I paused, letting the weight of my words settle into them like stone dropped into still water.
"The first step," I continued, my voice calm but firm, "is internal. You must learn to sense your abilities. This begins not with motion, but with stillness entering a meditative state. Close your eyes, quiet your thoughts, and turn your consciousness inward. Do not focus on the room, the others around you, or even the sound of my voice. Seek instead the current that now pulses within your very soul. Will yourself to feel it. To see it. I'll give you a moment."
As my voice faded into the hush of the chamber, the girls obediently closed their eyes. One by one, they stilled breathing slowly and even, posture relaxed yet alert as if sinking beneath the surface of their own minds.
* * *
Lilya followed suit. Her breath was steady, her expression composed as she drifted inward. At first, only the familiar greeted her: flight and invisibility gifts she had already called upon. They were comforting, anchors in this sea of unknowns. But then, like ancient doors groaning open, new sensations began to stir within her.
Blood Projectile came first. She understood intuitively an ability to shape hardened blood into weapons, sacrificing mana for devastating precision. The forms would reflect her intent, her evolving style; their number and lethality would grow in step with her mastery.
Then Bat Form and Mist Form, visceral and primal transformations tied to instinct more than intellect.
Next surfaced Power Lock and Mana Lock curses that sapped an enemy's strength or unbalanced their mana. She could sense their reach expanding with her strength, from one target to many.
Water Walk flowed to her next, effortless and silent, like walking on memory itself. It was innate, like flight. Natural.
Disguise followed an elegant veil of falsehood. It concealed her nature entirely, making her seem fully human, both to the eye and to mana-sight. She could feel its duration stretch the more she leaned into it, an artful lie made truth.
Then came Blood Rage, a feral bloom of violence. It offered a surge of speed and power, fueled by mana and sharpened by rage. With time, its intensity and duration would grow, echoing her will.
But the tide was not yet done.
Speed Boost. Charm. Mass Buff. Stun. Paralysis. They surged forward like whispers from a sleeping god, each revealing itself as a facet of her deepening potential. Her awareness expanded, mind straining to contain the breadth of what she now was what she was becoming.
By the time she had grasped the final thread of her abilities, Lilya opened her eyes.
And realized she was the last.
A flicker of self-consciousness crossed her features. Her gaze dipped, the flush of embarrassment tinting her cheeks.
I felt it through our bond sharp and sudden and answered it gently through our telepathic link.
"It's only natural that you took the longest," I said, my voice a calm murmur in her mind. "You are my Blood Consort, the second-highest rank among vampires. You possess nearly the entire breadth of our kind's abilities. The others, as Blood Attendants, are bound by the limits of their station. You have no cause to feel ashamed."
Relief bloomed in her chest, brushing away the tension that had begun to coil around her.
I turned back to the group, stepping to the center of the room where the pale torchlight pooled around me.
"Now that you're all aware of your abilities," I said aloud, my voice echoing faintly through the stone hall, "it's time to begin your true training learning to use them under pressure, in motion, in combat. For the next three days, we will train here without rest or distraction. My goal is simple: to make your responses second nature. Because in battle, hesitation is death."
And with those final words,the training began.
* * *
Redovus Supercontinent, Central Back Region
Deep beneath the surface of Hemokisberg, Birth City of Clan Hemokis.
Far beneath the surface of the world, within the hollowed heart of Castle Hemokis, the great obsidian throne sat wreathed in silence. Alexander Van Hemokis reclined against its cold embrace, a statue of power and malice carved in flesh. At his side, Ava Ven Hemokis, his Blood Consort, sat in her smaller, ornately-carved seat, her fingers delicately intertwined with his. Her presence was quiet, grounding, like the eye of a storm.
Lining both sides of the vast hall stood hundreds of vampire nobles, all of them at least of Baron rank. Attendance at such an audience was not granted lightly, it was a privilege earned through blood and legacy.
"We lost Reinhardt," Alexander said at last, the words heavy with restrained rage. His voice, though low, carried like iron dragged across stone. The tremor beneath his calm tone echoed through the chamber, subtle but unmistakable. Around him, the air grew taut.
"The ritual failed. Reinhardt will be demoted to Marquise upon revival." His crimson gaze smoldered. "He was mere steps away from evolving into a Pure Blood, our clan's fifteenth. Such a triumph would have shifted the entire balance of power in our favor. Thirty-seven thousand years wasted."
Ava's grip on his hand tightened. It was a small gesture, but it steadied him. The fire in his aura dulled slightly, though it still glowed like coals beneath ash.
"Lucius. Leora." His voice sharpened. "From what fragments I gleaned from Reinhardt's dying thoughts, the fault lies with the girl. She hesitated more perceptive than expected."
"So it seems." Lucius murmured, offering no defense, only grim agreement.
Leora's eyes narrowed, her voice clipped. "If we're assigning blame, it should fall on Cassius. That idiot practically announced our intentions the moment he opened his mouth."
A voice from among the gathered nobles interrupted. "Wasn't Cassius already punished? He may have escaped the worst, but he was disciplined."
It was Ternius Kin Van Hemokis Alexander's seventh son and father to the disgraced Cassius.
Leora turned to face him, her expression unreadable. "I'm not asking for blood. I'm stating facts her hesitation came from doubt. And that doubt came from him."
Lucius raised a hand, quieting the room. "It doesn't matter now. The situation has shifted. A Vampire Progenitor has fully awakened one with significant potential and unknown loyalties. Worse, we failed to contain him. Even if we deflect blame onto a human, our enemies will seize the opportunity to weaken our standing. Especially with our recent purging of Clan Dracolis still fresh in their minds."
Alexander leaned forward, his fingers steepled in thought, eyes hard with calculation.
"To move against the Southern Region, we'd have to pass through the territories of major clans aligned with the anti-puppeteering faction. They would not grant passage not when they oppose our methods of manipulating Progenitors. But if he steps beyond his domain we can frame it as a threat to all vampirekind."
Lucius tilted his head. "Do you believe such drastic action is warranted?"
"Without question," Alexander said, his tone like the closing of a coffin lid. "If we allow him to grow unchecked, our place as the dominant Second Generation clan and the heirs to the Originals may be usurped. And if we destroy an Original." His lips curled into a cold smile. "It would shatter the myth of their invincibility. It's time they remembered that being first does not mean being eternal."
A storm gathered on the horizon.
And Alexander Van Hemokis intended to be the one to unleash it.