Riley’s POV
"Dead."
That was all he said.
No pause, no softening, no emotion in his tone, just that one word delivered in a way that sounded final, like it had been locked away for a long ti and he had already decided it was not sothing he was going to feel again.
But I didn’t believe that. Because I could see it.
It was small, almost unnoticeable if you weren’t paying attention, but I was, and I saw the way his jaw tightened just a little after he said it, like sothing in him reacted before he shut it down again.
"How?" I asked, my voice quieter now but still steady because I needed to know.
He let out a long breath, like he was already tired of this conversation but still willing to continue it.
"It’s a long story," he said.
"Then tell it," I replied imdiately.
His eyes flicked to mine for a second, and I could tell he wasn’t used to being pushed like that, but he didn’t snap at this ti.
"I’ll cut it short," he said. "Because you’ll definitely know all these at so point,"
I folded my arms slightly, not moving away, not backing down, because if he was going to say sothing, then I was going to hear all of it.
"There was a prophecy," he started, his voice calm but distant, like he was telling sothing he had heard many tis before and had morized without wanting to.
I didn’t interrupt.
"A prophecy about a bloodline," he continued. "The bloodline of Emberwyn."
It hit at once. Emberwyn? I repeated in my head but still stayed calm. Okay this was beginning to make sense.
"He was the strongest witch to ever exist," Gunnar said, his tone still cold but clear. "The one who shaped Crescent Hollow."
My brows pulled together slightly at that.
"He managed everything in crescent with the help of the fucking Moon Goddess" Gunnar continued. "Witches, vampires, werewolves, blood tithers, shadow walkers, night binders, even the cursed ones that no one speaks about openly."
I blinked slowly.
Okay... that was a lot.
And I was trying really hard to process it properly, but a part of my brain just went, ’this sounds like a full movie series with at least ten parts and a very expensive budget.’
Like seriously, if soone put this in a cinema, I would sit there with popcorn and not blink for two hours straight.
But I forced myself to stay focused because Gunnar was still talking, and the look on his face told this was not sothing to joke about out loud.
"They all fear him," he said. "Even after his death."
That made my stomach tighten a little.
"His bloodline didn’t have more than one child in a lifeti," Gunnar added. "Not until the last generation."
I frowned slightly, trying to follow."What happened?" I asked.
His gaze stayed steady on .
"His wife gave birth to two children," he said.
I blinked."Two?" I repeated.
He nodded once."Two daughters."
I waited for him to continue, because sothing about the way he said it told that was where the problem started.
"The prophecy from Satyres called it cursed," he said.
Of course it did.
Because nothing about this story sounded normal at all.
"What kind of curse?" I asked.
His eyes did not leave mine.
"One of them was ant to die for the other to live," he said.
My stomach dropped a little.
"That’s..." I started, then stopped, because I didn’t even know how to finish that sentence.
"It doesn’t end there," Gunnar continued.
Of course it didn’t.
"If the wrong one lives and the right one dies," he said slowly, "then Crescent Hollow falls and hurts humans, hunt them down and kill, even outside crescent hollow,"
I felt my throat go dry.
"And not just Crescent Hollow," he added. "Obsidian Veil too."
Okay.
Now this was getting very serious.
Like extrely serious.
Like end-of-the-world type serious.
And I stood there, staring at him, trying to wrap my head around everything he was saying while also trying not to panic.
"So basically," I said slowly, trying to process it in my own way, "one of the daughters had to die for one to live and if the wrong person still dies, then everything goes down?"
"Yes," he said simply.
I let out a breath."That is ssed up shit, that’s insane," I muttered.
He didn’t react to that.
"That was how it started," he continued, ignoring my comnt.
"What do you an?" I asked.
"People found out," he said. "About the prophecy. About the children."
I felt a chill run through .
"And they didn’t leave them alone," he added.
I gave him a look.
"Obviously not, they wouldn’t" I said under my breath.
"They wanted them," he said.
"Wanted them?" I repeated, confused.
"They craved them," he corrected, his tone slightly sharper now. "They wanted the power tied to their blood."
My brows pulled together again.
"What fucking power?" I asked.
"There were rumors," he said, his gaze steady, "that a taste of their blood could make soone powerful. Stronger than anything else. Almost impossible to kill."
I blinked.
Okay.
Now this was definitely a movie.
Like I could already see it, people running around chasing two kids because of their blood like it was so kind of forbidden energy drink that turns you into an unkillable monster.
But again, I did not say that out loud.
Because Gunnar was not joking.
"At first, it was quiet," he continued. "People watching. Waiting for the right mont"
"And then?" I asked, impatience wearing heavy in my voice because this sounded so fascinating and interesting all the sa but serious.
"It turned into a hunt," he dropped the words.
"They were chased deeper into their own kingdom," he added. "Hunted by people who wanted power more than anything else."
"That’s insane," I said, shaking my head slightly.
"It is reality, Riley" he replied.
I went quiet again.
Because he was right.
"They had no choice," he continued. "Emberwyn and his wife hid them. Kept them away from everyone. Protected them until they were a little bit old enough to survive atleast and walk and run"
I swallowed slowly.
"And the girl?" I asked. "The one you liked?"
His expression did not change much, but I saw the shift again.
"She was one of them," he said.
My eyes widened.
"Wait... what?" I asked.
"The elder one," he said.
I felt my heart pick up slightly.
"What was her na?" I asked, my voice quieter now.
He paused for a second.
"Carian Svetlana Emberwyn."
The mont he said that na, sothing in my chest tightened in a way I couldn’t explain.
And before I could even process that, he started walking towards with his gaze locked onto intensely.
And I froze because I could already feel the deadly Gunnar aura coming back.
"What?" I asked, feeling suddenly self-conscious under the way he was looking at as I moved backwards.
He just kept walking to like he was trying to see sothing I didn’t understand.
Like he was comparing sothing in his head.
Like he was rembering sothing.
"Gunnar?" I called, my voice a little unsure now.
He didn’t respond to that either.
Then finally, after what felt like too long, he spoke again.
"The younger one," he said slowly.
I swallowed. My heart was beating faster now and I didn’t even know why.
"Aemoria Morvayne Emberwyn."
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