watch and, if possible, lead. Videric knew he couldn't count on his brother's cooperation. - I'll talk to her, Videric. Arsene's tone of voice made his brother look at him. Videric had known him for centuries, he could.

smell the redhead's lie, but all he found on his face was sincerity. However, he was afraid of how Arsene

would conduct the conversation, as his brother had a sharp tongue, but he also knew that he would never.

bother a daughter of Atman. Arsene had embraced wizarding blood when he accepted to be the sat of the

Red Crown, and took upon himself responsibility for the lives of the witches who lived within the White

Forests. It did not fall on his shoulders as a weight, but as a blessing from Atman. Videric would never ask for more than Arsene could do. But he knew his brother. - I don't want to bother Nyana. Arsene's smile made

Videric squint his eyes and almost ask him to give up on that madness, but the redhead didn't give him time to regret it. With a wink, he turned and slipped into the trees. The White Forests embraced Arsene, but rejected..

any other vampire who wanted to go beyond, and Videric was no fool to strain the energy that protected them.

The forests could see that as a threat or even an offense. When Gwendolyn was the Red Crown, the barrier was strong. Now, with Lymena in that position, that barrier was insurmountable. Videric knew he had no right.

to look for Nyana. After the small exchange of words before the battle of the South, the witch had given no indication that she wished to have contact with him. After the war, the witches of the White Forests had

become reclusive, little seen in the common villages of Fhár and even on the borders. Domenico and Arsene

had explained that daughters of Atman needed to rebalance their energy when they had direct contact with

creatures from the underworld, and the invasion of demons caused the sacred energy they carried to become

chaos. Few were used to this exposure and, even marching with the Red Crown, they would need time to

recover. Videric only saw Lymena and Krida at the rare and scattered meetings of the Nobilitatis, which always

took place in the Vampire Fortress. Not even Srala was often seen. Videric's instinct told him that something

was happening and the way Lymena looked at him in meetings only made him sure that he was right. She seemed to want to say something, but was always prevented by greater forces: Domenico approaching, Gavin

asking a question or even her being taken by a strange fear, as if she was thinking twice about whether it was

wise to share the information she had. The vampire looked at the forest one last time. The thick trunks of the

trees made space for the peas who remained in place as eternal guardians, protectors of the borders and the

daughters of Atman who lived within. The bright red branches and white fowers told Videric that he was

trying to cross a dangerous limit, and that perhaps the world of souls would not have much mercy if he forced

something. But hadn't Videric already crossed an even sacred limit? Unable to answer the question, he fnally

turned his back and walked away. The sound of the trees of the White Forests was like music to her ears, the

wind caressed her pale skin and subtly lifted the thin cotton of the dress she wore. Nyana was aware of the

small insects around her, the birds that picked at the seeds that had fallen from the trees, and the small

rodents that approached carefully, only to later realize that there was no threat and take some of the seeds for

themselves. She was aware of everything, even the sound of the stream near the village, where she liked to

spend the hours in contact with Atman. But Atman did not come. She opened her eyes and felt... naked. She let out her breath, an unusual and unsettling frustration resting in her chest and constricting it. She touched

her lap and ran her hand there, as if the caress would ease that pain that wasn't physical. Her powers had long.

since abandoned her. Since she had been attacked by the demons who stained those lands with the blood of

her sisters, desecrated the trees with bestial claws and left a stench of death in the air, she no longer felt her

gifts. Months had passed, but Nyana's nightmares were still as clear as a full moon. Screams, blood... despair.

It was common to wake up shaking and feel sweat running down your spine. She got used to spending the

rest of the night at the lake near the village, one she had discovered further south, away from the oracle

village. After the battle, few of them remained, and even those who remained still had sacred contact with the

world of souls. Why hadn't Nyana received the blessing? Or rather, why had he lost what had been given to her

since she was born for the purpose of divination? She tried not to think about it too much. She knew that each

witch had her own time, perhaps Atman thought that the other oracles were stronger and had recovered

better from the red stain that had spread in the White Forests. Nyana, on the other hand, was still trying to wash that stain. The nightmares were not only fooded with images of demons, she was also tormented by

the memory of how she almost lost her life in that attack, and how she was saved by the vampire she hadn't

seen in months. Sometimes he appeared in her nightmares like a balm in the midst of so much suffering and reached out to her in the same way he had done that time. My name is Videric. I am the brother of Arsene, the

vampire who is with Lymena. That touch... Nyana had never felt so scared in her life, but at the same time, a security flled her entire body as he lifted her close to him, his eye dark as night and his milky eye scanning the

forest for more threats. . Nyana didn't know if that