DAGON MANSION

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: A PROMISE

A terrible stillness gripped Theolinda. Alexandra's words still hung in the air, venom wrapped in velvet.

So that's why he made me promise. He knew. He always knew.

Her stomach lurched. The ground beneath her feet felt unstable, the world suddenly cruel and unrecognizable.

Mia stepped forward, fire in her gaze — a guardian made of fury and devotion.

"Touch him and I will end you myself," she hissed. "Monster."

Alexandra turned her head, amused, indulgent.

"A trembling mortal child daring to snarl at a queen." A soft hum of mockery. "Adorable."

"Please," Ryan whispered, desperation stretching him thin. "Mia — let me speak."

His eyes locked with Alexandra's. "Lift the curse. I'm yours. Do... whatever you wish."

Theolinda's breath froze. He would give himself — again — to protect them.

Silence draped the room, heavy as burial cloth.

Then Alexandra's face shifted — not sympathy but boredom.

"Oh Ryan. Once you were intoxicating. Now you are merely... tired."

Her lips curled, cruel and elegant. "I don't want you. I want to watch you perish."

Steel flashed. A dagger sang through the air — swift, merciless.

Mia leapt. A burst of motion, a gasp — steel found flesh.

Red blossomed across her chest like a cursed flower.

Ryan screamed — a raw, animal sound. He caught her as she fell, her body limp, blood warm and relentless against his hands

"No— no, Mia, stay with me — please —"

Her breath rattled, a wet gurgle of pain.

Alexandra sighed.

"Such theatrics bore me."

With a flick of her fingers reality tore open — a shimmering rift, hungry and bright. In one violent gesture she thrust them into the void. The world swallowed them whole.

The portal snapped shut.

Theolinda could not breathe. Gone.

Her voice shattered inside her skull: What do I tell Scarlett? Gods — what do I tell her child?

"Leave," Alexandra murmured, already disinterested.

Two hulking vampires approached, escorting Theolinda away like a discarded servant. "No contact. See, she survives. I'm done."

The city spat her out like something unclean.

Just beyond its cursed boundaries, her knees buckled. She pressed her palms to the earth — cold, merciless, ancient.

Help me. Someone. Anyone.

A prayer dragged from a heart that no longer believed.

A hand rested on her shaking shoulder.

Randolf.

His presence — solid, warm, mortal — cut through the nightmare. He gathered her into his arms; she wept against him, and shadows crept close, whispering promises of despair.
But grief, love, and the wolf's quiet strength repelled them.

"What happened?" His voice was a low rumble of dread.

Through jagged sobs, she told him — the betrayal of fate, Mia's sacrifice, the devouring portal.

Randolf's jaw clenched. Beneath his grief stirred something vicious — a primal mourning.
He had loved Mia from afar. Now she was gone.

He reached out to his pack. His eyes darkened — the verdict came like a tolling bell.
"They vanished... into nowhere. No trail. No realm. They could be anywhere — or nowhere."

Theolinda broke again.

At Dagon Mansion, the doors flew open. Xena rushed forward, Brisa behind her, dread etched across both faces.

Scarlett ran to them, scanning for the parents who did not follow.

"Where's my Dad? Where's my Mom?"
Hope so bright it hurt to see.

Theolinda crumbled. "They're gone."

"Gone?" Xena's voice cracked like glass. "How?"

"Taken. Through a portal. We couldn't follow."

Scarlett shook her head violently. "No. They're coming back. They always come back."

"Oh, sweetheart..." Theolinda pulled her close. "If they do not return, I will raise you. And your little brother."

Scarlett blinked. "Little... brother?"

Theolinda pressed a trembling hand to her stomach.
"Yes. Another child of your father's."

Scarlett stared, small face breaking. "Like Xena..."

"Yes."

Xena collapsed into Brisa's arms, tears silent and merciless.

Scarlett shook, then whispered, voice cracking like ice:

"Theolinda... please hold me. Don't leave me. Are you... Are you going to be my other mom?"

"I am. I promise. You are not alone."

Later, in her room, Scarlett clutched Mr. Bear — as though he alone could anchor her heart.

"If they don't come back by the time I'm eighteen," she whispered to the toy, fierce as a vow carved in stone, "my powers return. And I will find them. I swear it."

The mansion listened — ancient walls holding its breath.

END OF DAGON MANSION

THIS STORY WILL CONTINUE.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Dear readers, this is the end of DAGON MANSION, but it is the beginning of another story, SCARLETT, which is its continuation. What would happen to the lives of Scarlett, Theolinda and Brenan? What happened to Mia and Ryan? Continue reading to find out. :)