Page 34 of Vengeful Melodies

A hymn.

A fucking prophecy wrapped in red lips and stardust.

The moment my eyes land on her, my breath catches—the scent of her skin mingling with the smoke and sweat of the crowd. The heat of the stage presses against my back, but all I can feel is the sudden weight in my chest.

I turn away before I see Sebastian catch her next, my chest tightening like it’s about to shatter. The heat of the stage, the stinging sweat dripping down my face, the relentless pulse of the music—all fade under the weight of what I feel.

I raise the mic. It’s slick with sweat. My sweat.

I don’t shake.

I don’t get nervous.

This stage is my church.

But tonight…

Tonight it feels like we’re performing for a god.

“Tonight,” I say, voice low and soaked in velvet, “we invite the divine into our ritual. Give your fucking souls to the woman lighting this night on fire—Dreya Lorena.”

The crowd erupts—stomping, screaming, crying out her name like she’s salvation.

She blushes as Bash leans into her ear, whispering something soft. She’s led to Alix, waiting at the highest point of our set—athrone carved from ash and steel. He lifts her onto the platform, and for the first time in months… he smiles.

A rare, fragile thing.

And it’s for her.

The lights dim to black.

Smoke coils around our feet like the stage is breathing, alive and hungry.

The low thrum of bass pulses through the floor, syncing with every heartbeat in the crowd.

Then the whisper of synth.

Then a slow, ghostly wail.

A deep breath…

And then—chaos.

“Closer to the End”begins to rise in the haunting way we created it—to channel every ounce of pain and heartbreak we’ve carried like scars under our skin.

I start the first verse:

“Save me from the silence…

That screams when I close my eyes...

I lit a match in my lungs just to feel alive…

But every breath is fire, and I can't survive.”

Kaiser screams back:

“I'm the echo in your veins…