“Me? Who?” Vero asked.Ms. Caroline looked at her expressionlessly. Her hands were clasped in front of her stomach as she lifted her chin. “Just follow me.”Vero turned towards Crystal Creek, searching for Josh’s presence. Josh would definitely look for her if she suddenly disappeared. Should she go in first and tell Josh?“He doesn’t like to wait. So I hope you can be quick,” said Ms. Caroline, sounding impatient.Vero sighed and nodded. “Alright.” She would tell Josh where she was going later.Initially, Vero thought Ms. Caroline would take her to Dormitory Building B, but Ms. Caroline kept walking along the path by Caravons Depth.“Where are we going?” Vero asked.“You’ll find out soon enough.”Vero glanced at the lake and remembered the holy water that Etana had given her. She wouldn’t put that liquid into the lake. Instead, she would inform Lev about Etana’s plan to ignite a war.Vero’s distracted attention made her unaware that Ms. Caroline was leading her to Noblebranch. At the
When Vero opened her eyes, everything around her was moving, and she felt dizzy. It took her a while to realize that she was in an upside-down position. Her legs were tied and suspended by a rope attached to the ceiling, while her body swung freely in the air.The next second, she felt pain in various parts of her body, and her skin felt sticky. The smell of blood filled the air.“She’s awake.”She heard a voice that was unfamiliar, and she struggled to locate the source of the voice. Then she found five people sitting around a round table. One of them was Henry, and she didn’t recognize the other four. One thing was certain; they were all vampires.Henry stood up from his chair and approached her. He stopped a few steps away from Vero. Their eyes met, and Henry looked at her with disgust.“Ask what you want to ask before I kill her,” Henry hissed. Not sure who he was talking to.“Please, let me go,” Vero pleaded, squirming. Her hands were tied to her body. “They framed me. I’m not on
“Finally, after all these years of waiting and planning everything... I can meet you again, darling.” Etana swung the sword in her hand, directing it towards the light that broke through the glass roof. She tilted her head and crooked a triumphant smile, then her eyes glanced at Lev. “Remember this sword, kid?”“Who are you?” Lev asked, squinting his eyes while hissing. Lewin, who had been trying to stop him all along, loosened his grip. He was equally surprised, just like the others.Etana grinned. A cunning and satisfied gleam appeared in her eyes. Then she pointed her sword at Henry, who was still sitting on the floor. “Ask your brother what kind of relationship we had in the past.”Lev shrugged off Lewin’s hand from his arm in one swift motion, turning to look at Henry. “Henry?” he called.“Get out,” Henry said, uncertain to whom. One thing was clear; Etana wouldn’t leave so easily just because Henry asked to do so.“You are The Queen,” Donis De Goire said. “You’re the one who kil
“Where are we going?”“We’re gonna play hide and seek.”“With you?”“No. With humans.”Celsi’s eyes widened with excitement, sparkling like bright red candy balls upon hearing the word ‘humans.’ She always wanted to experience ‘playing’ with humans because their mother had always forbidden her from being with humans unsupervised.“Where’s Mother?” Sant asked.They walked down the corridor, holding hands, heading towards the staircase that led to the ground floor. The hem of Celsi’s white dress swept the gray carpet beneath her. She loves wearing long dresses and letting her long black hair flow down to her waist.The humans in Duradel said Celsi resembled a ghost. She had once escaped supervision and wandered into the town at night. Fortunately, she hadn’t harmed any humans when their parents found her.“Mommy is in her room. Drinking blood,” Celsi replied.Sant nodded. “Okay.”After dealing with the vampire hunters here, he would visit his mother and explain the situation. She wasn’t
“What’s your name?”“Etana Selvaria.”The butler, Raphael, observed Etana from head to toe through his monocle. It was her first day working as a maid in the Deammone family’s castle, and she felt extremely nervous. Not only because she was a newcomer in the beautiful city of Duradel, but also because of the infamous reputation of the Deammone family for being cruel.However, they paid their servants a high salary, much higher than any job in her hometown. So when one of her relatives offered her this job, she accepted it without a second thought.“Follow me,” said Raphael.Raphael turned and walked away, and Etana obediently followed him. They crossed hallways adorned with carpets, luxurious wallpaper with beautiful paintings, and chandeliers emitting golden light.“Your task is to clean the west wing, the residence of the young master Deammone,” explained Raphael. “You are allowed to enter from morning until afternoon, after which all areas of the family’s residence are off-limits t
He was supposed to scare her, gave her a punishment by biting her neck, put her under his spell, and then sent her back to the maids’ pavilion. But when her blood sip into his mouth and the taste of her scent burst on his tongue, there was only one thing he wanted; he wanted more of her.Henry wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. His other hand swung the door shut, leaning her back against it. His lips were busy sucking her intoxicating blood. The pleasurable sensation made his vision blur, but it was precisely what made him unable to stop.If only Etana hadn’t moaned and dug her nails into his back, he would have continued sucking her blood until it ran dry.This was the first time Henry had lost control of his bloodsucking desires.Henry released himself from Etana and stared at her face. The girl was clearly terrified.“Sir, I—”“Shh.” Henry pressed his index finger to his lips, silencing her. Then he wiped the edge of the sheet against her neck, cleaning the bl
Alexander called Henry to the tea room in the back garden, on a bright afternoon.The last golden lights from the sunset broke through the French windows that were decorated with spring flowers. There, in the one set of iron table and chairs, sat Alexander and Yvanna, his wife and Henry’s mother.Anyone who sees them together, even though they have only seen them once, will know in no time that there was no love between them. They married for political reasons, in order to strengthen each other family’s position among the vampire nobles.Yvanna wore a red-wine color velvet dress. Her dark hair was beautifully styled and her slender hand was holding a cup of tea. On the other hand, Alexander was looking at the sunset. The expression on his face was gloomy as always.Henry pulled an empty chair between them and sat there. As soon as he positioned himself, Alexander looked him in the eye and said, “Do you know the most disgusting thing a vampire can do?”His stomach tightened at the ques
Etana pulled a nearby iron chair and put it next to Henry who lying helplessly. The tip of her sword still rested on his chest and the toe of her shoe was pressed against his shoulder.“You’ve killed my parents, destroyed our castle, and left Duradel in devastation. Wasn’t that enough for you?” said Henry between his heavy breath.Etana grunted a bitter laugh. “Do you know what kind of life I’ve been through after I ran away from here?”“That night, I was the one who asked Raphael to help you escape—““Why didn’t you yourself take me away from this cursed city?!” she yelled. “Why you ordered one of your servants to bring me out of here and leave me wandering, suffering because of the change within me that I know nothing about?!”Henry groaned when Etana twist her sword and ripped the skin on his chest. Smoke and blood gushed from there.“Every single day, I felt my blood boiling. I thought I would die from the heat inside my body. I couldn’t eat nor drink, yet I never died. I tried to