Chapter 12: The Blood Moon Ceremony

The moon rose blood-red over Silver Hollow. Lucien sat in the center of the ruined manor, his body hunched over, hands trembling against his knees. His skin glistened with sweat, and black veins crawled up his neck, pulsing like living things beneath his flesh. Serena watched him from across the room, her heart pounding. He hadn’t spoken in hours. His chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths, and every so often, he would twitch violently, his teeth clenching as he suppressed whatever darkness was clawing inside him. Serena wiped her damp palms on her dress and stepped closer. “Lucien?” she whispered, her voice fragile. “Can you hear me?” Lucien flinched, lifting his head slowly. His eyes — still black, still wrong — locked onto hers. For a moment, he didn’t move, didn’t speak. Then he smiled. It wasn’t his smile. “I hear everything,” he rasped, his voice distorted, layered with something ancient and cruel. “The forest. The blood. *You.*” Serena’s chest tightened. “This