Chapter 7 WHISPERS OF BLOOD AND FIRE

Chapter Seven: Whispers of Blood and Fire

The dream began with fire.

Elara stood in a field of silver grass, the moons above glowing blood-red. Flames licked the horizon. Wolves howled in pain, not triumph, and from the burning sky fell stars-each one screaming as it broke the heavens.

She saw Riven, knees in ash, hands covered in blood that was not his.

Then a voice whispered from behind her.

"You must choose who to save."

Elara awoke with a sharp breath, heart pounding, sweat slicking her brow.

It wasn't just a dream.

It felt like... a warning.

*

Riven was already awake, shirtless, pacing the edge of her backyard with tense strides. She joined him quietly, her presence enough to make him stop and look over his shoulder.

"You feel it too?" he asked.

She nodded. "Something's coming."

"I haven't felt this in two hundred years," he said, looking up. "The Rift is stirring more than gravity. It's stirring memory. Fate."

"And prophecy," she whispered.

He stiffened. "What did you say?"

"I think I saw one."

He stepped closer. "What did you see, Elara?"

She hesitated. "You. Bleeding. Choosing between two wolves. Fire everywhere. The moons were red."

He looked away. "It's starting."

*

Elsewhere in the forest, Lucien stood before the obsidian altar again. This time, the shard glowed faintly in his hand. It was close. He could feel it.

But Dalia wasn't alone anymore. A young wolf named Varek, lean and sharp-eyed, had been watching Lucien's growing obsession with unease.

"We've followed you this long," Varek said. "But this isn't about justice anymore. This is something darker."

Lucien turned to him, eyes gleaming. "You think you understand what he took from me?"

"I think you're willing to destroy us all to get revenge."

Lucien's claws flexed slightly. "Then you're free to leave."

Varek didn't. He just stepped back into the shadows, watching.

A betrayal had begun.

*

At the edge of town, Elara met her oldest friend, Jenna, a bright and fierce woman who ran the local library.

"You look like hell," Jenna said. "Long night?"

Elara nodded. "Nightmare. But also... I'm in something, Jen. Something big."

"I can tell," Jenna said with a grin. "Your aura's off the charts."

"What if I told you Riven isn't from here? Like, not from this planet."

Jenna paused. "I'd say... I've read enough fantasy to believe you. Especially with what's been happening. Earth's moon isn't right lately. The tides are off. Migratory animals are acting strange."

"So it's not just us," Elara whispered.

"Whatever it is, it's cosmic," Jenna replied. "And it's coming fast."

*

Back in the woods, Riven found a clearing where the veil between worlds was thin. He dropped to his knees and placed both palms on the earth. The ground was humming.

A rift portal shimmered faintly-brief, flickering, unstable.

He had one chance to stop this war before it began.

Then came a sound-wings.

A huge black raven landed on a branch overhead, glaring at him with unnatural red eyes.

Then it spoke.

"The blood of the first will call the fire."

Riven leapt to his feet. "What do you mean? Who is the first?"

But the raven only took off, vanishing into the trees.

Another piece of prophecy.

And he knew-he was the First.

*

That night, Elara and Riven sat together under the starlight.

"I need to tell you something," Riven said. "When I fell through the Rift... I wasn't alone. There was another with me. But he didn't survive the crossing."

"Who was he?"

"My brother."

Elara's breath caught. "I'm so sorry."

"He was meant to lead our kind. I was just the second. The quiet one. But after the crossing, everything changed."

She touched his cheek. "You've carried this alone for too long."

"I'm afraid if I open up... I'll lose control."

"Then let me be the one who holds you together."

Their kiss was slow, full of tears and truth. When they fell into bed again that night, it wasn't just about heat-it was about healing. His hands memorized every inch of her as if she was the only real thing left. Her breath became his rhythm.

She whispered in his ear, "Don't be afraid of the love. Let it save you."

He held her tighter, burying his face in her neck. "I already am."

*

But not far away, in the shadow of the mountain, Lucien's shard pulsed with light.

A name appeared in silver script.

RIVEN.

Lucien stared, heart pounding, breath catching.

He finally knew the name.

And it would end in blood.

...Lucien stared at the silver name glowing in the shard.

RIVEN.

The name sizzled into the obsidian, and something inside him cracked open.

He sank to his knees.

The wind howled louder, spinning leaves into a spiral around him. Dalia rushed from the trees. "What happened?"

Lucien looked up slowly, eyes brighter than before. "I have his name."

Dalia froze.

"Riven," he whispered again, voice trembling not with fear-but ecstasy. "The ghost. The one who came through the Rift. The one who shattered my life."

He clenched the shard tighter. "He's here."

Dalia stepped forward, hesitantly. "And now that you know?"

Lucien stood. Taller. Stronger. Something in him shifting.

"Now... I'll bring him to his knees."

*

Meanwhile, in Elara's room, Riven lay awake long after she drifted off beside him. Her soft breathing was steady, one hand curled against his chest. He'd never known comfort like this.

He hadn't meant to stay this long. One night was supposed to be all he allowed himself.

But it had become two. Then three. And now, the pull between them was far too strong.

He brushed her hair back, quietly admiring the way moonlight painted silver across her skin.

But something deeper stirred. Not just lust. Not even love.

Recognition.

Her scent, her aura-it wasn't just beautiful. It was familiar.

He reached under the bed and pulled out an old satchel he'd kept hidden. Inside, a crumbling parchment marked with glyphs from his home world. Prophecy symbols. Signs that were believed lost.

His people had told stories-of human vessels who held ancient cosmic bloodlines. Half-spiritual. Born of stars, not just flesh.

Vessels who could awaken the Rift's true power.

Elara... could she be one of them?

He tucked the scroll away.

Then Elara stirred, her eyes fluttering open.

"You're thinking too loud," she murmured sleepily.

Riven smiled. "Bad habit."

She propped herself up. "You're worried."

He hesitated. "I'm falling for you, Elara. But that's not the part that scares me."

She touched his hand. "Then what is?"

"I think fate brought us together. Not just the Rift... but something older. And if that's true... we're both in more danger than we understand."

*

At the edge of the woods, Varek stood silently beside a hooded figure. A new wolf. One not aligned with Lucien... or Riven.

"Lucien has cracked," Varek muttered. "He'll drag us into war."

The stranger lowered their hood-revealing a woman with silver-streaked hair and scarred lips. Her eyes glowed faint violet. Unnatural.

"The Rift doesn't care for peace," she said. "Only balance. Lucien and Riven were never meant to exist in the same world. One must fall."

Varek looked away. "Then help me stop this before it starts."

The woman nodded. "Then you must betray your alpha."

*

Jenna, meanwhile, sat in her library after midnight, pouring through old grimoires. Her candlelight flickered with restless shadows.

She flipped to a page she'd never noticed before.

"The Riftblooded will return when twin moons burn red, and one of human skin shall house the Rift's heart."

She stared at the sketch beside the text-a woman who looked exactly like Elara.

Her hands trembled.

"Oh god..."

She fumbled for her phone. "Elara, you need to come to the library. Now."

*

Back in Elara's home, the couple lay in silence-until a sudden crack echoed from outside.

Riven shot up, fully alert.

He moved to the window-and froze.

In the distance, on the ridge where moonlight cut through fog... a tall figure stood watching the house.

Lucien.

Their eyes met.

Riven couldn't see the details, but something inside him clenched.

The man radiated something... ancient. Familiar.

Lucien tilted his head slowly. Then turned, vanishing into the mist.

Riven exhaled slowly.

He didn't know who the man was.

But something in him whispered: You've met before.

Elara joined him at the window. "Who was that?"

"Someone who just changed everything," Riven said quietly. "It's begun."