Ashes of the Covenant

Two nights after the Crimson Rebellion, Varek dreamed of her again.

Not Selene.

Her.

Eriseth.

The first vampire queen. The blood mother. The devourer of gods.

In the dream, she stood in a field of ash and bone, naked beneath a bleeding moon, her body glistening with gore, her eyes the color of freshly spilt blood. Her voice, when it came, was both silken and shattering.

"Come to me, child of conflict. I want to taste what makes you hybrid."

He woke gasping.

Selene stirred beside him in the tent, her body warm under the furs. "Another dream?"

He nodded, wiping sweat from his brow.

Selene rose to her knees, bare, moonlight tracing her curves. She climbed into his lap without asking, straddling him, her breath soft against his ear.

"I'll make you forget her," she whispered. "Every time."

They rode through the Sunken Hollows that morning, following Vaelira's map toward the Temple of Thirst, said to lie beneath the shattered cliffs of Mourndusk. The terrain became increasingly unnatural—twisted trees that bled when touched, pools of black water that whispered in forgotten tongues, and stone statues of screaming faces reaching for the sky.

By the time they made camp, both wolves and vampires in their group were growing anxious.

"We're close," Vaelira said, drawing her cloak tighter. "Too close."

Selene looked at Varek. "Do you feel it?"

He nodded.

The air itself tasted hungry

They found the temple at dusk.

Carved into the side of a mountain, it resembled a gaping mouth, its teeth stalactites of obsidian and bone. Ancient runes glowed faintly red along the archway. A thick mist spilled from its depths, reeking of blood and rot.

"Welcome to Eriseth's cradle," Vaelira said softly. "If she wakes... this world drowns."

Varek stepped forward first.

Selene followed without hesitation.

Inside, the temple was alive.

Its walls pulsed with a slow, rhythmic throb. Veins—real, wet, twitching veins—lined the floor. The air was thick with blood magic. Every step they took sent shivers through the stone, like walking across a dreaming beast's tongue.

Deeper in, they found the Well of Blood—a massive basin, filled with dark crimson liquid, bubbling faintly. At its center floated a heart the size of a man, chained in runes, still beating.

And beneath it: a woman suspended in crystal and bone.

Eriseth.

Naked. Perfect. Dead and yet alive.

Selene took a step forward, awe and horror on her face. "Is that—?"

"Yes," Vaelira whispered. "And she stirs."

Suddenly, the runes around the well flared. A shriek echoed through the chamber—low, seductive, inhuman.

A voice spilled into their minds.

"You've brought me my child."

Selene grabbed her glaive. "She's speaking to you."

Varek clenched his fists. "She's not my mother."

"But you are mine," the voice purred. "Born of fangs and fur. Neither one. Both. The end of all lines... and the beginning of mine."

The temple shook.

Selene turned to Vaelira. "How do we stop her?"

Vaelira didn't answer.

She was kneeling, hands glowing with bloodlight.

"Vaelira!"

Vaelira looked up, eyes weeping blood. "I'm sorry... I thought I could resist her."

Selene moved to kill her—too late.

The heart in the well exploded.

Eriseth awoke.

Her body shattered the crystal, spilling red mist and screams. She floated above the well, radiant and monstrous, her long black hair swirling like smoke, her eyes glowing with endless hunger.

"My king," she purred, looking at Varek. "Come, let me taste you."

Selene screamed and lunged—her glaive slashing across the queen's midriff.

Eriseth vanished and reappeared behind her, grabbing Selene by the throat.

"You stink of wolf."

Varek roared—and transformed.

Not into the half-form.

Into something more.

Something ancient.

His body grew darker, taller, a halo of shadow forming behind his head. Red wings of energy erupted from his back. The air around him cracked.

Even Eriseth paused.

"You are... evolving."

Varek launched at her.

The chamber became a warzone of blood and shadow.

Meanwhile, Vaelira wept on the floor.

Selene crawled toward her, blood streaming from her nose. "You betrayed us."

"I didn't mean to. She touched my mind."

"You let her."

Vaelira looked up. "You think you know pain? I loved Alaric. He gave his soul to that thing. I thought... if I helped seal her again, I could end it all. For both of us."

Selene looked to where Varek and Eriseth clashed mid-air, explosions of power shaking the temple.

"We're not dying today," she growled.

And then she drank from the well.

Selene screamed.

The blood magic seared her insides, burned her soul, tried to unmake her.

But she held on.

To Varek. To the moon. To rage.

Her eyes turned white.

Her glaive caught flame.

And she flew.

Varek faltered.

Eriseth's claws tore into his side, black veins spreading across his skin. Her lips brushed his cheek, her voice like poisoned honey.

"You are beautiful, child. Let me make you mine."

He spat blood into her mouth. "I already belong to someone."

Selene hit her like a meteor.

Her glaive burned with solar fire.

Eriseth screamed as the blade drove into her chest.

She collapsed, blood pouring from her eyes.

"Not yet," she hissed.

And with a final blast of red mist, she vanished.

Silence.

Varek collapsed.

Selene fell to her knees beside him.

"Stay with me," she whispered.

He smiled weakly. "You drank the well?"

She nodded, crying.

"You're crazy."

"You love that."

"I do."

They kissed through blood and smoke.

Later, after they dragged Vaelira out and sealed the temple entrance with collapsing stone, they made camp beneath the moon.

Selene sat naked in his lap, her back to his chest, his arms around her waist.

"You risked your life."

"I had to."

"She'll come back."

"I'll kill her again."

He kissed her shoulder. "I love you."

She turned and climbed into his arms, her mouth devouring his.

They made love under the shattered sky.

Hard. Needy. Endless.

Like death could wait.

Far away

Eriseth stood in the void between worlds, blood dripping from her wound.

"Interesting," she purred.

Behind her, Alaric knelt.

"My queen," he whispered.

"Not yet," she said.

"But soon."