A scream tore through the Night Blood throne hall.
Not of fear.
Of realization.
The Bulb of Life glowed violently, projecting fragments of memory into the air like living visions.
Flames.
Blood.
A silver moon split in two.
The Seer's eyes darkened until they were almost entirely black.
The court fell to its knees.
"Are you saying that—"
King Valtar could not finish the sentence.
His voice trembled.
"Yes," the Seer answered.
"The legend is not merely legend."
The Bulb shifted.
And a voice echoed through the chamber.
Deep.
Broken.
Ancient.
"I am the Thousand-Year Nine-Tailed Fox."
The vision sharpened.
A man stood beneath a fractured moon.
Silver hair. Golden eyes. Nine shadows flickering behind him like living fire.
"I am an alien in this human world."
The court gasped.
"A thousand years have passed since the death of Ellen… my fiancéé."
The name echoed like a curse.
"Ellen was murdered by the vampire clan."
The Seer lowered her head.
The memory unfolded.
"It was on that fateful day," the voice continued, "after spending a hundred of years on Earth, that I prepared to return to my kingdom."
A glowing portal shimmered in the sky.
"But before I could leave… I received word."
"Ellen had been kidnapped by the Night Blood clan."
The throne room froze.
"I arrived too late."
The vision showed him falling to his knees.
A woman in white lay motionless in his arms.
Her hair pale as snow.
Ellen was a white witch.
"She was already gone."
His voice broke.
"I held her cold body and cried out in pain."
The Bulb trembled violently.
"Ellen saved my life once. She stood beside me when this world rejected me. We were planning our wedding."
Silence.
Then—
The sky in the vision turned red.
"In rage… I attacked."
The Nine-Tailed Fox unleashed devastation.
Vampires burned.
The palace crumbled.
Blood ran like rivers.
"I killed every living creature I laid my eyes upon."
The Seer's staff shook.
"And in my fury…"
The portal in the sky began to close.
"I missed my return."
The vision showed him watching helplessly as the gateway sealed shut.
"I was forced to remain."
"Another thousand years."
The moon above him darkened.
A mark appeared across his chest.
Silver.
Glowing.
A crescent branded into flesh.
"The Mark of the Cursed Moon."
The vision vanished.
The throne hall fell silent.
The Bulb dimmed.
Every noble stared at it in disbelief.
So the legend was true.
The Nine-Tailed Fox had not attacked for conquest.
He attacked for love.
King Valtar gripped his throne.
"How…" his voice was strained, "could our princess be bound to the bloodline of our greatest enemy?"
The Seer lifted her gaze.
"It is not coincidence."
"The Cursed Moon has aligned again."
"The Fox's will soon awake."
"And the Key…"
She swallowed.
"Is him."
A murmur of fear rippled across the chamber.
"If the princess fails to convert the Key," the Seer continued, "the fox will awake his fury ."
"And this time—"
"There will be no grieving groom."
"Only a king returning to finish what he began."
A heavy pause filled the air.
"How could we have been so blind?" one elder whispered.
"How could the princess be left at the mercy of our ancient enemy?"
The Seer's dark eyes flickered.
"Because fate does not choose sides."
"It demands balance."
And somewhere on Earth—
Under the same cursed moon—
Dylan Jones stood alone on a balcony.
The crescent mark beneath his collarbone pulsed faintly.
Morning light spilled across the dining hall of the Adams mansion.
Silver cutlery.
Untouched breakfast.
Thick silence.
Kael sat across from Isolde, his expression unreadable.
She hadn't slept.
Neither had he.
The sound of porcelain touching the table echoed faintly.
Then—
"Don't you have anything to say to me?"
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Isolde lowered her gaze.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to endanger us, but—"
"I told you," Kael interrupted sharply, "there is nothing like 'but.'"
His eyes darkened.
"You endangered us."
A pause.
"You are quitting the school immediately. I will handle the paperwork."
The decision was final.
Cold.
Protective.
"No."
The word left her lips instantly.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"Why not? I warned you repeatedly. Humans are not—"
"I found the Key."
She cut him off.
Silence.
Kael blinked once.
"Really?" The word escaped before he could control his tone.
"Yes."
A flicker of relief crossed his face.
"Then tell me where it is. I will retrieve it immediately."
"Dylan."
The name fell like a stone between them.
Kael's brow lifted slowly.
"What?"
"He houses the Key."
Kael leaned back slightly.
"That is impossible. You didn't check for the Mark of the Cursed Moon. You couldn't have confirmed it."
His voice wasn't mocking.
It was logical.
Isolde met his gaze steadily.
"He is my mate."
The air shifted.
Kael froze.
The words hit harder than any revelation about the Key.
"What did you say?"
"The Seer told me," she continued softly, "that the man who houses the Key… is my mate."
Kael stood abruptly, chair scraping against marble.
"No."
It wasn't anger.
It was refusal.
"That cannot be."
"It is."
Her voice trembled slightly now.
"I saw the red thread. It connected us."
Kael's fists clenched at his sides.
"Mate bonds can be manipulated."
"Not ours."
Silence.