“Andrei.” Farah’s whisper cuts through the silence. Her words, heavy with exhaustion, that comes after childbirth.

He stands vigilant beside the window, the crimson glow of the blood moon bathing his face in a spectral light, casting long shadows across his sharp features. His gaze, however, remains on the twin bassinets where their daughters lay sleeping.

“Andrei,” Farah repeats, her tone more insistent now, lacing with a mixture of fear. “The secrets we bear... won’t stay buried forever. Our girls... deserve the truth.”

“I know,” he responds, his voice a deep hum that reverberates softly in the quiet space.

“Then you’ll speak to your brothers? To the elders?” With effort, she pushes herself up, hands trembling not only from the exertion but also the weight of their imminent decision.

He finally turns away from the bassinets, his piercing gaze softening as it falls upon Farah. The moonlight dancing in his eyes, revealing a mix of regret.

“The truth could tear this family apart,” his voice lacing with an agony only centuries of dread could ferment.

“Then let it tear!” Farah’s voice a whip-crack in the hush silence. “They deserve to know who they are, where they come from, what runs through their veins!”

Andrei’s eyes, a stormy eclipse against his pallid complexion, meet hers. “They will be hunted, Farah! From the moment they draw breath outside of these walls--”

A baby’s cry split the tense air. Once, then twice, Farah moves across the room to swaddle the twins.

Farah holds the infants close. The surrounding air seems to grow heavier, laden with the urgency of their situation, while she pacifies their cries with a mother’s touch.

“Disownment is a gentle term for what my family wishes to do,” Farah’s gaze steeling over the soft heads of their daughters. “For loving you, for bearing these children, to them, I’m a betrayer of humankind.”

Andrei’s knuckles whiten as he clenches the sill, the vein in his jaw twitching.

“And I’m their abomination.” He throws out the words as if they are poison. “I turned my back on Moroi traditions to be with you, to lead a life away from blood bonds, but now...”

“Now our girls are in danger from both sides,” Farah finishes for him, her voice cracking with a maternal ferocity. “Our love brought them here. And it is our love that will protect them,” Farah pulls the fragile warmth of her babies close against her breast.

Her words falter as she notices the change in Andrei’s demeanor, realizing the way his eyes have become hollow, resembling two dark chasms that are pulling him away from her.

Rena’s POV

Rachel leans against the door frame; the soft glow from the hallway outlines her silhouette.

“How can you stay so composed, Rena? How do you keep your head high while he...” Her voice trails off, glistening tears betraying the anger that clouded her eyes moments ago.

“Don’t let it get to you,” I confide, rising from the edge of the bed. The moon’s silver touch seeps through the window, illuminating the room. “If I crumble, what will happen to us then?”

“And what if one day you do?” The edge in Rachel’s voice reveals the cracks in her own resolve.

I cross the room; the floorboards creaking ever so softly under my feet.

“Then we lean on each other, don’t we?” I take her hand, colder than the night air, a reminder of our unnatural existence. “We’ve survived this far, haven’t we?”

Rachel squeezes my hand back, a fragile smile trying to chase away the worry in her eyes. “Yeah, we have. It’s just that... every time he looks at you, the disdain, the harsh words... I see what it’s doing to you, Rena.”

“He only knows one way to deal with his past—through anger. And since mom and dad can’t change it, they take it out on us. Especially on me. For what? I don’t know.”

“But why won’t they at least talk about it? Understanding could make things easier,” Rachel argues, her voice holding a spark of that defiant girl who once stood up to him.

“They believe that silence will bury it all,” my voice scarcely a murmur as I release her hand, feeling the lingering chill on my skin. “But it only festers, like a wound left untended.”

Rachel tilts her head, listening past the walls for any sign of life within the house. But only silence responds. “Rena, something’s not right, they were arguing, now...”

We exchange a glance, knowing we could no longer ignore the unease gnawing at us. Steeling ourselves, we creep down the shadowy stairwell, our footfalls muffle on the well-worn wood.

“Do you think it’s over?” Rachel whispers, tight with anticipation.

“I... I don’t know.” My voice betraying my fear. “But we need to find out.”

We step inside, our movements tentative, as if the very floor beneath us might give way. The house seems to hold its breath with us. As we venture further, I notice an odd scent lingering — a metallic tang that makes my stomach churn.

“Do you smell that?” My pulse quickening. Our gazes’ locks, both of us understanding the implication without uttering another word.

We make our way towards the living room, where the arguments had always been loudest. But there, in the dim light that seeps through the kitchen, a horrific scene awaits us.

The once familiar feature of our father now twists into a grotesque mask of madness, his hands clutching mother’s mutilated heart.

His maniacal grin widens as he slowly turns towards me. The eerie glow of his blood-orange eyes fixates on mine. A chill runs down my spine, and I feel the tendrils of fear tightening their grip around my heart.

I glance at Rachel standing in the corner, gazing at our mother with a vacant look as tears cascade down her face.

His words are lost to me, muffled by the pounding in my ears.

“Oh, sweethearts,” he begins softly, a tone thick with unspoken secrets, “your mother and I... had a misunderstanding, you see.”

He smooths a hand over his tie, a gesture of casual nonchalance.

“I handled it, though. If you’re curious about our discussion, well--” His next breath seems to draw the light from the room, his chest expanding with a weight that is almost palpable.

“It was about you, Rena.” His voice resonates like a haunting echo, sending a shiver through me as my blood turns icy.

As I stumble backwards, I feel my world tilt. “D... Dad, you’re a monster. Why did you--” My words choke off as I grapple with the enormity of what he’s implying. “Why?”

In an instant, he materializes before me, his hand snapping around my neck with a vice-like grip. A sinister smirk plays across his lips as his fingernails, like claws, press mercilessly into my flesh.

Rachel’s scream pierces the air, jolting my senses.

“Dad, don’t hurt her!” Desperation lacing her voice.

“Don’t you dare tell me what to do! Now stay there and be a good girl!”

Panic surges through me, my voice erupts in a jagger cry, “Dad–let go!” I writhe and twist, frantic to escape the iron lock of his grasp.

“Oh, my dear,” his voice a blend of mockery and darkness, “you don’t have the slightest inkling of the havoc you and your sister have wrought upon our lineage. Perhaps there is some truth after all in their insistence–you need to be roused from your slumber of ignorance.”

“What! Roused from my slumber? I will never become something as vile as you–never!”

“You’re a goddamn Dhampir!” He proclaims, scorn saturating his voice. “Your mother thwarted me from completing Valprya for you and your sister. But this indecision ends now; you must accept your true nature–a Dhampir.” His claws sink further, drawing blood that trickles down my neck.

“Dad,” I mutter, my voice quivering and eyes brimming with tears, “I know your love for mom was real. You chose her for all the right reasons.”

He halts, his gaze shifting away. His hand clenches as he closes the distance between us.

“Love can be a fickle thing, so fragile, so... insufficient. I made a misguided choice. My entire coven renounced me, all for a foolish infatuation with a human. You and your mother–mere pawns in a game I’ve grown weary of playing.” A sinister laugh escapes him as he poises his fangs at the juncture of my neck.

As my skin tears apart, my surroundings become a blur, and a chilling sensation engulfs me.

“Relish in your awakening, my dear Rena; revel in it, though I have my reservations about your endurance.” His menacing tone intensified.

As my senses wane, the sound of approaching footsteps intertwines with a duet of sinister laughter.

A commanding voice shatters the silence. “Our business is concluded, Andrei. Your services are no longer necessary.”

“But that isn’t under our agreeme--”

A cascade of liquid splashes onto the floor, and all I can hear is my father’s desperate gasps for air. Moments later, the heavy thud of his body hitting the ground echoes through the room.

Piercing the silence, an eerie, deep voice orders, “Leave your sister; we have better plans for you.”

With my heart pounding, I listen to my sister’s screams growing fainter, swallowed by the sound of retreating footsteps.

As my consciousness flickers like a dying flame, the world beyond me fades.