0:00
hi my name is Zoe and this is the story
0:03
of how I realized I was turning into a
0:05
vampire it started with the sun i used
0:07
to love early morning walks but lately
0:11
the sunlight burns not like ouch this is
0:15
hot no I mean it feels like acid on my
0:18
skin i told my mom and she said it was
0:20
probably just a vitamin deficiency but
0:23
that didn't explain the other things
0:25
like how I can hear people whispering
0:28
from across the school hallway or how I
0:31
smelled blood during a science lab
0:32
nearly fainted the worst part my
0:35
reflection has been acting weird i stood
0:39
in front of my mirror one night brushing
0:41
my hair and for a split second my
0:43
reflection blinked after I did i swear I
0:48
screamed my mom rushed in and I told her
0:51
she said "I was just stressed but I'm
0:54
not stupid." Then it got worse we had
0:57
this PE class where we had to run laps a
1:01
kid tripped and scraped his knee right
1:03
in front of me the moment I smelled his
1:05
blood I froze it was like everything in
1:08
me was screaming to bite to drink i ran
1:12
away and locked myself in the bathroom
1:14
breathing hard shaking my teeth were
1:16
aching and when I looked in the mirror
1:20
my canines were longer sharper I started
1:24
googling stuff not just allergies or
1:26
hormones I typed "Am I turning into a
1:29
vampire?" And guess what popped up a
1:32
forum hidden buried deep people who
1:35
claimed they were in transition people
1:38
who said the cravings the light
1:40
sensitivity the mirror glitches they
1:42
were signs at first I laughed it had to
1:46
be a joke until that night i cut my
1:49
finger while chopping onions i didn't
1:51
even feel it i watched the blood drip
1:54
onto the counter and without thinking I
1:55
licked it and the wound healed instantly
1:59
i gasped dropped the knife i backed away
2:02
and looked at my hand that's when I saw
2:04
her my mom standing in the doorway not
2:08
scared not shocked just sad she said one
2:13
thing i was hoping it would skip your
2:15
generation what does that even mean what
2:18
am I turning into if you told me last
2:21
week that my own mom had been hiding
2:22
something this massive from me my whole
2:24
life I would have laughed in your face
2:27
but she wasn't joking after she said "I
2:30
was hoping it would skip your
2:31
generation." I just stood there frozen
2:35
"what are you talking about?" I asked my
2:37
voice shaking she didn't answer instead
2:41
she walked to the kitchen drawer opened
2:43
the back panel and pulled out a tiny
2:45
black box i had never seen it before she
2:48
placed it on the table and said "Sit
2:51
down." Inside the box were old photos
2:54
yellowed cracked some were so ancient I
2:58
thought they were props from a movie but
3:00
then I looked closer one of them was her
3:03
my mom same face same eyes the photo was
3:09
1,892 i couldn't breathe this isn't
3:12
possible I whispered she nodded slowly
3:15
it's time you know the truth Zoe you're
3:18
not fully human and neither am I i
3:21
wanted to laugh to scream to run out of
3:23
the room but a part of me already knew
3:26
everything that had been happening at
3:27
all made sense now i asked her the
3:30
obvious question are you saying we're
3:33
vampires she shook her head not exactly
3:38
we're what they call hybrids we don't
3:40
drink blood to survive but when we turn
3:43
we crave it bad that's when I noticed
3:46
something else she never stood directly
3:49
in sunlight she always wore gloves she
3:52
never ate garlic i used to think she was
3:54
just quirky but it was all connected
3:57
then I asked her the real question am I
4:00
turning she hesitated then she said
4:04
"Your transformation started 2 weeks ago
4:08
around your 17th birthday that's when it
4:11
begins if the bloodline is strong enough
4:13
i felt sick so what happens now do I
4:17
just grow fangs and bite people?" She
4:20
looked at me deadly serious zoe you need
4:23
to listen carefully if you bite someone
4:26
even once you can't go back you'll
4:29
complete the transformation and it's
4:31
irreversible i stood up this is insane
4:35
i'm not a monster she grabbed my hand
4:37
gently you're not a monster but you are
4:40
dangerous and I've tried to protect you
4:42
from this your whole life that night I
4:45
couldn't sleep i locked my door stared
4:48
at the ceiling and whispered to myself
4:50
"This can't be real." But it was because
4:54
at 3:12 a.m I woke up floating above my
4:59
bed have you ever woken up and realized
5:02
you're no longer you i floated above my
5:05
bed paralyzed with fear my body wasn't
5:08
supposed to do this i wasn't dreaming i
5:11
was wide awake then as suddenly as it
5:14
started I dropped slammed onto my
5:16
mattress with a thud i couldn't breathe
5:19
my heart was pounding i ran to the
5:22
mirror my eyes they were glowing faint
5:26
red i splashed water on my face blinked
5:30
they faded but the fear didn't the next
5:33
morning I tried to act normal go to
5:36
school blend in but everything had
5:38
changed i could hear people's hearts
5:40
beating smell what they had for
5:43
breakfast i passed a girl in the hallway
5:45
who had a paper cut and it hit me like a
5:47
wave the smell of blood it was sweet it
5:51
made my mouth water and then it happened
5:54
during gym class my crush Jace took off
5:57
his hoodie he had a fresh bruise and a
6:00
little cut on his shoulder one drop of
6:02
blood just one i felt a sharp pain in my
6:05
gums my fangs were pushing through i ran
6:09
locked myself in the locker room i was
6:11
shaking crying trying not to scream what
6:13
was happening to me when I got home I
6:16
told my mom she just nodded like she
6:19
already knew "you have to resist it,"
6:21
she said softly "but it's getting
6:23
stronger," I cried "what if I lose
6:26
control?" she said said "The cravings
6:27
come in waves if I can make it through
6:30
the first month without biting anyone
6:32
I'll learn to live with it but if you
6:34
don't," she added "you'll become one of
6:36
them." Fully turned no going back i went
6:39
to my room locked the door and cried
6:42
into my pillow that night I had a dream
6:45
at least I thought it was a dream i was
6:49
walking through the woods barefoot
6:51
everything was dark misty i saw Jay
6:54
standing near a tree he smiled i walked
6:57
up to him reached out and bit his neck
7:01
he didn't scream he didn't even flinch
7:04
he just looked into my eyes and said
7:06
"I'm yours now." I woke up gasping my
7:10
pillow was soaked with sweat my hands
7:12
were trembling and then my phone buzzed
7:16
a message from Jace hey did something
7:18
happen last night i had this weird dream
7:21
and I woke up with these marks on my
7:22
neck no no no no no no what have I done
7:26
i stared at the words on my mirror
7:28
you're not the first written in
7:31
something that looked like blood i wiped
7:35
it nothing came off i blinked and it
7:38
vanished like it had never been there
7:41
was I going crazy or was something or
7:43
someone trying to send me a message the
7:46
next morning my mom finally spoke "you
7:49
need to know the rules," she said her
7:51
voice was cold because breaking them has
7:55
consequences she opened an old wooden
7:57
chest from the attic inside were scrolls
8:00
tattered books old coins dried herbs and
8:03
a ring carved with a strange crest these
8:07
she said are the vampire rules they've
8:09
been in place for centuries and you've
8:11
already broken three i swallowed hard
8:15
what rules she held up three fingers
8:18
rule one never enter a home without
8:20
invitation apparently crossing that
8:23
boundary uninvited gives off a
8:25
supernatural alarm and other vampires
8:27
can hear it i gasped i had done that i
8:30
went to Jayce's house last week climbed
8:32
through his window during a party she
8:34
continued rule two never feed without
8:37
consent if you bite someone without
8:39
their will they become bound to you
8:42
forever bound wait what does that mean
8:47
it means," she said quietly "jace might
8:50
already feel connected to you," you
8:54
marked him i shook my head "that's not
8:57
what I wanted it doesn't matter," she
8:59
replied "intent doesn't stop the bond."
9:01
"And then the third rule rule three
9:04
never fall in love with a human." I
9:06
stared at her "that's not a rule," I
9:08
scoffed "that's just control it's
9:12
survival." She snapped "love clouds
9:14
judgment love makes us weak and when
9:18
vampires fall in love with mortals
9:19
people get hurt die my hands were
9:23
shaking because she was right i did like
9:25
Jace but I didn't ask for this i never
9:28
asked to be part of this world that
9:30
night I had another dream or maybe it
9:33
was a memory a girl pale red eyes
9:37
standing in fire screaming "Don't trust
9:39
them not even your own kind." And in her
9:42
hand the same ring my mom had shown me
9:44
earlier i woke up gasping and on my desk
9:48
was that ring i never touched it i never
9:51
took it but it was there glowing faintly
9:55
and inside the band carved in blood red
9:57
letters were the words "The queen shall
10:00
rise." I couldn't stop staring at the
10:02
ring the queen shall rise what did that
10:05
even mean me a queen i was just a high
10:09
school girl with a blood problem and a
10:11
crush but that day everything spiraled
10:15
at school I avoided Jace like the plague
10:18
i didn't trust myself i didn't know what
10:20
was happening to him but then he
10:22
cornered me by the lockers zoe
10:25
something's wrong with me his voice was
10:28
shaking his skin was pale his pupils
10:31
dilated i haven't slept in two nights
10:34
every time I close my eyes I see you and
10:36
two smell things things I shouldn't it's
10:40
like I'm not myself anymore i wanted to
10:43
tell him the truth i almost did but
10:46
before I could speak he leaned in and
10:48
whispered "What did you do to me?" My
10:51
stomach dropped that night I confronted
10:54
my mom again "you said biting someone
10:57
makes them bound but what if it goes
10:59
further what if I'm turning him?" Her
11:01
silence told me everything "tell me Mom
11:04
am I creating another vampire she looked
11:07
away if the bond is deep enough she said
11:10
quietly your blood can begin the process
11:13
especially if the other person has the
11:17
Jean jean i blinked you mean he was
11:22
always meant to be one of us it runs
11:24
through certain families she said some
11:27
are sleepers it takes a trigger like you
11:30
i couldn't breathe you have to reverse
11:33
it I begged tell me how but she shook
11:35
her head you can't reverse a bond you
11:38
can only complete it or break it what
11:41
happens if I break it she hesitated if
11:44
he's already changing it could kill him
11:47
tears filled my eyes this was my fault
11:51
the next day Jace didn't come to school
11:53
i called him no answer i went to his
11:57
house his mom said he was sick locked in
11:59
his room for 2 days burning up
12:02
hallucinating she begged me to talk to
12:04
him you're the only person he keeps
12:06
asking for so I went in and the moment
12:09
our eyes met he calmed down his fever
12:13
dropped his breathing steadied he
12:16
reached out and grabbed my hand zoe I
12:19
don't know what's happening but I think
12:20
I need you and I whispered "I think I
12:23
need you too." But just as I leaned
12:26
closer something growled from deep
12:28
within him his eyes snapped open glowing
12:31
red he lunged at me jace lunged at me
12:35
not like a guy leaning in for a kiss
12:37
like a creature his eyes were glowing
12:39
his teeth fangs were out i barely dodged
12:42
in time he slammed into the wall behind
12:45
plaster jace I screamed stop but he
12:49
didn't seem to hear me his hands were
12:51
twitching claws breaking through his
12:53
fingertips he wasn't Jace anymore he was
12:56
becoming something else then suddenly he
12:58
froze eyes locked on mine and just like
13:02
that he collapsed right at my feet
13:05
unconscious i ran i ran until my lungs
13:09
burned until I couldn't hear my own
13:11
heartbeat anymore that night I sat
13:14
shaking on my bedroom floor this wasn't
13:17
just about me anymore i'd started
13:19
something and I had no clue how to stop
13:22
it but I wasn't alone for long at
13:24
midnight someone knocked on my window i
13:27
opened the curtain there she was a girl
13:30
maybe 19 silver hair pale skin black
13:34
lipstick wearing a blood red cloak "hi
13:36
Zoe," she said casually "nice ring," I
13:39
backed away "who are you?" She climbed
13:42
in through the window like it was her
13:43
house "i'm Lra i'm like you but stronger
13:48
faster older what do you want?" She
13:51
smiled "to help." But before I could
13:54
respond she lunged i barely had time to
13:56
react instinct kicked in i grabbed a
13:59
metal lamp and swung it at her head she
14:01
dodged easily laughing not bad for a
14:04
newbie she moved like a blur i ducked
14:08
rolled kicked and my foot connected with
14:10
her stomach sending her across the room
14:12
she looked up impressed you're more
14:15
powerful than I thought we fought i
14:18
don't even know how long furniture
14:20
shattered my dresser caught fire but
14:23
something inside me awakened for the
14:26
first time I wasn't scared i was angry
14:29
and I was strong i pinned her down my
14:31
hand around her throat fangs out but she
14:34
just smiled "you're almost ready," she
14:36
whispered "you feel it don't you the
14:39
throne the blood the crown," I backed
14:42
off panting "what are you talking
14:44
about?" She wiped blood from her lip
14:46
"you don't know?" "Of course you don't
14:48
your mommy kept secrets." She vanished
14:51
in a swirl of smoke and when I looked
14:53
down there was a note where she'd been
14:56
"You're not just a vampire Zoe you're
15:00
royalty." Royalty that word echoed in my
15:03
head for days i tried to ignore it
15:06
pretend it didn't mean anything but deep
15:08
down I knew it wasn't a lie so I did
15:11
what I never thought I'd do i broke into
15:14
my mom's locked file cabinet inside
15:17
paperwork photos birth certificates and
15:20
one document that stopped my heart my
15:23
birth record with my father's name
15:26
blacked out why would she hide that i
15:29
found an old photograph tucked in the
15:31
folder two people my mom looking exactly
15:34
the same as now and a man tall shadowed
15:39
piercing silver eyes written on the back
15:45
1,877 do not trust him my real dad i
15:49
confronted her that night you lied to me
15:52
he's alive she turned pale zoe you have
15:56
no idea what you're walking into i don't
15:59
care i deserve to know who I am her
16:02
voice broke your father is dangerous
16:04
he's been locked away for decades by the
16:06
Vampire Council i stared why because
16:10
he's not just royalty he's the last of
16:12
the Pure Bloods and he nearly destroyed
16:15
everything i didn't sleep that night
16:18
instead I followed a name I found
16:20
scribbled in the corner of the photo
16:22
black Hollow Prison it wasn't a normal
16:24
prison it was hidden underground wrapped
16:27
in protection spells but I made it there
16:30
and when I walked into the lowest
16:31
chamber through a door sealed in blood I
16:34
saw him adrien Vale sitting in the dark
16:38
shackled barely breathing but when he
16:42
looked up his eyes met mine silver just
16:45
like mine "you've grown," he said his
16:49
voice a whisper "you have her fire and
16:52
my darkness." I stepped closer "are you
16:56
my father?" he nodded slowly
16:59
and you are my heir he reached through
17:03
the bars and placed a hand on mine and
17:06
in that moment I saw everything wars
17:09
thrones betrayals the council tearing
17:12
him down my mother helping them lock him
17:14
away they feared our bloodline he said
17:17
they still do but you Zoe you were born
17:20
to rule and they can't stop what's
17:23
coming i pulled away no I whispered i'm
17:27
not like you he smiled you will be i ran
17:31
from Black Hollow Prison but my father's
17:34
words ran with me you were born to rule
17:38
i didn't want that i didn't ask for this
17:40
life i just wanted to go to school text
17:43
my friends maybe kiss my crush not lead
17:46
a bloodline but destiny doesn't care
17:49
what you want the moment I stepped
17:51
through my front door they were waiting
17:54
five strangers in long black coats stood
17:56
in our living room faces cold eyes older
18:00
than time my mom stood frozen hands
18:03
clenched like she already knew this was
18:05
coming zoe Veil one of them said "You
18:08
are summoned by the vampire council."
18:10
Before I could protest they surrounded
18:13
me shadows swirled and I was gone we
18:16
arrived in a massive underground chamber
18:18
torches lining black marble walls
18:20
symbols I couldn't read burned across
18:22
the floor this was the council
18:25
stronghold an ancient woman stood at the
18:28
center her voice like smoke you carry
18:31
royal blood the daughter of Adrien Vale
18:35
the last living hybrid born of two
18:37
bloodlines i stayed silent my heart was
18:41
thuting you are unstable another
18:44
councilman growled you've broken sacred
18:47
laws bitten without consent invaded
18:49
human homes engaged romantically with a
18:52
mortal they surrounded me like vultures
18:54
circling prey she didn't choose this my
18:57
mom snapped from behind but they ignored
18:59
her zoe Vale the lead council woman
19:02
declared you have two choices join us
19:05
and accept your role as heir or be
19:08
erased from memory and return to a
19:09
mortal life erased you mean wipe who I
19:14
am i asked trembling no more powers no
19:19
more memories just another human girl i
19:23
looked at my mom her eyes were pleading
19:25
zoe it's safer you could live a normal
19:28
life but I also saw Jace in my mind my
19:30
father in that prison lra's bloodied
19:33
smile i had a choice i want answers I
19:36
said real ones no more lies if I'm going
19:39
to be part of this world I want to
19:41
understand it fully the council
19:43
whispered among themselves then the
19:45
leader nodded very well but be warned
19:49
once you know you can never unknow once
19:52
you lead you can never be free again and
19:55
with that she drew a dagger silver
19:58
ancient hand pressed it to my palm blood
20:01
binds truth awakens she sliced and as my
20:04
blood hit the council's altar the flames
20:07
turned black symbols lit up across the
20:10
walls a hidden door groaned open and
20:14
behind it a throne made of bone dripping
20:18
with history and glowing faintly like it
20:20
already knew me the moment my blood
20:22
touched the altar everything changed the
20:25
walls trembled the torches flickered
20:27
black and the throne ancient jagged
20:29
wrapped in bone and shadow slit up like
20:31
it had been waiting for me the council
20:34
fell silent even they looked afraid
20:38
you've awakened the blood throne," the
20:40
high council woman whispered "it hasn't
20:42
responded in centuries." I took a step
20:44
toward it my fingers grazed the cold
20:48
it history pain thousands of voices
20:52
screaming whispering remembering i
20:55
stumbled back "i don't want this," I
20:57
said "i didn't choose to be born into
20:59
this." But the throne pulsed with energy
21:02
and in my mind I heard one clear voice
21:06
then rise choose who you become i turned
21:10
to the council no more secrets no more
21:12
control i'll join you but on my terms
21:15
one of the elders growled you think you
21:17
can bargain with us child i'm not a
21:20
child I said my voice steady i'm your
21:23
queen a blast of force erupted from me
21:26
the room shook the walls cracked one of
21:28
the council members fell to his knees
21:31
even my mother stepped back you've
21:33
already ascended she whispered i didn't
21:36
understand fully but I felt it i wasn't
21:39
changing anymore i was complete the
21:42
throne accepted me my blood had chosen
21:45
that night I returned home the moon felt
21:48
different like it bowed when I passed
21:51
shadows whispered but they no longer
21:53
scared me jace was waiting outside my
21:55
window his eyes still glowed faintly but
21:58
he looked human "hey," he said "i feel
22:02
better," I nodded i've stabilized you're
22:06
connected to me so you're stabilizing
22:08
too he smiled that's terrifying but kind
22:12
of hot we laughed for once it felt real
22:16
but just as I started to relax a raven
22:19
landed on my window sill its eyes were
22:22
silver it opened its mouth and spoke
22:25
"the war has begun they're coming for
22:27
the throne." And just like that my reign
22:30
had started but so had the war