Born Under the Blood Moon
Chapter One
Born Under the Blood Moon
The wind howled through the black towers of Castle Nocturne as crimson clouds swallowed the moon.
Inside the castle, every candle flickered with unnatural flames.
The servants whispered.
“The Blood Moon has risen...”
“It hasn’t appeared in over three hundred years.”
“They say a child born tonight changes history.”
Queen Evelina Nocturne clutched the silk sheets beneath trembling fingers as another wave of pain ripped through her body.
King Lucien stood beside her, his normally emotionless face cracked with worry.
“Is she—”
“The queen is strong,” the royal healer interrupted. “But the child...the child carries strange energy.”
Lucien frowned.
“Strange?”
The healer hesitated.
“I’ve never felt anything like it.”
Outside, thunder rolled across the kingdom.
The stained-glass windows shook.
Then—
A deafening crack split the sky.
Every candle in the room burst into bright silver flames.
The baby cried.
Silence followed.
The healer carefully wrapped the newborn in a crimson blanket before placing her into the queen’s exhausted arms.
“A daughter.”
Evelina smiled weakly.
“Our little Seraphina.”
The baby’s eyes slowly opened.
Instead of the glowing ruby eyes every vampire child possessed...
Her eyes shimmered violet for a brief second before fading to red.
No one noticed.
Except the old healer.
His heart skipped.
Impossible...
For sixteen years, Princess Seraphina Nocturne lived the perfect vampire life.
She learned elegant sword fighting before breakfast.
Ancient vampire history after lunch.
Royal etiquette before dinner.
Every lesson reminded her of one thing.
One day...
She would become Queen.
She had long black hair that shimmered blue beneath moonlight and pale skin like fresh snow. Every noble admired her.
Every servant bowed.
Every child wanted to be her.
Yet...
She never quite fit in.
While other vampires loved hunting, Seraphina hated it.
While they enjoyed darkness, she secretly loved sunrise paintings.
Flowers seemed to bloom wherever she walked.
Birds landed near her instead of flying away.
Even wolves refused to attack her during training.
People called it luck.
Her mother called it kindness.
Her father called it weakness.
“Again.”
The captain of the royal guard tossed Seraphina another wooden sword.
She caught it effortlessly.
“You hesitate.”
“I’m trying not to stab my opponent.”
“You are a vampire princess.”
He charged.
She sidestepped gracefully before knocking his weapon away.
The soldiers applauded.
The captain smiled.
“Better.”
Before anyone could congratulate her—
Tiny green vines suddenly burst through the stone floor.
Everyone froze.
The vines wrapped around the captain’s fallen sword before blooming with white roses.
Silence.
Seraphina stared.
“I...”
The flowers quickly withered into dust.
The stone floor looked normal again.
One soldier laughed nervously.
“Guess nature likes the princess.”
Everyone chuckled.
Everyone except the captain.
He looked disturbed.
That evening, Seraphina wandered through the royal gardens.
They were her favorite place.
She knelt beside a dying rose bush.
“I wish I knew how to help you.”
Warmth spread through her fingertips.
The wilted flowers slowly stood upright.
Leaves turned bright green.
New blossoms unfolded one after another.
Seraphina stumbled backward.
“I didn’t...”
Footsteps echoed behind her.
She spun around.
Only the elderly gardener stood there.
He stared at the flowers with wide eyes.
“I’ve tended these gardens for sixty years.”
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
“I’ve never seen roses bloom in autumn.”
Before she could answer, he bowed.
“My princess...”
His expression had changed.
It was no longer admiration.
It was fear.
That night...
Seraphina dreamed.
She stood inside an endless forest glowing with blue fireflies.
A woman dressed in emerald robes appeared between ancient trees.
Her silver hair flowed like water.
Her eyes glowed gold.
“You’ve finally come.”
“Who are you?” Seraphina asked.
The woman smiled sadly.
“I’ve waited sixteen years.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will.”
The woman gently placed a glowing hand against Seraphina’s forehead.
Green light exploded around them.
Roots erupted beneath the ground.
Stars swirled overhead.
Magic danced through the air.
“You belong to two worlds.”
Before Seraphina could ask another question—
She woke with a gasp.
Her bedroom curtains had burst open.
Moonlight poured inside.
Every plant in her room had grown several feet overnight.
Vines crawled across the ceiling.
Flowers covered the furniture.
The air smelled like spring.
Her heartbeat quickened.
“What...is happening to me?”
A knock sounded at the door.
“Princess?”
It was her mother.
Seraphina hurried to hide the vines.
But before she could—
The door swung open.
Queen Evelina froze.
Her eyes widened at the impossible sight.
Plants.
Everywhere.
For a long moment neither of them spoke.
Then the queen whispered one sentence that made Seraphina’s blood run cold.
“...Your father can never see this.”
The words echoed through the room.
Her mother slowly closed the bedroom door behind her before taking another look around.
Vines twisted around the bedposts. White lilies bloomed from cracks in the stone floor. Tiny glowing flowers had sprouted from the windowsill, filling the room with a sweet scent Seraphina had never smelled before.
“I don’t understand,” Seraphina whispered. “I didn’t do any of this.”
Queen Evelina stepped carefully over the vines and reached for one of the flowers. The bloom folded gently around her finger, almost as if it recognized her.
“It isn’t dangerous,” Seraphina said quickly.
“I know.”
“You... know?”
Her mother sighed and looked toward the moon outside the window.
“There are stories older than our kingdom. Stories your father forbade anyone from speaking of.”
“What stories?”
Evelina hesitated.
“When I was young, my grandmother told me legends about vampires who were born... different.”
“Different how?”
“They carried another kind of power.”
Seraphina frowned.
“But vampires only have one kind of magic.”
“That’s what we’ve always believed.”
The queen looked down at the flowers again.
“Perhaps we were wrong.”
Before Seraphina could ask another question, loud footsteps echoed through the hallway.
Both of them froze.
King Lucien.
The footsteps stopped outside the bedroom door.
“Everything alright?” he called.
Evelina quickly waved her hand.
“Hide them.”
“How?”
“I don’t know!”
Panicking, Seraphina squeezed her eyes shut.
Please...
Please disappear...
The room suddenly shimmered.
Every flower folded into itself.
The vines retreated beneath the stone floor.
Leaves crumbled into sparkling green dust before vanishing entirely.
When Seraphina opened her eyes, the room looked perfectly normal.
She stared in disbelief.
“I...”
A knock came again.
Evelina hurried to the door.
“Everything is fine,” she called.
Lucien opened it anyway.
His crimson eyes scanned every corner of the room.
“You were shouting.”
“Our daughter had another nightmare.”
The king looked at Seraphina.
“You’ve been having many lately.”
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
She forced a smile.
“I’ll sleep better tomorrow.”
Lucien studied her for a long moment before nodding.
“Good.”
Without another word, he left.
The moment his footsteps faded, both mother and daughter let out the breaths they’d been holding.
The next morning, Castle Nocturne buzzed with excitement.
Servants polished marble floors.
Royal banners hung from every balcony.
Musicians tuned silver violins.
Tonight was Seraphina’s sixteenth birthday celebration.
Among vampires, sixteen wasn’t just another birthday.
It was the Awakening.
Every young vampire received their true abilities during the Awakening Ceremony. Some gained incredible speed. Others developed enhanced senses or rare powers passed down through noble bloodlines.
As the future queen, everyone expected Seraphina’s abilities to be extraordinary.
She wasn’t so sure anymore.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the flowers.
Or the woman in her dream.
Or the strange warmth that still lingered in her hands.
“Princess!”
Her best friend, Damien, hurried across the training courtyard.
Unlike Seraphina, Damien looked exactly like every vampire noble was expected to.
Jet-black hair.
Bright crimson eyes.
Confident smile.
“What are you staring at?” he asked.
“The trees.”
He blinked.
“...The trees?”
“They’re beautiful.”
Damien laughed.
“You’ve definitely been spending too much time in the gardens.”
“I mean it.”
Sunlight filtered through emerald leaves, making them sparkle.
For just a moment...
She thought she could hear them whisper.
Not with words.
With feelings.
She shook the thought away.
“You look nervous,” Damien said.
“I have a bad feeling.”
“About tonight?”
She nodded.
“What if something goes wrong?”
He smiled.
“You worry too much.”
“What if my Awakening doesn’t happen?”
“It always happens.”
“What if I’m different?”
Damien grinned.
“You’ve always been different.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I meant in a bad way.”
“There is no bad way.”
“You don’t know that.”
He bumped her shoulder playfully.
“Whatever power you get, you’ll still beat me in sword practice.”
She smiled for the first time all morning.
Hours later...
The castle ballroom glittered beneath thousands of enchanted chandeliers.
Noble families from every vampire territory had arrived.
Elegant gowns flowed across polished marble.
Rich laughter filled the halls.
Servants carried silver trays filled with crimson drinks.
Every eye followed Seraphina as she descended the grand staircase in a midnight-blue gown embroidered with silver stars.
She looked every bit the future queen.
Even if she didn’t feel like one.
The royal announcer struck the floor with his staff.
“Presenting Her Royal Highness... Princess Seraphina Nocturne!”
Thunderous applause erupted.
She smiled politely.
Her father stood from his throne.
“My daughter.”
He offered his hand.
She accepted it.
“Tonight,” Lucien declared, his voice echoing through the ballroom, “the heir to House Nocturne will receive the blessing of our ancestors.”
The guests cheered.
Seraphina’s stomach twisted.
A strange breeze swept through the ballroom.
Candles flickered.
No windows were open.
Somewhere deep inside the castle...
A bell rang.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
No one else seemed to notice.
But Seraphina did.
She felt something calling to her.
Not from the ballroom.
Not from the castle.
From somewhere far beyond the vampire kingdom.
A place she’d never seen...
Yet somehow remembered.
As if another world was whispering her name.
“Seraphina...”
She spun around.
No one was there.
The whisper vanished as quickly as it had come.
“Are you ready?” her father asked.
She looked toward the ancient stone altar at the center of the ballroom—the place where every royal vampire had awakened their true powers for centuries.
Her palms began to glow faintly beneath her gloves.
She quickly clenched her fists before anyone noticed.
No matter what happened tonight...
She had a feeling her life was about to change forever.
End of Chapter One
