Veins of starlight

The dome lights flickered again, casting uneven shadows across the crumbling streets of Sector 7. Anya Veylan crouched on the rooftop of an old market building, staring out over the city she called home.

Dawnspire wasn't much of a haven anymore. Once a shining beacon of human survival, the city was now a decaying labyrinth of desperation. The Core, where the elite lived in luxury, was a distant glow on the horizon, its golden towers gleaming under the brightest section of the dome. But out here, in the slums, the light barely touched the ground.

Anya pulled her patched coat tighter against the cold. Even beneath the dome, the air felt empty, as though the warmth of the sun had long since abandoned them. She glanced down at her gloves, ensuring the faint shimmer of her golden veins was hidden.

Her gaze drifted beyond the edges of the dome to the Wastelands, a dark, barren expanse of twisted trees and ruins. The vampires ruled that world, their bloodlines carving up the remains of human civilization like predators circling a carcass.

"Still staring at the edge of the world?" Tarek's voice broke her reverie.

Anya turned to see her friend climbing onto the rooftop, his sunforged blade strapped to his back. His face was dirty, but his grin was intact. "You keep staring out there, and one day something's going to stare back."

She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't staring at the Wastelands. I was thinking about how the Core gets brighter every year while we get darker."

Tarek shrugged. "That's the way it's always been. The Core shines, the Mid-Rings sweat, and we starve."

Anya shook her head, scanning the horizon again. "It wasn't always like this. Before the vampires, there wasn't a dome, or a Core, or a Mid-Ring. People lived together, under the real sun."

"Yeah, well, we don't have the real sun anymore."

Before Anya could reply, a loud chime echoed through the air. It came from the Solar Spire, a warning signal that sent shivers down her spine.

"What's that for?" Tarek muttered.

The lights in the dome flickered again, longer this time. Anya's heart sank. "Another blackout?"

"Or worse," Tarek said grimly. He pointed to the horizon, where a thin, dark mist seemed to be curling toward the edges of the dome. The Wastelands were stirring.