<h4>Chapter 184: We are back.</h4>


    <strong><i>*~Cyrius’s POV~*</i></strong>


    Indeed, I had gone back to France and Hazel was right. She led them straight to me.


    From the shadows, I gazed up at the window, where she stood beside Caspian. He was holding her,forting her. And jealousy burned through me like wildfire. How could she allow that? How could she let him touch her like that, knowing what he did to me?


    The bastard. He drove a dagger down my spine. He and his brothers buried me—alive.


    The darkness had nearly consumed me. I screamed Hazel’s name countless times, hoping she’d hear, hoping she’de. She didn’t.


    She was the only one I believed could save me.


    But then I found out, they erased her memories. Perhaps... that exined why she never came. Why did she forget me?


    My anger faded slightly, but the ache in my chest remained. Still, I couldn’t act on that pain. Not yet. These babies in my arms—the very same ones they called mystics—were too important. I had to protect them first.


    Aaliyah stepped out of the shadows. I nodded. She knew what she had to do—distract Hazel, just enough to buy me time to return without being sensed.


    She moved quickly, blending into the shadows. And then.


    Davina appeared beside me. "Took you long enough," she said, her voice clipped.


    I turned to her. Davina—the witch who helped me transform, who used the blood of these innocent, sleeping babies to rewrite my fate.


    "We need to get back to Dahlia. Now," she said firmly.


    I nced down at the twins. Still sleeping. Still peaceful. Then I looked back at Davina and extended my hand.


    "Shall we?"


    I took it, and Versa..


    We arrived at the ce where Dahlia was alive. Still breathing. I stood frozen, unable to believe it. I thought she was dead. I remembered the nights I searched for her, carrying these very same babies in my arms, thinking she had perished long ago.


    <fn941d> Readplete version only at find(?)ovel</fn941d>


    Davina led me into the ancient catb, deep beneath the surface. The scent of dust, magic, and blood filled the air. We stepped inside the coffin chamber, and my breath caught in my throat.


    There were many of them. Dozens. All with the same aura Hazel once had—familiar, powerful. In the center of the room sat Dahlia.


    But she looked different. Aged. Not in the human sense no, her magic was worn. Her youth had cracked beneath whatever hell she’d endured. Yet even older, she was still terrifying.


    She turned her eyes to me, and her lips curled.


    "Wee, Cyrius," she said smoothly. "It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?"


    Her gaze dropped to the twins sleeping peacefully in my arms.


    "I see you’ve managed to bring them with you. They’re connected to you. Strongly, clearly."


    "They’re my babies," I said firmly. "I am their father."


    "Oh, wow. Whatever helps you sleep at night," she replied with a mocking smile. "So... where are your vampires?"


    "I’ve sent them away. Far from danger. They won’t interfere in this anymore. There are more than enough humans for them to feed on."


    "Very well," she nodded, then gestured to an empty seat across from her.


    I sat. The moment was heavy. I could feel the magic in the walls tighten around us.


    Then her voice darkened.


    "Are you aware of the danger you’ve caused, Mr. Salvatore?"


    "I am," I answered inly.


    "You’ve created an entirely new species. Something nature itself did not authorize. These twins" she pointed lightly toward them, "are born of every supernatural bloodline known to existence. Werewolves. Witches. Vampires. Even Crescents. They are stronger than nature itself."


    She leaned forward. "And nature does not like to be overruled."


    I stiffened.


    "For nature to bnce itself again," she continued, "it has two options: one, kill the children before they mature. Or two, destroy every other supernatural race and reshape them in the image of these twins. That way, nature regains control by making everyone else obsolete."


    I said nothing, but my heart dropped.


    "So yes," she nodded slowly, "if these babies live, then every other supernatural being will die. That includes you. Me. Davina. All of us."


    "But there is another way," she said.


    I looked at her, already afraid of the answer.


    "We can preserve the children. We can protect them and ourselves but we need one thing."


    I already knew what she would say.


    "The natural-born Crescent. Their mother. Hazel."


    "No," I said immediately.


    "Don’t worry," Dahlia replied coldly. "We won’t kill her. Not yet. But we will need something from her. Her heart."


    I shot to my feet. "You just said you wouldn’t.."


    "I said she won’t die yet," she corrected. "But we will need her Crescent heart—its energy, its magic. We must siphon it. And then, we might also need the Alpha of your pack."


    My chest tightened. "Cayden?"


    She arched a brow. "Yes. He’s not an ordinary wolf. You know that better than anyone, Mr. Salvatore."


    I clenched my fists. He got the power that should have been shared among the three of us equally. He changed. Grew stronger—unnaturally strong.


    "He is dangerous," she said. "And for nature to be sated, it may require both his power and Hazel’s. If we sacrifice them both... perhaps we can spare the rest of us. Perhaps even save the twins."


    "And the other brother?" she said "Caspian?" She narrowed her eyes. "Just a token to keep giving the nature."


    I looked down at the babies in my arms. Still sleeping.


    "Hazel will not die," I said atst.


    "Then we all will," she replied coldly. "And with no one left to protect them, your precious babies will die too."


    Silence stretched.


    "Make a decision, Mr. Salvatore," Dahlia said softly. "You can’t save everyone. So who will it be?"


    How could I possibly choose my share of sacrifice after all these years? Hazel? Huh. The babies? No. Not them. No way in hell will I allow them to rip Hazel’s heart from her chest, not while I still breathe.


    But my brothers?


    I thought to myself—wouldn’t my brothers’ hearts be enough?


    No.


    Dahlia’s voice echoed in my head: "The main piece is the natural-born Crescent’s heart. The others are just... nutrients. Additions to feed nature’s hunger."


    Unless... unless I offer myself too. Aplete offering, the triplet brothers.


    All three of us.


    "That should satisfy nature, shouldn’t it? Triplets born of the same blood, same power, same fate. A perfect, poetic exchange." she said smiling.


    Nature would take us—and leave Hazel and the babies alive. My heart pounded. My body reacted before my mind could catch up.


    <i>I....Cyrius....dying alongside my brothers... for her.</i>


    For them, yes. That seemed perfect enough.


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