow centuries ago.
If the council had sensed the twins' awakening…
Then every powerful vampire in the region already knew something had changed.
Ariana stepped closer to Jayden.
"You can't take them there."
"I'm not leaving them behind."
Her jaw tightened. "It's not safe."
He looked at her fully now.
Neither angry nor defensive.
Just certain.
"They are my children."
The words still felt new in the air.
Raw. Powerful.
Unavoidable.
Ariana swallowed.
"And I won't let anyone separate us again."
Something in her chest softened — and tightened — at the same time.
She believed him.
But the council wasn't something even Jayden could intimidate into submission.
The twins watched the exchange quietly.
"We can handle it," the older one said softly.
Jayden crouched in front of them.
"You shouldn't have to."
The younger twin reached up and touched his face.
"We're stronger when you're near."
His throat worked.
Ariana turned away briefly, fighting emotion.
The third pulse inside her flickered faintly again — subtle but present.
Not yet noticeable to anyone but her.
She had hoped for more time.
The prophecy clearly had other plans.
The Ancestral Stronghold
The vampire council's territory rose from the mountains like a crown of stone and shadow.
Massive pillars carved with ancient blood-runes framed the entrance.
The moment Ariana stepped across the boundary, she felt it — the weight of centuries pressing against her skin.
She hadn't set foot here since she fled five years ago.
Jayden walked beside her, close enough that his sleeve brushed hers occasionally.
Not accidental.
Intentional.
The twins walked between them.
Protected.
Claimed.
As they approached the inner chamber, whispers followed.
Vampires watched from the shadows.
Some curious.
Some hostile.
All aware.
"They can feel the twins," Ariana murmured.
"I can feel it too," Jayden admitted quietly.
The chamber doors opened without touch.
Inside, seven elders sat in a crescent formation — their presence overwhelming, ancient power woven into every breath they took.
At the center sat Elder Valerius, the oldest among them.
His silver eyes fell immediately on the twins.
Silence filled the chamber.
Then—
"So it is true," Valerius said.
Jayden stepped forward, subtly shielding the children.
"They are under my protection."
A faint murmur rippled through the council.
"Half-human," one elder hissed.
"Impossible," another whispered.
Valerius raised a hand for silence.
"They are not impossible," he corrected calmly. "They are foretold."
Ariana's stomach twisted.
The prophecy again.
Valerius' gaze shifted to her.
"You ran from destiny, child."
"I ran from execution," she replied evenly.
A few elders shifted uncomfortably.
Jayden's voice dropped colder. "No harm will come to them."
"You do not command this council," an elder snapped.
Jayden's eyes flashed gold.
"No," he said quietly. "But I command myself."
The temperature in the chamber dropped.
Valerius leaned forward slightly.
"The awakening of their power has accelerated the prophecy."
Jayden stiffened. "Explain."
"The twins represent balance — blood and humanity woven together. But balance alone does not change the world."
Ariana's pulse thundered.
Valerius' gaze slid to her abdomen.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
"And the third?" he asked.
The air shattered.
Jayden turned sharply to Ariana.
"What third?"
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Ariana's hands trembled slightly.
The elders were watching her now.
Not the twins.
Her.
Valerius' voice was almost gentle.
"The third child carries dominance. Power unbound. The one who tips the scale."
Jayden's eyes dropped to Ariana's stomach.
And this time—
He felt it.
A faint flicker.
A heartbeat not entirely her own.
His expression changed instantly.
Shock.
Fear.
Then something deeper.
"You're pregnant," he whispered.
The words echoed through the chamber like a detonated truth.
Ariana closed her eyes briefly.
"Yes."
The twins looked between them in confusion.
Jayden stepped closer to her.
"How long?"
"Not long," she answered. "I didn't know for certain until recently."
Valerius exhaled slowly.
"The prophecy is complete."
"Enough," Jayden snapped.
His hand slid to Ariana's waist instinctively.
Protective.
Possessive.
United.
"No council decides the fate of my family."
The word family rang through the stone walls.
Several elders exchanged uneasy glances.
Because this was no longer just political.
This was lineage.
Valerius spoke carefully now.
"The vampire world is fragile. If the prophecy unfolds unchecked, either we ascend… or we fall."
Jayden's voice lowered dangerously.
"Then pray it ascends."
A tense silence followed.
Finally, Valerius inclined his head slightly.
"The children will not be harmed."
Ariana exhaled shakily.
"For now," Valerius added.
Jayden's eyes darkened.
"If any of you so much as consider—"
"They will be trained," Valerius interrupted smoothly. "Guided. Watched."
Ariana stiffened. "Watched?"
"The council cannot ignore them."
Jayden's grip tightened on her waist.
"They stay with us."
Valerius regarded him for a long moment.
Then nodded once.
"For now."
It wasn't victory.
But it wasn't war either.
Yet.
As they exited the chamber, tension clung to them like smoke.
Jayden stopped in the corridor.
Turned to Ariana.
"You were going to tell me?" he asked quietly.
"Yes."
"When?"
She didn't have an answer.
His hand moved gently to her stomach.
The twins watched silently.
"You were carrying my child again," he murmured.
Emotion broke through his composure for the first time.
"I lost five years," he said. "I won't lose another."
She looked up at him — really looked at him.
"I was afraid," she admitted.
"Of me?"
"Of losing you."
His expression softened painfully.
"You already did."
The truth settled heavily between them.
Then he leaned closer.
Not possessive.
Not demanding.
Just certain.
"You don't face this alone anymore."
His forehead brushed hers briefly.
A quiet promise.
Behind them, shadows shifted.
The council was watching.
The prophecy was moving.
And somewhere beyond the mountains, forces darker than the council had felt the awakening too.
The twins.
The third child.
The bloodline that could either unite the vampire-human world…
Or destroy it.