Elissa didn’t move, but her body tensed like a beast caught in a trap.

— You’re lying, — Raphael’s voice was quiet, but there was danger in it.

— Am I? — The pastor took a step forward, and the candles on the altar flickered as if touched by an invisible breath. — Your ancestors, Raphael, were here long before you. And the blood that runs through your veins is not a blessing—it’s a curse.

Elissa felt her hands turn to ice.

— What are you talking about?

The pastor looked at her, and the softness she had always known in his gaze was gone.

— About a secret you were never meant to learn.

Raphael stepped forward sharply, and the air between them crackled with tension.

— If you know something about my ancestors, speak.

The pastor smiled, and there was something eerily calm about it.

— Are you ready to hear the truth?

Raphael didn’t answer, but his fingers curled into a fist.

— Vampires did not come into existence by themselves, — the pastor said, walking slowly along the hall, his fingers brushing against the heavy wooden pews. — They were not born of chaos, nor are they creatures of darkness. They were created.

Elissa held her breath.

— Created?

The pastor nodded.

— Their blood was changed. And the one who did it… was not human.

Raphael went still, as if turned to stone.

— You’re saying that…

— That vampire blood does not belong to humans? Yes.

Silence hung heavy in the air.

— Then whose blood is it? — Elissa asked quietly.

The pastor met her gaze.

— Angels.

She shuddered.

Raphael let out a quiet, humorless laugh.

— You’re telling me that we… — He shook his head as if trying to rid himself of the thought.

— You are the fallen, Raphael, — the pastor stopped before him. — The descendants of those who dared to defy the heavens.

Elissa covered her mouth with her hand.

— That’s impossible…

But deep inside, something stirred at his words.

Something ancient.

Something that had always been in her blood.

Raphael slowly turned to her.

— Did you know?

She wanted to say no, but suddenly, a cold fear ran down her spine.

What if she had been drawn to him not by chance?

What if there was something… inhuman in her as well?

The pastor tilted his head slightly.

— Now you understand, child.

Elissa swallowed hard.

She didn’t know who she was.

But she felt that this was only the beginning.