Page 43 of The Syndicate’s Shadow Heiress (Branche de Lune Syndicate #1)

BLOOD IN THE BARN

Kali’s Emotional State: Risen—but raw. The astral victory came at a cost. Her power is unstable. Her gate, flickering. And then she sees the threat—Belladonna didn’t wait.

T

he moment Kali’s eyes opened, she knew something was wrong. Not from the whispers of her shadows. Not from the lingering ache in her bones, but from the silence.

Before she’d even stirred, Irina had made the call. “She needs the barn. The horses. The dogs. Let them surround her,” she told the others. “That’s where she’ll stabilize fastest.”

So they brought her here, half-conscious, flickering between planes, shadows clinging to her like bruised silk, and laid her against Bentley’s side.

The field, once alive with the breath of her horses, the rustle of trees, the quiet tension of her mates guarding her, was suddenly still.

Her body was tucked against Bentley’s flank, his velvet nose nudging her hair. Astraeus’s human form sat just feet away, his expression unreadable. Irina hadn’t moved from her spot at Kali’s back, arms wrapped around her like a second spine. Solen was pacing. Lev hadn’t blinked.

The tension in the air was like a blade pressed against the skin .

"Why is it so quiet?" Kali rasped, her throat still sore from screaming on another plane.

It was Irina who answered, voice steel-wrapped. "They’re here."

Kali sat up too fast. Her magic spasmed. The Hollow Gate pulsed erratically behind her.

"Who?" she hissed, already knowing the answer.

A low growl rumbled from Astraeus.

"Belladonna."

Then, Bentley screamed. Not a whinny. Not a cry. A scream.

It came from the barn.

The horses sensed it first.

Even when there were no alarms, no lights, no signals, the air around the Hollow Crown Academy changed when danger stirred beyond its wards.

Bentley was gone, flanking Kali across the battlefield.

But the rest of the cavalry hadn’t moved.

They stood in perfect formation at the invisible perimeter, facing outward like statues of flesh and bone.

Espy and Tucker led the line, maned in ceremonial braids, hooves planted firm, eyes locked on the world beyond. Maple, River, Indigo, Bruno, Hollow, Omen, they were all there. Silent. Watching. Holding.

They didn’t whinny. They didn’t rear. They simply waited .

Because behind them lay the Academy. And within it, the children.

Those who couldn’t yet summon their magic. Those whose oaths hadn’t yet been written. Those who were still learning how to survive.

They would not let harm pass. Even in Bentley’s absence, the line held.

And far away, on another field, amidst shadows and fire—Bentley heard them.

And he roared back.

Kali surged to her feet, ignoring how her legs shook. Her flare snapped under control, and her magic flickered.

"No," she breathed. "No, no, no…"

She sprinted across the field barefoot, shadows peeling from her body like war banners. Her mates followed—Lev roaring orders, Solen weaving sigils mid-run, and Astraeus shifting into full dragon form above.

But nothing stopped her until she reached the barn. And saw her.

Belladonna stood in the center of the paddock, cloaked in blood-red silks, her golden hair braided in thorns. Behind her, a swarm of vampires encircled the fence line. Silent. Smiling.

And in her hands? Bentley’s halter .

The massive black Clydesdale stood beside her, trembling but still. Belladonna held his reins tight, nails pressed to his skin.

"Such a beautiful beast," she cooed, her voice more curious than cruel. "You’d think he carried your soul in his hooves."

Kali didn’t scream. She stalked forward.

“Unhand my horse," she growled, voice ragged but rippling with ancient command, “you crazy, fanged parasite wrapped in silk—get off my horse.”

Belladonna tilted her head, eyes glowing faintly. "Temper, temper. You wouldn’t want your pet to suffer because of your mouth."

“You, Kali Allani Branche de Lune, touched a gate you didn’t understand.”

She stepped closer, almost reverent. Belladonna’s eyes gleamed with something darker than cruelty. “You think this was mine? I’m just the one who answered when it called back.”

The air fractured.

Kali’s flare ignited, but only to fuel her power.

The ones tethered to her by blood, bond, or blade moved as one—Irina drawing her blade, Lev charging from the left, Astraeus diving overhead in a streak of shadowed silver, Solen weaving sigils mid-stride like the world was already unraveling.

But Kali didn’t wait. She rose .

Shadows exploded from her skin in every direction. The Hollow Gate behind her flashed with Keeper runes, lighting the sky in violet.

"You came into my field," Kali said, calm but soaked in death. "You touched my people. My horses. My home."

Belladonna smirked. "And what will you do, Gatekeeper? You’re barely stitched together."

Kali’s shadows slithered past Bentley, gently curling around his legs, lifting his halter free of Belladonna’s hand before she noticed.

Then they wrapped around Belladonna’s wrist and snapped it sideways. While it would heal quickly, it was enough to remove Bentley from her grasp.

The woman screamed. So did several of her vampires.

"You forgot something," Kali whispered, stepping into her full height. "Even broken, I’m still the end of your fucking world."

The first wave of vampires rushed.

And Kali? She unleashed.

Her power didn’t erupt, it detonated.

The entire field lit with a violet blaze.

Horses reared and fled to safety as pre-set wards kicked in.

Her shadows moved like sentient blades, splitting the first vampires apart in mid-air.

Sigils pulsed from Solen’s hands. Astraeus let out a roar that shattered the barn windows.

Lev spun, slicing down one of the larger vamps with a single twist of his dagger .

“But Kali?” She didn’t fight with spells; She fought with legacy.

Every drop of pain. Every scar. Every buried scream. It rose now, wrapped around her voice as she called upon the Hollow Gate.

She didn’t summon magic. She commanded it.

"Back. Into the dark." The Earth cracked.

The sky howled, and the vampires began to fall, not in battle but in terror.

Because for the first time, they saw her.

Not as the girl who inherited a Syndicate, not as the girl the world tried to break with too much magic, but as who she truly was: The Keeper of the Underworld. And she had awakened.

Just as Kali’s shadows slammed the last vampire into ash, the ground beneath her rumbled.

Bentley screamed again, this time not in fear, but in warning.

The Hollow Gate behind her cracked.

Not a little fissure.A chasm.

Violet light erupted. The air split open like it couldn’t contain her anymore. Symbols in Zarokian danced across the sky, ancient, pulsing, wrong.

Astraeus dropped from the sky mid-flight, clutching his chest.

Solen stumbled, Lev bared his teeth, and Irina?

Irina didn’t scream. She swore…a vicious, bone-deep curse, and raised her blade higher .

Because, from the broken Gate, someone had stepped through. No footsteps. No sound, just presence.

And then….him.

Azareal.

The air bent around him, magic rippling, unmaking the rules of the realm with every step.

Cloaked in decay. Smiling like a god who'd never been denied. Blood dripping from his mouth, magic warped and seething. Behind him, the veil churned with the whispers of forgotten dragons and corrupted shadows.

The air turned metallic, sharp, wet, tasting of iron and death. The world around her blurred at the edges, like existence itself was trying to recoil from him.

Kali’s magic flared.

Every step dragged like it cost years. Her blood buzzed. Her flare stuttered, but still she moved.

The flare surged again, too fast. Too much. Too soon.

Azareal tilted his head.

"Oh, little Keeper," Azareal said, voice slick with rot and memory. "You left the door open, just like the first did. And I walked through her too, until even her dragon turned against her."

Not just pain now. Memory. Her father’s shadow. Her mother’s wire hanger. Azareal’s smile had its weight behind it .

Kali collapsed.

Not like this. Not now," she thought, rage burning behind her failing eyes. Get up. Move. Fight…

MOVE, KALI!

The voice wasn’t her own.

It ripped through the void like a lightning strike.

Lev. His bond to her didn't whisper. It roared.

GET UP…. GET UP…. GET THE FUCK UP!

But her body wouldn’t listen. Her blood was sludge. Her magic tangled and screamed.

Then another voice, colder, heavier, slammed into her failing mind.

Astraeus spoke to her, “You are not allowed to fall. Not when the Gate still breathes.”

This isn’t death. It’s worse. It’s forgetting. Her fingers twitched…then fell still.

The last thing she saw, before the void took her, was Azareal reaching for Bentley’s halter…

And Belladonna, grinning behind him, whispering: “You always thought fire would save them. She leaned closer. “Let’s burn it all. ”

Kali’s shadows tried to rise… tried to protect her. But her shadows stuttered. Too late. Too thin. And the world let her fall. Betrayed by the body breaking beneath them.