Chapter 7 A Pact Sealed in Blood

Rain fell in sheets as Aria stood at the edge of the rooftop, the city spread beneath her like a dark labyrinth. Her fists clenched around the blade at her side, still slick with blood from the scout who thought he could follow her undetected. The message he carried now lay in pieces-burned, unreadable-but the warning had been clear.

The Crimson Circle had eyes everywhere.

Behind her, Luca emerged from the shadows, shirt damp from the storm, blood on his hands that wasn't his. He didn't speak at first-just stood beside her, watching the chaos below.

"We're running out of time," Aria said. "They moved her."

"I know," he replied. "And they're baiting you."

"They want me to come to them."

He didn't argue. "Then we go to them."

Aria turned, her eyes narrow. "This isn't just war for you, is it? There's something else-something deeper."

Luca didn't flinch. "They created me. They turned my family into monsters, then locked us in cages of obedience. I broke free. But I've never stopped running."

She stepped closer, heart hammering. "Then let's stop running."

They left that night, not with an army-but with weapons, names, codes, maps. Luca's underground contacts gave them a location: a compound hidden in the Black Hollow Forest, where magic and madness were said to blend. Aria didn't believe in legends, but even she had heard whispers of the place.

No one entered Black Hollow and came out unchanged.

The drive was long. Tense. No words were wasted. Every mile closer brought the weight of history crashing down between them.

They arrived at midnight.

The compound rose from the trees like a monster's spine-concrete and steel wrapped in ancient wards and watchtowers. Armed guards patrolled the perimeter. Drones buzzed above. It was a fortress built on secrets and blood.

Aria crouched behind a moss-covered boulder, scanning the outer wall with a scope. "Two guards every thirty feet. Infrared sensors. High-frequency alarms."

"Silver rounds?" Luca asked.

She nodded. "For you."

He growled. "Let them try."

"I count six snipers. Five cameras. And one blind spot."

Luca smirked. "Lead the way."

They moved like shadows-Aria slipping between sensors with uncanny precision, Luca disabling guards without sound. When they reached the east wing, she placed a tiny charge against the panel.

"Ten seconds," she whispered.

The door exploded open.

Alarms shrieked.

So much for subtlety.

"Go!" she barked, sprinting through the hall of glass and steel, her blades flashing as enemies poured in from every direction.

Luca shifted mid-run, a hulking half-wolf slicing through the chaos. The beast was beautiful and brutal-unstoppable. Together, they carved a path of fury.

"Cellblock's ahead!" Aria shouted, ducking under a bullet.

They reached the containment corridor-dozens of reinforced doors, each sealed with biometric locks. She pulled out the blood-stained drive Luca had stolen from a Circle lieutenant last week. Plugged it into the terminal.

Lights flickered. The screen glitched.

Then one name blinked to life: Talia Voss – Subject 08

"She's here," Aria breathed.

The door hissed open.

Aria rushed inside.

Talia lay on a gurney, strapped down, eyes closed. Tubes ran from her veins to machines humming with green light. Her pulse was weak-but steady.

"Talia-" Aria touched her sister's face.

Talia stirred. Whispered, "Ria...?"

But before Aria could respond, the lights shut off.

A low chuckle echoed through the speakers.

"You should've stayed in the shadows, darling," a voice purred.

Aria froze.

She knew that voice.

"Mother," she whispered.

The screen above flickered to life.

And there she was-Cassandra Voss. Elegant, cruel, ageless. The woman Aria thought had died ten years ago.

"You were always predictable," Cassandra said. "Always sentimental. That's why you'll lose."

Aria's hands trembled. "You're behind the Circle?"

"I built the Circle," her mother said coldly. "You were supposed to inherit it. But you ran. Now I'll take what's mine. Including the beast beside you."

The camera panned-showing Luca held in an electrified cage, panting, blood dripping from silver darts embedded in his back.

Aria spun to run, but gas filled the room-thick, sweet, suffocating.

"No-Talia-" she tried to cover her sister's face.

Everything blurred.

Cassandra's voice slithered into her ear.

"Sleep, my darling. You'll wake up exactly where you belong."

Then the world went black.

**

Aria woke shackled.

Her wrists were bound in obsidian cuffs, suppressing magic and strength. Her vision was foggy. Her body weak.

Talia was gone.

The room was dark, stone walls marked in glowing runes.

A whisper in the shadows.

"You were never meant to escape, Aria."

She looked up.

And saw her mother step from the dark-dressed in a crimson robe, crown of thorns resting on her brow.

Cassandra smiled. "Now the real ceremony begins."

**

Back in the cage, Luca stirred.

Pain throbbed through every nerve.

He could hear Aria's heartbeat fading-sense her fear through their bond.

And something inside him snapped.

The beast roared.

And the cage shattered.