Chapter Four: Shadows of the Past

  Evanora’s POV

  I had survived prisons before.

  This one led straight back to the vampire realm.

  The memory wasn’t distant.

  It rose the moment pain touched me.

  The cool liquid splashed across my face. Smelling faintly of iron.

  I flinched—then the whip cracked, the lash slicing through my skin like a blade of fire.

  A sultry voice purred, “Ring any bells, sweetheart?”

  I looked up.

  A redhead stood before me—fierce, familiar. Her eyes were dark, her lips a shade too red, her smile too wide. Cruelty hung off her like perfume.

  She waved a whip with a golden handle. “This look familiar?”

  My gaze sharpened. A flash from the past—Exanimate Army recruitment. A thousand vampires had volunteered. Most of them weren't strong enough. I’d culled them with ruthless precision. Veronica my step mother the vampire Queen had intervened to spare some—and gifted me that very whip to keep them in line.

  The redhead lifted her chin proudly, revealing a half-healed scar on her throat.

  “You remember,” she whispered. “You should. You gave me this.”

  I nodded slowly. “You’re not exactly forgettable.”

  Her smirk sharpened. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  Another crack of the whip. I tensed, jaw clenched.

  “You did this to me,” she snarled. “I tried to join your precious army, and you tore open my neck. I should’ve died.”

  I met her gaze. “Why didn’t you?”

  Her expression turned venomous. “Furious, weren’t you, when The queen Veronica swapped your dagger for this whip? Thought it would keep you civil. You missed one.”

  She struck again.

  I didn’t flinch.

  “You’re weaker than any vampire in the kingdom,” she spat. “Still running your mouth?”

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  The whip flew—then stopped midair.

  A pale hand gripped the end of it like it weighed nothing.

  Raven.

  My second-in-command. Silent. Lethal.

  “Enough,” she said, her voice a low blade.

  The redhead’s eyes widened. “Raven,” she breathed.

  Raven didn’t blink. “You don’t touch her.”

  “She deserves it,” the redhead hissed. “You want revenge too, don’t you?”

  Raven’s smile was thin. “Revenge is my specialty.”

  Without another word, she twisted the whip, yanked it forward—and beheaded the redhead with a single, fluid motion.

  Ash scattered across the stone.

  “Unfinished business,” Raven murmured. “Checked off.”

  She turned to me, her expression softening. “Time to leave, Your Eternal Highness. We have a kingdom to reclaim.”

  She freed me from my chains. My limbs trembled. She caught me before I could fall.

  Raven pulled a simple blue gown from her satchel. “Can you dress yourself, or shall I help you?”

  I nodded, grateful but unspoken.

  She helped me with care, dressing me with warrior's precision. Her hands were steady. Efficient. Deadly.

  “How did you infiltrate?” I managed.

  “I eliminated the guards,” she replied, guiding me into the empty corridor. “They won’t bother us.”

  “Your work?” I asked.

  She flashed a grin. “ We've got backup . As always "

  Outside, shadowed figures waited.

  “Exanimates?” I asked.

  Raven nodded. “The Army of Exanimate still stands. We never stopped.”

  We moved quickly through the halls. Raven didn’t miss a step.

  “The redhead’s name was Katherine,” she said. “Took out half the Royal Guard to get to you. That was our opening.”

  I arched a brow. “The Guard doesn’t fall easily.”

  “She had help,” Raven said simply. “And I have my ways.”

  We reached the chariot. I leaned against Raven as she guided me inside.

  “Where now?” I asked.

  “Somewhere quiet,” she said. “You’re... not exactly subtle.”

  I laughed softly. “And you think you can keep me hidden?”

  “With my life, my princess”

  The Exanimate aren’t loyal to crowns. They’re mine.

  Fifty bled for my mark, took it willingly, knowing it feeds them power… and will devour them if they turn.

  They don’t stand in court halls or wear gilded armor.

  They wait in the shadows, patient as frost, silent as the grave.

  When I call, they come.

  And if you ever see them—it’s already too late.

  The chariot stopped.

  Raven helped me out. “Time to ditch the ride. We’ve got a sea to cross.”

  At the shore, my third in command Zagan waited. He offered me a coracle.

  “You’ll travel to my village,” Raven explained. “Far from Bloodworth Castle. You’ll be safe there.”

  I hesitated. “They all know my face.”

  “Your Eternal Highness,” she said gently. “You’ve changed. Your missing heart…the power, makes you harder to track.”

  I caught my reflection in the sea.

  Brown eyes.

  Skin a shade darker.

  Still dark hair—but changed, unmistakably.

  I sighed. “It’ll do.”

  Zagan helped me aboard.

  “Are you sure you can paddle?” he asked.

  I glared. “I may have lost my heart, Zagan. Not my strength.”

  He nodded

  We paddled through the dark.

  A long journey.

  Eventually, we paused in a forest. Zagan passed me a pouch of blood. I sipped sparingly. I wasn’t thirsting like before.

  By moonlight, I remembered my father’s decree—my execution.

  I shook the memory from my mind.

  We paddled again.

  But something changed.

  Zagan froze. “Look.”

  I turned.

  A glowing blue circle on the water.

  An enigmatic portal.

  “It’s pulling us in,” Zagan said. “Should we fight it?”

  I watched it ripple. It shimmered with raw, wild power.

  “No,” I said. “We don’t have a choice.”

  The current took us.

  I sank.

  Zagan shouted.

  “Go back!” I called. “Turn around! Get out of here!”

  He didn’t listen.

  I reached for him—but the portal dragged me down.

  Sand closed over me.

  Darkness.

  Weightless.

  Then—

  —

  I gasped, choking on air thick with heat.

  Desert.

  Sun.

  Endless dunes.

  I forced my limbs to move, crawling across sand that burned like fire.

  No Zagan.

  No Raven.

  Just me.

  Alone.

  Lost between worlds.

  And just when I thought it couldn’t get worse...

  A shadow loomed.

  A voice sneered, “Wakey, wakey, princess.” the werewolf guard sneered.

  The prision closed in

  The past blurred.

  The present took hold.

  Rough hands cuffed mine.

  I hissed. “Let go.”

  A guard shoved me down. “You’re not going anywhere.”

  Footsteps. A woman with a syringe.

  “Hold her,” she ordered.

  They grabbed my wrist.

  “A little blood test,” the woman said. “We’ll see what secrets you’re hiding.”

  The needle pierced skin.

  I clenched my jaw.

  They’d learn soon enough—

  I wasn’t the daughter of any Alpha.

  And I wasn’t done yet.