Claimed by the vampire prince

Chapter 56: Chapter 56

She couldn’t see. Everywhere she turned was shrouded in a strange sort of darkness. It was thick and impenetrable, like a solid brick wall erected on all sides, cutting her off from everything beyond. The air felt dense, as though she had been submerged in ink. Disoriented and afraid, she scrambled blindly on her hands and knees across the dirt-caked ground, grasping at nothing. After a moment that felt like eternity, she forced herself to rise to her feet, her legs trembling under the weight of her fear.

Terror swelled in her chest like a thick, viscous liquid. It crept up her throat, filling her lungs and making the simple act of drawing breath feel impossible. She wheezed as if drowning, each gasp sounding louder than the last in the heavy silence. She squinted down but could barely make out the outline of her own limbs. Forward, or backward, she had no sense of direction.

She didn’t know where she was, or even how she had gotten there. And every cautious step she took felt like she was falling.

She froze when she heard a sound. A voice. It was soft, feminine and achingly familiar.

Her breath caught in her throat.

It was a song that was woven into the fabric of her fondest memories, like a lullaby from a life she could never return to. A voice that had once soothed her nightmares and whispered kind reassurances. Its absence in her life had left a wound that never quite healed. A void.

She would know her mother’s voice anywhere.

But this time, it wasn’t just echoing around her. It was inside her head. Gentle and coaxing, it reverberated through her bones.

"Circe," the voice called. "My brave little girl."

Tears welled at the corners of Circe’s eyes, blurring the already-invisible world around her. The dam cracked, then shattered, and a storm of emotion surged through her. Loneliness. Grief. Heartbreak. All the feelings she had buried under lock and key came rushing forth, unstoppable and raw. She had trained herself not to feel them, not to let them rise to the surface. Vulnerability was dangerous, it made her a target. In a world like hers, vulnerability got people hurt, it got people killed.

And she couldn’t afford to die. Not when Rowen still needed her.

There was too much rage inside her. Always had been. It was her shield and her sword. She clung to it now like a lifeline, reaching past the flood of sorrow to grab hold of the one emotion she understood best. Anger was familiar. Anger was safe. It was the only one that never lied to her.

She breathed in sharply and took a step forward, though she still couldn’t see where she was going. The darkness clung to her like a second skin.

Then the voice came again, this time stronger, more insistent. It almost knocked Circe off her feet.

"Don’t go, my darling girl. I’ve missed you."

Her breath hitched. The stillness around her made the sound of her harsh breathing seem thunderous in her ears. Her lips parted to speak, but no words came out. Her feet kept moving, despite her mind screaming for answers. A strange force drove her forward.

Time lost meaning. She didn’t know how long she walked. Minutes, hours, maybe more. But slowly, she noticed a shift.

The darkness began to lift, not all at once, but gradually, like fog burning off under morning light. First, she could make out the faint shape of her hands. Then the outline of her feet. With each step, the world took shape again.

Eventually, she emerged into a large cavern. The space was vast and enclosed by rough stone walls that glistened with moisture. The only source of light came from glowing crystals embedded high in the walls and ceiling, casting a soft, ethereal blue hue across the chamber. Some shards had fallen to the ground and lined the path she followed.

At the center of the cave lay a wide pool of water. It shimmered with the same blue color of the crystals, the surface impossibly smooth. There was something sacred about this place. It felt ancient. Powerful. And undeniably strange.

Where was she?

And why had she been brought here?

"Circe."

Her name echoed again, but this time it didn’t come from within her head and it didn’t echo in the distance. It was in the cave with her. It was real.

"My daughter," the voice said. It was closer now. Almost behind her. freewebnoveℓ.com

Circe spun around, her heart now lodged into her throat. And right there, standing in the blue glow, was her mother.

A choked sob tore from Circe’s throat. She took an unsteady step forward, stunned.

The woman before her looked exactly like the mother she remembered from childhood. Before the illness. Before the slow, painful decline that ended in death. Her golden hair fell in thick, glossy waves past her shoulders, so unlike the brittle, lifeless strands her hair had become during her final days. Her cheeks were full and flushed, her skin radiant with health. The same soft eyes and gentle smile.

But something wasn’t right.

Circe couldn’t place it at first, but the unease coiled in her gut like a warning. This woman wore her mother’s face but it was as though it had been recreated, not lived in. Too perfect. Too still. ƒrēewebnovel.com

"My darling girl," the woman said again, stretching out her arms for an embrace.

Circe flinched, stumbling backward. The gesture caused the woman’s smile to falter. A small crease formed between her brows.

"Don’t you want to embrace your mother?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. There was something uncanny in the movement, something too calculated.

Circe’s eyes narrowed. Her breathing steadied.

"You’re not my mother," she said. Her voice was quiet, but firm, layered with both sorrow and suspicion.

The woman’s smile froze in place, but her eyes sharpened. "But I am your mother," she insisted.

Circe shook her head slowly, fiercely. Her voice trembled, but her resolve did not.

"My mother is dead," she said, her eyes locking with the woman’s. "I watched her burn."