The capture happened because Seraphina made the mistake of believing she still had time.

Time to stay hidden.

Time to figure out the prophecy.

Time to love Lucien quietly inside ruined cities untouched by war for just a little longer.

History, unfortunately, had always been impatient with happy people.

It started with her father.

Three days after the snowstorm ended, Seraphina found him waiting alone inside the old sanctuary cathedral.

No guards.

No weapons drawn.

Just Matthias Van Helsing standing beneath cracked stained-glass windows with ten extra years carved into his face since the last time she saw him.

Lucien noticed the trap immediately.

Of course he did.

His hand closed around Seraphina’s wrist before she stepped fully into the cathedral hall.

“Don’t,” he said quietly.

Seraphina looked toward her father.

Matthias looked exhausted.

Not physically.

Morally.

“I came alone,” her father said.

Lucien’s expression remained cold.

“That only proves intelligence, not innocence.”

Matthias almost smiled at that.

“Still dramatic after all these centuries.”

Seraphina froze briefly.

Her father knew Lucien personally too.

God.

Every adult in her life apparently shared secret emotional lore without informing her.

Lucien’s posture sharpened instantly beside her.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“No,” Matthias agreed softly. “But neither should she.”

The cathedral silence thickened immediately afterward.

Seraphina stepped forward despite Lucien’s grip tightening slightly around her wrist.

“Start talking.”

Matthias looked at her then.

Really looked at her.

And the grief in his expression hit harder than anger would have.

“You look so much like your mother lately.”

Seraphina’s chest tightened painfully.

“That doesn’t answer anything.”

Matthias lowered his gaze briefly toward the cathedral floor.

“She found the prophecy before Aldric did.”

Lucien went completely still beside her.

Not surprise.

Recognition.

He knew this already.

Of course he did.

Seraphina looked sharply between them.

“What prophecy?”

Neither answered immediately.

Which terrified her more than words.

Finally Matthias spoke quietly.

“The Church believes a Van Helsing descendant and the First Vampire are tied to the collapse of the current order.”

Seraphina blinked once.

“…what?”

Matthias looked suddenly older than she’d ever seen him.

“The original prophecy predates Blackthorn entirely. Medieval Church records described a ‘holy daughter’ whose bond with the immortal king would either end the war…” His voice tightened slightly. “Or destroy humanity completely.”

The cathedral fell silent.

Seraphina stared at him numbly.

“You’re telling me this entire war has been fueled by religious fanfiction?”

Lucien made a soft sound beside her that suspiciously resembled almost-laughter.

Matthias, unfortunately, remained deeply serious.

“Aldric believes your relationship fulfills it.”

Relationship.

The word settled strangely inside her chest after chapter 54.

Lucien’s gaze remained fixed on Matthias.

“And you?”

Matthias looked toward Seraphina slowly.

“I think frightened men turn prophecy into permission for cruelty.”

God.

That sounded exactly like Helena.

The realization hurt immediately.

Seraphina crossed her arms tightly.

“So what now? Aldric kills me to stop the prophecy?”

Matthias’s silence answered too quickly.

Lucien moved before thought fully formed.

One second he stood beside her.

The next he crossed the cathedral floor fast enough ancient stone cracked beneath the impact.

Matthias didn’t flinch when Lucien grabbed him by the coat front.

Interesting.

Either bravery or complete emotional exhaustion.

Possibly both.

“You let this happen,” Lucien said quietly.

That quiet tone again.

The dangerous one.

Matthias looked directly at him.

“I tried stopping it.”

“You failed.”

“Yes.”

The honesty inside the answer cut through the cathedral harder than shouting could have.

Seraphina suddenly couldn’t breathe properly again.

Because her father looked devastated.

Not manipulative.

Not defensive.

Just broken by years of surviving cowardice he never forgave himself for.

Lucien released him slowly afterward.

Not mercy.

Recognition.

He knew exactly what guilt like that looked like.

Matthias straightened his coat carefully before turning back toward Seraphina.

“You need to leave Europe tonight.”

Lucien answered immediately.

“She’s already under sanctuary protection.”

Matthias’s expression darkened.

“That won’t matter anymore.”

Seraphina’s pulse slowed sharply.

“What does that mean?”

The cathedral doors exploded inward.

Too late.

Church execution units flooded the hall instantly beneath sanctified floodlights and raised silver rifles.

Goddammit.

Lucien moved first.

Always first during violence.

Two operatives hit the floor before the rest fully entered the cathedral.

Seraphina drew her weapons automatically while Matthias shouted something drowned immediately beneath gunfire echoing violently through the sanctuary halls.

Chaos swallowed everything.

Silver rounds shattered stone pillars.

Stained glass exploded overhead.

Lucien tore through the first execution line with terrifying efficiency while Seraphina covered the eastern corridor trying to reach her father through the crossfire.

Then Aldric entered.

Slowly.

Calmly.

Like the massacre unfolding around him qualified as ceremony instead of war.

The High Priest walked through the cathedral doors beneath armed escort with one hand resting lightly against his silver staff while blood and broken glass covered the sanctuary floor around him.

“Enough.”

The single word echoed unnaturally loud through the cathedral.

Several execution units lowered weapons instantly.

Lucien did not.

Aldric’s gaze settled directly on Seraphina afterward.

Not hatred.

Worse.

Conviction.

“There you are,” he said softly.

Seraphina felt physically sick suddenly.

Because Aldric looked relieved.

Like finding her completed something sacred inside his mind.

Lucien stepped immediately between them.

Protective instinct.

Immediate.

Absolute.

Aldric watched the movement carefully.

“Exactly as the prophecy warned.”

Lucien’s voice lowered dangerously.

“You murdered Helena.”

The cathedral atmosphere shifted instantly afterward.

Matthias closed his eyes briefly nearby.

Aldric remained calm.

“She endangered humanity.”

“She exposed you.”

Aldric’s gaze drifted toward Seraphina again.

“Your mother became emotionally compromised.” His expression softened almost pityingly. “I prayed you inherited more wisdom.”

Seraphina stared at him in disbelief.

“You killed her because she told the truth.”

“No,” Aldric corrected quietly. “Because truth without control becomes catastrophe.”

There it was.

The core of him finally exposed.

Not faith.

Authority.

Always authority.

Lucien stepped forward slightly.

Every execution unit raised silver weapons immediately afterward.

Aldric lifted one hand calmly.

Then looked directly at Seraphina.

“Come willingly,” he said softly, “and I spare your father.”

The cathedral fell silent.

Seraphina turned sharply toward Matthias.

Her father looked horrified.

Not at Aldric.

At her.

“No,” Matthias said immediately. “Sera, don’t—”

Aldric nodded once.

One executioner pressed a silver blade against Matthias’s throat instantly.

Lucien’s posture changed beside her.

Not fear.

Calculation.

Fast.

Violent.

Impossible odds already forming inside his head.

Seraphina knew that look now.

He was preparing to kill everyone in the cathedral regardless of consequence.

And maybe he could.

That was the worst part.

But Matthias would die first.

Dozens more after.

Maybe Lucien too if the Church brought enough sanctified weapons.

Aldric understood that perfectly.

God.

He planned this beautifully.

Seraphina looked toward Lucien.

Lucien looked back.

And suddenly neither needed words anymore.

Because she saw exactly how terrified he was.

Not for himself.

For her.

Always for her.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Lucien’s expression cracked instantly.

“No.”

The single word sounded human for the first time all night.

Seraphina moved before he could stop her.

Execution units closed around her immediately.

Lucien lunged forward.

The cathedral shook violently beneath the force of his rage.

Silver gunfire exploded.

Matthias shouted her name.

Aldric remained perfectly calm.

And through all the chaos—

through shattered stained glass and holy weapons and Lucien looking ready to tear the world apart with his bare hands—

Seraphina never looked away from him.

Because the expression on his face would haunt her forever.

Not anger.

Not fury.

Pure helpless terror.

—

The announcement aired publicly across Church-controlled broadcasts two hours later.

Every underground network intercepted it immediately.

Every sanctuary.

Every hunter district.

Every vampire territory.

High Priest Aldric stood before cathedral cameras beneath gold-lit crosses while Seraphina knelt restrained behind him in silver chains.

Composed.

Bleeding slightly from the capture.

Alive.

“For crimes against humanity,” Aldric declared solemnly, “Commander Seraphina Van Helsing will face public execution at dawn in accordance with sacred law.”

Across Europe, televisions flickered.

Underground radios crackled.

Entire sanctuary networks fell silent.

And somewhere deep beneath Prague—

Lucien stopped breathing for one full horrifying second before the world around him became very, very dangerous.