Elsewhere.
Far from the laughter, far from the warmth of Asher's house.
Morena stood alone in the council chamber, her mind boiling with frustration. Suddenly the door creaked open, and Alastor strode in confidently, his black cloak flowing behind him like a living shadow.
"Morena, I've been trying to contact you for hours! Why aren't you answering?" he snapped, his voice ringing with a hint of irritation.
Morena slowly stood up, her icy gaze falling on him. "And what do you want me to do? Do you realize that because of you, I risk losing my position?" she replied in a tone as sharp as a blade.
Alastor stopped short, stunned. "What do you mean by that? You can risk losing your title... So what about me? I'm telling you that because of you, I lost my father's trust and I can also risk losing my title!"
Morena crossed her arms, a cold sneer on her lips. "Well, if you'd done the job right, we wouldn't be here," she spat, her voice angry and distant. She continued, "You're even stupider than your guards, Alastor. A supposedly cunning vampire, and that's where it's going."
At these words, Alastor felt a wave of anger rise within him, his eyes darkening like a stormy sky. "Don't you ever dare say that to me again," he whispered in a calm but threatening tone, his fangs elongating slightly in rage.
Morena raised an eyebrow, sarcastically. "Otherwise what? Listen to me carefully: I'm not one of those girls who runs after you to get your favors. And what's more, I'm not the one who always relies on my father, ok? You idiot, you idiot!"
These words were the last straw. Alastor's eyes turned blood red, and he lunged towards her with supernatural speed, his claws extended, aiming for her throat. Morena, anticipating the gesture thanks to her witch's intuition, instinctively invoked her power. Burning heat erupted from his palms, forming a purple ball of fire that hit Alastor square in the chest. The smell of scorched flesh fills the air; he grunted in pain, staggering back, but his smile widened, revealing a perverse excitement.
"You'll regret this," he growled, charging again at a blur of speed, like a predator in the night. Morena felt the shift of air before she even saw it and spun around, narrowly avoiding a swipe of claws that slashed the wall behind her, sending shards of stone flying.
She retaliated by holding out her hands, summoning spectral chains that wrapped around her legs, attempting to immobilize her. Alastor shattered them with a powerful movement, like fragile glass, sending shards of energy that crackled in the air. The fight became a furious whirlwind: Morena launched a gust of wind laden with flames which scorched Alastor's cloak, but he counterattacked by grabbing her by the arm, throwing her against a pillar. Pain radiated through her shoulder, but she stood up, her eyes blazing.
"You're just a bloodthirsty monster!" she shouted, summoning an energy barrier to push him back.
Alastor laughed, a deep, sinister sound. "And you, an arrogant witch who thinks she controls everything. Let's see if you can stop me!"
He feinted left, then attacked right, his claws grazing her dress and tearing the fabric at the shoulder. A line of fire traced his skin, blood beading. Morena gasped, but retaliated with a blast of electricity that sent him staggering back, his body smoking slightly.
However, fatigue was beginning to make itself felt in Morena; his spells, although powerful, drained his energy. Alastor, with his vampiric regeneration, seemed tireless. He took advantage of a moment of weakness when she tripped on a crumpled carpet to jump, knocking her off balance with a supernatural trip. She fell backwards, landing on the large council table with a thud, the cold wood biting into her back through the remaining fabric.
Alastor pressed down on her with all his weight, his hard, icy body crushing hers. Her wrists were pinned above her head by an invisible force – its vampiric shadows, cold and slimy like living snakes, which coiled around her skin, squeezing until they left red marks.