(Soon after that A black carriage approached the Academy)
The black carriage hissed as it came to a halt, the skeletal horses breathing a grey, necrotic mist into the morning air. The door opened with a slow, deliberate creak, and out stepped Lord Vane. He was the man who had taught me how to kill without a sound—the coldest mentor in the High City.
He looked at the courtyard, his eyes landing on my powerful muscles and defensive stance. Vane didn't look impressed; he looked disappointed.
"You've grown thick in the neck, Drayan," Vane said, his voice like dry parchment. "You look more like a common brawler than a Prince of Drac."
"I am exactly what I need to be, Vane," I replied, his hand never leaving Wolfie's waist.
The Skirmish of Shadows
The fight didn't start with a word; it started with a blur. Vane moved with the terrifying speed of an Ancient, a streak of obsidian shadow that aimed straight for Wolfie.
I didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, his broad shoulders taking the brunt of Vane's impact. The shockwave of their collision cracked the stone floor beneath them. For a few frantic minutes, the courtyard was a chaos of silver and shadow. I fought with a raw, savage power he had never shown in the city—using his muscles to overpower Vane's surgical strikes.
Vane landed a kick that sent me skidding across the stone, but I flipped mid-air, his boots digging into the ground as he roared, ready to lunge again.
"Enough!" Vane shouted, raising a hand. A wall of cold, violet energy shimmered between them, forcing the combatants apart. Vane was breathing slightly harder, his silk cravat torn. He looked at me, then at the snarling werewolves surrounding the courtyard.
"You will win this fight today, Drayan," Vane admitted, smoothing his hair. "But you will lose the war. The City is already moving. The High Council has signed the 'Extinction Decree' for this village."
The Request for Wolfie
Vane's eyes shifted to Wolfie. He didn't look at her with the disgust Bianca had shown; he looked at her with a chilling, clinical curiosity.
"She is the anchor, isn't she?" Vane murmured. "The reason the Prince refuses to come home."
He stepped forward, but I immediately blocked him, his chest heaving, his muscles tensed for another strike.
"Stay back," I growled, his fangs fully extended.
"I am not here to kill her, boy," Vane said calmly. "In fact, I am the only one who can save her. Drayan, if you love her as much as you claim, you will let me speak to her. Privately. I have a truth to tell her that you are too cowardly to say yourself."
Wolfie stepped out from behind me . She looked at the old vampire, then at her me. She could see the fear in my eyes—not for myself , but for what Vane might say.
"Wolfie, no," I whispered, his hand catching her arm. "He's a manipulator. He'll plant poison in your mind."
"He's right about one thing, Drayan," Wolfie said softly, her amber eyes firm. "A fight won't stop the City. If he has something to say that can save this village, I have to hear it."
She looked at Vane. "Ten minutes. Under the Great Oak. If you try anything, my husband won't be the only thing you have to worry about."
I watched them walk toward the edge of the courtyard, my heart feeling like it was being squeezed by an iron fist. I stood in the center of the training grounds, the students watching me, my muscles still twitching with the urge to kill. I was a protector who had been forced to let his treasure walk into the lion's den.
The Private Conversation
Under the shadow of the Great Oak, Vane turned to Wolfie. The noise of the school faded.
"You think he's a hero," Vane started, his voice dropping to a low, melodic hum. "You think he's the boy who ran away for love. But do you know the real reason the High Council wants him back so badly? It isn't just his bloodline, girl."
Wolfie narrowed her eyes. "He loves me. That's the only truth I need."
Vane smiled, a cold, thin line. "Drayan is a living key. His soul was bound to the City's central vault before he was born. As long as he stays here, the City's magic dies. The longer he stays with you, the more 'human' he becomes—and the more the City crumbles. They aren't coming to take a husband, Wolfie. They are coming to take a battery. And if you keep him here... you aren't saving him. You are killing everyone in this valley when the City finally decides to come for its property with fire."
Wolfie felt the blood drain from her face. She looked back at Drayan, who was standing in the distance, looking like a lone, powerful statue guarding their future.
"What do you want?" she whispered.
"Tell him to leave," Vane said. "Tell him you don't love him. Break the bond yourself. If he leaves willingly, the City will leave Redpaveley in peace. If he stays... the blood of your father, your grandma, and your students will be on your hands."
Vane bowed elegantly and began to walk back toward his carriage. "He loves you enough to die for you, little wolf. The question is... do you love him enough to let him hate you? to let him go?"