Chapter 4
The train’s screeching halt at Schattenwald station was a grim welcome. A biting wind, carrying the scent of damp earth and a faint, metallic tang, whipped through the desolate platform. Emilia, clutching the heavy silver locket, felt confident yet reluctant to feed her curiosity. The town, if it could be called that, felt abandoned, a collection of shuttered houses and empty streets.
She met a woman in one of the inns with very few people in them.
The innkeeper, her eyes like chipped flint, pointed a finger towards an overgrown path. “Valois Manor,” she croaked, her voice like the rustling of dead leaves. “Best left alone, child. That place… it ain’t right.”
Emilia, fueled by a desperate need for answers, ignored the warning. The path, barely visible, snaked through the dense, shadowed forest. The air grew colder, the silence deeper, broken only by the crunch of her boots on fallen leaves. After what felt like an eternity, the trees parted, revealing a sight that made her breath catch in her throat.
A rusted wrought-iron gate, half-swallowed by vines, stood before her. Beyond it lay a neglected graveyard, a sea of weathered tombstones with concrete crosses leaning at unsettling angles. And in the heart of this eerie scenery, silhouetted against the grey sky, stood Valois Manor. It was a dark, imposing structure, its stone walls seemingly sucking in the light, its tall, narrow windows like vacant eyes staring out into the gloom. The place exuded an aura of ancient sorrow and hidden power.
A wave of dread, mixed with a strange, unsettling familiarity, washed over her. She pushed open the creaking gate and walked through the graveyard, her footsteps echoing on the cobblestone path. The manor doors, heavy and ornate, stood slightly ajar. She pushed them open and stepped into a vast, echoing hall, the air thick with the scent of dust and old wood.
A single chandelier, shrouded in cobwebs, cast long, distorted shadows across the marble floor. “Hello?” Emilia called out, her voice echoing in the oppressive silence.
A woman emerged from the shadows, her silver hair gleaming in the dim light. Her eyes, a striking blue, held a mixture of sadness and relief. “Emilia,” she said, her voice soft and welcoming. “Welcome home.”
“Aunt Viv?” Emilia asked, her voice trembling as she slowly remembered the face.
“Yes, my dear,” Vivienne replied, her eyes filled with a gentle warmth. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Before Emilia could think about how her memory of Aunt Viv had returned to her the moment she saw her, Vivienne grabbed her arm and led her through the grand, echoing halls, each room filled with antique furniture and portraits of stern-faced men and women with unsettlingly intense eyes. They entered a large drawing room, where a fire crackled in the hearth, casting flickering shadows across the room. And there, standing by the fire, were Luca and Cyrus.
Emilia’s breath caught in her throat. Luca’s presence was as intense as she remembered, his dark eyes fixed on her, radiating an almost tangible energy. Cyrus, as always, was a study in stillness, his amber eyes observing her with an unnerving intensity.
“Emilia,” Luca said, his voice deep and resonant. “You’ve found your way.” His voice was the same voice that called out to her during her three year long coma.
“Yes,” Emilia replied, her voice barely a whisper. “I… I had to.”
Vivienne explained the history of the Valois family, the ancient bloodline. She spoke of Emilia’s parents and how they had sworn an oath of protection for Emilia with the Valois family when they had discovered that she was the key to an ancient prophecy.
“You were shielded,” Vivienne said, her voice gentle. “For your own protection. Your parents swore to protect you from the harm that might come with the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy. This was why they bethrothed you to the Alpha, Luca Valois. He will guide you and keep you from harm’s way.”
As Vivienne spoke, Emilia felt a strange tension building within her. She looked at Luca, his gaze unwavering, and felt a jolt of energy, a spark that ignited within her. He stepped closer, his presence filling the room.
“Emilia,” he said, his voice low and hypnotic, “you have a power within you, a power that resonates with mine and this power is ours to share for a lifetime.” He reached out, his fingers tracing the line of her jaw. “Let me show you.”
His touch sent a wave of warmth through her, a strange, intoxicating sensation. She leaned into him, her heart pounding. His eyes, dark and intense, held hers captive. For a moment, the world around them faded away, leaving only the two of them, connected by an invisible thread.
Cyrus, however, remained unmoved. “Sentimental displays are a waste of time,” he said, his voice sharp. “She needs to learn to control her abilities, not indulge in romantic fantasies.”
“Perhaps you lack the capacity for such things, Cyrus,” Luca retorted, his voice laced with a hint of amusement.
Cyrus’s amber eyes narrowed. “I deal in facts, not emotions. Show me proof, Emilia. Show me this ‘power’ you supposedly possess.”
Emilia, still reeling from the strange intimacy with Luca, felt a surge of anger. “I’m not some performing animal,” she snapped. “I don’t have to prove anything to you.”
“Then you are useless,” Cyrus said, his voice flat.
The air in the room crackled with energy. The fire in the hearth flared, casting dancing shadows across the walls. Emilia’s hands began to glow, the energy swirling around her fingertips. The chandelier above them swayed violently, its crystals rattling.
“What’s happening?” Vivienne asked, her voice filled with a mixture of awe and concern.
“She’s reacting to the emotional stress,” Luca said, his eyes fixed on Emilia. “Her abilities are tied to her emotions. Cyrus, you just triggered it.”
Emilia, her anger reaching a boiling point, felt a surge of power erupt from within her. The chandelier, ripped from its chains, crashed to the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces. The room trembled, the air thick with raw energy. Emilia, her eyes glowing with an otherworldly light, stared at Cyrus, her voice low and dangerous. “Don’t test me.”