Shadows Of Rebirth

 I teleported into my room, the familiar surroundings settling around me. The morning light filtered through the curtains, but the weight of the night lingered in my bones, leaving me drained.

 I didn't expect to find her here,my stepmother was already inside, standing near the window. Her sharp eyes turned to meet mine as I entered, and I froze. The room suddenly felt smaller, suffocating.

 She didn't speak right away. She just stared at me, her gaze sharp and calculating. There was something in her eyes—a quiet, unnerving knowledge.

 Her eyes then drifted over my body, slow and deliberate. I could feel her searching, like she was trying to piece something together. Then, her gaze fell to my neck, where the mark from Lorenzo's kiss still burned faintly.

 "What's this?" she asked, her voice soft, but the undertone was anything but kind.

 My fingers instinctively touched the mark, but it was too late. She had already seen it.

 She took a step closer, her eyes narrowing. "Care to explain, Mira?" she pressed, her voice cool, probing.

 I remained silent, trying to calm the racing beat of my heart. There was no way to deny it—she knew something was different.

 But then, just as I expected her to push further, her gaze shifted. It was subtle at first, but I saw it—her focus shifted from the mark on my neck to something else.

 A flicker of recognition crossed her face, and her eyes narrowed again. She wasn't just looking at me—she was looking through me, as if trying to pierce some hidden truth.

 "There's something else," she murmured, almost to herself.

 I felt a chill run through me. She could feel it. She could sense it. The foreign magic that clung to me, something… other. I hadn't fully realized it myself, but now that I thought about it, I had felt it—an energy, an aura that wasn't mine. It belonged to him,Lorenzo.

 Her gaze turned sharper. "What's this... foreign magic inside you?" she asked, her voice suddenly cold and calculating. "It's not your own. It doesn't belong here."

 I froze, my breath catching in my throat. She could sense the power, the dark magic that had woven itself into my being. Lorenzo's magic. The very essence of him.

 "You're involved with him, aren't you?" she pressed, her voice low and filled with disgust. "The vampire lord. You've been hiding this from me."

 My stomach twisted. I couldn't deny it. The mark on my neck, the magic flowing through me—it was all from him.

 I opened my mouth to speak, but the words caught in my throat. What could I say? That I didn't understand any of this? That I hadn't asked for it?

 Her lips curled into a twisted smile. "You're playing with fire, Mira. You think you can control this? Control him?"

 I stood there, frozen, unsure how to respond. My stepmother wasn't just suspicious anymore—she knew, and she was toying with me, testing my limits.

 "Don't think you're fooling anyone," she said, her eyes burning with intent. "There are those who will come looking for you, for him. And when they do, there'll be no hiding your involvement."

 I held her gaze, my heart pounding in my chest. I couldn't tell if she was threatening me, warning me, or simply savoring the discovery. But whatever it was, I knew one thing for sure.

 This was only the beginning.

 With a final glance, she turned and left, her footsteps echoing in the silence of the room. I stood there, trying to steady my breath, the weight of her words sinking in.

 I was no longer just her stepdaughter. I was someone else's interest now. And that interest was far more dangerous than I could have ever imagined.