The night air was sharp and cold, slicing through Macy’s lungs like knives as she ran up the winding path to Nicholas’s villa. Her heels clacked against the stone steps, echoing off the shadows that clung to the Hollywood Hills. Every instinct in her screamed that something was off, yet she pushed forward. Zoe’s voice still echoed in her mind, smooth and persuasive: “Nicholas is waiting for you. Hurry before he leaves.”
Macy had trusted that lie. She had wanted to believe it. She hadn’t realized how naïve that trust would cost her.
When she reached the heavy iron doors of the villa, her breath was ragged, and her hands trembled as she pushed them open. The cold darkness inside wrapped around her, more oppressive than she expected. Her footsteps were swallowed by the silence. The villa’s usual opulent warmth, the faint scent of aged wood and exotic oils, was gone, replaced by a chill that seemed to crawl beneath her skin.
And then she saw it.
The chamber at the heart of the villa—the one Nicholas had warned her never to enter—was lit with an eerie crimson glow. The air itself seemed to vibrate with malice. And in the center, emerging from the crystal coffin, was the most terrifying sight she had ever beheld.
Evelyn Rose’s eyes snapped open, a predatory gleam that sent a shiver down Macy’s spine. Her once-ethereal beauty was now twisted into something lethal, her fangs bared, fingers clawing the air as if testing the limits of her regained strength. Her dark hair fell in disheveled waves over porcelain shoulders, and the shadows clung to her like a living shroud.
Macy froze, realizing immediately that this was no longer a chance encounter, no accident—she had walked straight into a trap.
Zoe stepped from the shadows behind her, smiling too widely, a snake in the guise of a friend.
“Macy,” she said, her voice sweet and cruel all at once. “Did you really think you had luck on your side? Nicholas isn’t yours. He’s never been yours. His heart belongs to Evelyn.”
Macy’s chest tightened, terror and disbelief battling within her. “Zoe… why?” Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
“Because I’m smarter,” Zoe replied with a laugh that made Macy’s blood run cold. “And because you’ve had everything handed to you. It’s time you disappeared.”
Before Macy could react, Evelyn lunged.
She moved with blinding speed, a blur of motion, and Macy barely had time to dodge. But the space was too confined, the vampire’s reach too long. Evelyn’s claws slashed across Macy’s arm, tearing through flesh and leaving a trail of burning pain. Macy staggered back, dropping to her knees, clutching the wound, her vision swimming.
And then it happened.
Her blood fell in tiny, glistening drops onto Evelyn’s outstretched hand. A hiss erupted from the vampire as smoke curled from her skin. Her eyes widened, burning with shock and fury.
“What… what is this?” Evelyn shrieked, her body recoiling from the very blood she sought to destroy Macy. The crimson droplets glowed faintly in the dim light, illuminating Macy’s trembling fingers.
Macy’s mind raced. The warmth in her veins, the pulsing strength she had never understood—it was her power. Sunlight trapped in blood. She could feel it. She could feel herself glowing from the inside, a force she didn’t yet fully comprehend. Evelyn’s shrieks echoed like nails on a coffin lid, smoke rising from her skin, her claws retracting slightly as if burned by the invisible fire.
At that moment, the truth hit Macy like a lightning strike: she was the Sun Descendant. Her blood—the very essence of her—could harm creatures of darkness, could heal, could protect. And she had been blind to it all this time.
“Stay back!” Macy’s voice cracked, but the authority behind it was undeniable, raw with the power she hadn’t realized she possessed. Evelyn hissed, advancing again, fury twisting every feature.
The sound of wings flaring, footsteps heavy and fast, heralded another presence.
“Nicholas!” Macy cried, relief and fear colliding in her chest.
He burst into the chamber, eyes blazing with a combination of rage and desperation. “Macy!” His voice was sharp, commanding, yet filled with unbridled emotion. Seeing her bloodied arm, seeing her facing death alone, something snapped within him.
Evelyn turned, snarling at the intruder. “You brought her here!” she spat. “You’ll regret this!”
Nicholas didn’t hesitate. He threw himself between Macy and Evelyn, his movements fluid and lethal. His fangs glinted in the dim red light, and though his eyes were dark with anger, they held a flicker of relief that she was alive.
“Macy,” he shouted over the chaos, his hand gripping hers for a brief, grounding moment. “I’m so sorry! I never… I never abandoned you! Everything I did, every cold word, every distance I kept—it was to protect you!”
Macy’s eyes widened, pain and confusion warring with trust. “Nicholas… why?”
“Because if I had been with you openly, she would have killed you! I cannot explain… not until she is neutralized. But I swear—never once did I betray you!”