The rain poured down in thick sheets, turning the forest into a wall of mist.
Viana stood by the window, watching the droplets race down the glass. Her sharp eyes scanned the trees beyond their cottage. Something didn't feel right.
She wasn't sure what it was—but something in the air had changed.
---
"Papa," she said softly, "is someone out there?"
Vikram looked up from his book. "What do you feel?"
"Not danger," she said, "but… something cold. Like someone's watching us."
Ahaana came out from the kitchen, her senses already alert. "Stay inside, Viana."
"But—"
"No," Vikram said firmly. "Not until we know what it is."
---
That night, Viana couldn't sleep.
Her dreams were strange—filled with shadows and fire. She saw a man in black standing at the edge of the forest. His eyes glowed red. He called her name.
But his voice wasn't human.
It was like wind scraping across stone.
---
The next day, someone knocked on their door.
Three slow, heavy knocks.
Vikram opened the door, just a crack.
A man stood outside, soaked in rain. His coat was torn. His eyes were pale grey.
"I need shelter," he said in a low voice. "Just for the night."
Ahaana narrowed her eyes. "There's a village down the hill."
"I can't go there," he replied. "Please. I mean no harm."
Vikram hesitated.
Then Viana stepped forward, staring at the man. She felt something pull at her senses—like a thread connecting them.
"He's hurt," she said. "Inside."
The man looked at her strangely. "You… can feel that?"
"Yes," she said. "You're not normal, are you?"
He smiled faintly. "Neither are you."
---
They let him in.
He sat by the fireplace, silent and tense. His name was **Elric**. He said he was a traveler.
But Viana could sense it—he was hiding something.
"What are you running from?" she asked.
Elric looked at her. "You're young, but wise."
"I'm not wise. I'm *trained*," she said.
That made him chuckle.
He said nothing more.
---
That night, Ahaana whispered to Vikram, "He smells like blood. But not human blood."
"I know," Vikram replied. "I'm keeping watch tonight."
Viana, however, couldn't stay in her bed.
She walked quietly to the living room and sat near Elric.
"You know what I am, don't you?" she asked.
Elric didn't answer right away.
"I know what you're becoming," he said finally. "Your blood is… rare."
Viana frowned. "You're a hunter."
"I was," he said. "But I stopped killing when I realized not all monsters are evil."
"Why are you here?" she asked.
"To warn your parents," he said. "They've been found."
---
Vikram appeared behind him in a blink. "Explain."
Elric didn't move.
"There's a group," he said slowly. "An old vampire council. They've discovered what you are, Vikram. And what she is."
"They want to hurt her?" Ahaana asked from the doorway, her eyes glowing yellow.
"They want to use her. Or destroy her. A hybrid child is… forbidden."
Viana's voice trembled. "Why?"
"Because you could change the balance between our worlds," Elric said. "You have powers that neither side can control."
---
The next morning, Elric left.
But before he did, he handed Vikram a folded map.
"There's a place in the north," he said. "Hidden. Safe. Go there before they come."
"And why help us?" Vikram asked.
Elric looked at Viana.
"She reminded me of my daughter," he said quietly. "The one I lost because I believed all creatures were evil."
He vanished into the trees, like a ghost.
---
They packed in silence.
Viana watched her parents—Ahaana's sharp movements, Vikram's calm face. But she could see it in their eyes.
They were afraid.
"Will we run forever?" she asked.
"No," Ahaana said. "But we will *survive* forever."
"And we'll fight, if we have to," Vikram added.
Viana nodded. "Then I'll fight too."
---
That night, she stood under the stars and whispered to the sky.
"I'm not a monster. I'm not a mistake."
The wind swirled around her, as if it heard her words.
"I am *Viana*," she said. "And I will protect what I love."
---
In the shadows of the forest, something else stirred.
A black-robed figure stepped out from behind a tree, watching the light in the cottage go out.
A voice whispered in the wind, cold and ancient:
**"The hybrid has awakened."**