CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41 - THE CONFESSION

A sharp gasp tore through Gabriel’s throat.

His eyes snapped open.

The ritual chamber vanished, Ariya’s humming, the silver instruments, the Commander’s hand on his jaw.

Gone.

He snapped his head to the side, searching for it. For any trace of it. His breath came fast and uneven.

Sound bled back in slowly.

Muffled voices. Chairs scraping. The dull thud of boots on wooden floorboards.

He blinked hard, refocusing his vision.

He was in the guild.

The cold hit him a second later, a second bucket of freezing water crashed over his head, slamming his senses fully back into reality.

Gabriel shot upright, coughing as ice-cold droplets ran down his face and neck.

"Ennu girl, one more ought to do it," Hanitz rumbled behind him.

"Y-Yes, Master."

Ennu hurried forward, replacing the empty bucket with one filled to the brim, frost still clinging to the wood from the well.

"I’m up!" Gabriel barked, voice cracking.

Ennu froze, she had never heard Gabriel raise his voice.

Then his demon eyes locked onto hers.

She panicked.

And threw the entire bucket over his head anyway.

Ice water cascaded down his face and shoulders.

Hanitz let out a deep laugh. "Ha, ha, ha. Sorry, lad. Must’ve missed that."

"Seems to be a lot of people in this guild not listening to anyone lately," the giant muttered, voice low and sharp with sarcasm.

Ennu didn’t wait for Gabriel to react. She grabbed the nearest cloth. and hurled it at him.

It smacked into the side of his head, slid down over his face, and landed in his lap.

"S-sorry!" she squeaked, already sprinting toward the office door. Her boots slipped on the wet floor, but she kept running, vanishing behind the doorway before he could say a word.

The door slammed shut.

Leaving Gabriel dripping, shivering, and breathing hard.

Hanitz exhaled through his nose, the sound bordering on a frustrated snort.

"Well, you’re awake," he grumbled, folding his arms across his chest. "That’s what matters."

Gabriel dragged the damp cloth across his face, trying to steady his breathing. His hands shook too much to hide it.

The giant’s eyes narrowed.

"You were out cold," Hanitz said, voice dropping lower. "Didn’t matter how loud I shouted. You didn’t move."

Gabriel didn’t answer.

He couldn’t. His throat still felt tight, as if Ariya’s fingers were still pressed against it.

Hanitz stepped closer, boots thudding against the wood.

"You collapsing on my floor again?" he asked. "Or are you going to tell me what’s wrong with you?"

Gabriel swallowed, jaw clenching as he forced himself upright on the floor.

"They turned me into this."

Hanitz’s expression shifted, just slightly.

"I know, lad. And as I told you all them years ago, I’ll find out why," his voice softened, the roughness settling into something quieter.

Gabriel shook his head.

"I know why," he muttered, staring down at the wet floorboards.

"They wanted to awaken my blood."

The giant stared at him for a long moment.

Just watching him, as if weighing the truth against every memory he had of the boy he dragged out of the snow years ago.

Finally, Hanitz spoke.

"Awaken what?"

Gabriel’s fingers curled against his soaked trousers.

"The demon blood inside me." He hesitated, his voice dropping even lower. "They said it was dormant... that it needed to be forced out."

Hanitz didn’t react.

Gabriel continued before the giant could speak.

"They carved sigils into me. They drugged me. They... they tried to break me until it answered."

His throat tightened, but he forced the words out.

"They wanted a weapon."

Hanitz’s brows drew together, the first clear sign of anger flickering behind his eyes.

"It’s not-."

"I found a book when we cleared the nest." Gabriel interrupted

The giant’s jaw snapped shut.

Gabriel kept his eyes on the floor, water still dripping from his hair. His hands clenching and unclenching against his thighs.

"It was hidden under the temple... where the vampires were nesting. Protected."

Hanitz straightened slightly.

"What book?"

Gabriel drew in a slow breath.

"The one the Eighth Divine wrote."

Silence.

Heavy, solid, suffocating silence.

Hanitz’s eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"Gabriel," he said, voice lower than before, "you’d better explain exactly what that means."

Gabriel swallowed.

Because he wasn’t even sure where to begin.

He took a slow breath.

And then he told Hanitz everything.

Not all at once, the words came out rough, scattered, but he forced them out. The book in the temple, the visions, writing appearing on the blank pages, the voice that called him Dracamere, the markings that burned into his arm.

And the man on the throne.

Gabriel’s voice thinned as he spoke, as if saying it made the image sharper in his mind.

"He wasn’t human. Or... maybe he was. Once."

Hanitz didn’t speak.

"He sat in a hall made of stone. Everything around him was destroyed. Burned. Like the world had ended and he was the last one left sitting in it."

He drew a short breath.

"And his eyes were red. Not like mine. Worse. Like they were lit from inside by something trying to get out."

Silence pressed down between them.

Gabriel shook his head slowly, unsure if he wanted to believe any of the words leaving his mouth.

By the time he had finished, nearly an hour had passed.

Hanitz hadn’t moved.

The giant finally exhaled through his nose, a low, controlled breath.

"...Your hair," he said.

Gabriel blinked. "What?"

"It turned black," Hanitz replied. "All of it. Not just streaks. Every strand."

Gabriel froze.

Hanitz continued, voice flat but edged with something heavier.

"And whatever you used last night. That power." He paused, searching for the words. "It felt wrong."

Gabriel looked down, breath shaking.

"I didn’t mean to," he whispered.

"I know you didn’t, lad," Hanitz said. "But whatever they meant to wake inside you back at the Order. It woke up Tonight."

"And whether it’s this Dracamere blood or something else they wanted to dig out of you, we need to tread carefully."

He paused, eyes narrowing.

"Because if the Seven did wipe out that race. And you’re some descendant? ...They will come for you."

Gabriel’s head snapped towards Hanitz. Fear spread across his face.

"If this is all true, then this is something they want buried."