News spread through the palace faster than wildfire.
Then through the kingdom.
The queen was finally carrying an heir.
The entire vampire kingdom erupted in celebration. Bells rang throughout Velmourne, flowers flooded the palace gates, and nobles who had spent years anxiously whispering about succession finally breathed in relief.
Meanwhile, Sylene sat quietly by the window, gently patting his stomach.
A strange sense of premonition lingered in his chest.
His gaze lowered toward the slight curve beneath his robes, wonder softening his expression. Slowly, his thoughts drifted back to that dream—
to the hill bathed in sunset light.
To Mavis smiling at him beneath the autumn sky.
"Mavis..." Sylene whispered softly. "Is this... you?"
At that exact moment—
something tiny moved inside him.
Sylene froze.
Then his hands began trembling.
Small tears slid silently down his cheeks as he carefully held his stomach.
"I'll protect you this time," he whispered shakily.
