CHAPTER 0 – The Night Everything Broke

The night burned.

Not with fire alone—but with screams, gunshots, and something darker pouring through the cracks of the world.

I didn’t know how I got into Blackwood Hall.

I only knew I was running.

Barefoot.

Bleeding.

My lungs felt like they were shredding apart with every breath as I tore through shattered corridors. Smoke blinded me. Alarms wailed like dying animals. Somewhere far behind me—men were screaming.

Not in fear.

In agony.

“Damon!” I screamed into the chaos. “Damon, where are you?!”

No answer.

Only the sound of glass exploding and something heavy slamming into walls.

The moon outside the broken windows was red.

Not a reflection.

Not light.

Red like a wound that refused to close.

I skidded into the grand hall—and finally saw him.

He was on his knees in the center of the marble floor.

Blood streaked down his face.

His black suit was torn, soaked, ruined.

And around him…

People were lying unnaturally still.

Not sleeping.

Not breathing.

Dead silence pressed against my ears so hard I couldn’t hear my own heartbeat.

I stumbled toward him.

“Damon…” My voice broke as I dropped beside him, grabbing his shoulders.

His head lifted slowly.

For the first time since I’d known him…

There was no control in his eyes.

Only pain.

And something worse.

Fear.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he whispered hoarsely.

A distant roar shook the walls.

The lights above us flickered violently.

Shadows detached from the ceiling like liquid and slid across the floor toward us.

No shape.

No form.

Just hunger.

“I was looking for you!” I cried. “Everyone is running—there’s something in this place—”

“I know,” he whispered.

The shadows surged closer.

The temperature dropped suddenly, my breath fogging in front of me.

Then—footsteps echoed.

Slow.

Measured.

Coming from every direction.

Figures emerged from the smoke and darkness, surrounding the hall in a tightening circle. Their faces were hidden. Their weapons were not.

One of them stepped forward.

“You’re late, Damon Blackwood,” the distorted voice said. “The ritual is already awake.”

My heart slammed violently.

“Ritual?” I whispered.

Damon’s hand tightened around mine suddenly.

Hard.

Protective.

Desperate.

“Don’t say anything,” he murmured. “No matter what they promise you. No matter what they threaten you with.”

A sharp crack echoed.

Something exploded against one of the pillars.

Stone shattered.

The shadows screamed.

And then—

I saw her.

Dragged forward between two of the hooded figures.

Struggling.

Crying.

My throat closed when our eyes met.

“ You why are you here …?”

Her face was pale with terror. “Aanya, I swear I didn’t know! I swear I tried to—”

A hand clamped over her mouth.

The figure forced her down to her knees near the bloodstained floor.

“You brought the girl exactly where she was needed,” the voice said.

My blood froze.

Damon surged forward violently, but invisible force slammed him back to the ground like a god’s hand pressing him down.

He groaned in pain.

I screamed his name.

One of the figures turned toward me.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

“And now,” the voice said softly, “we complete what was never meant to be broken.”

The shadows rose higher.

The floor beneath us vibrated.

The red moon outside darkened.

Something ancient moved beneath the hall.

“My fault…” I whispered in horror.

Damon dragged himself forward, leaving a dark trail behind him.

“No,” he growled through blood. “This is not on you—”

A circle of symbols ignited beneath his knees.

Flames erupted.

Black.

Silent.

Hungry.

He screamed.

Not in pain.

In fury.

I tried to run to him—

Invisible force hurled me backward into a marble pillar.

The impact knocked the breath from my lungs.

I slid down the wall, gasping.

My vision blurred as footsteps approached.

The hooded figure loomed over me.

“You have two choices,” the voice said calmly.

“One saves him.”

“The other saves her.”

I looked desperately between Damon and Rhea.

Both trapped.

Both bleeding.

Both calling my name with their eyes.

“There is no third option,” the figure said.

My entire body trembled.

“What do you want from me?” I whispered.

The shadows leaned closer.

Listening.

Waiting.

The voice lowered.

“We want what already belongs to you.”

The world tilted.

The red moon outside split with thunder.

The flames surged higher.

Damon screamed my name—

And everything went white with pain.

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