Chapter 0165

My gaze darted wildly for an escape from the nightmare when our eyes met. Malachi had her pinned against the stone wall, fangs buried in her throat as he took her violently. Through the haze of terror, we clung to each other's stare like drowning souls grasping at driftwood. Her lips formed silent words that seared into my soul: "I'm here." My chest constricted as I answered with my own voiceless promise: "You're not alone."

It became our secret rebellion. Every night when the monsters feasted, we'd find each other across the blood-soaked chamber. Those stolen moments of connection were the only things keeping me sane. Especially after Valeria's voice vanished from my mind, leaving me stranded in this waking hell.

"Guardian." Prince Damien's slimy voice slithered through the dungeon. "I'm particularly thirsty tonight. Remove that pathetic scrap you call clothing." Though the prince never violated me like the others—his twisted pride wouldn't share his "prize"—he delighted in making the feedings degrading. Tonight he'd already drained two humans dry, their lifeless bodies discarded like empty wine bottles.

The sheer fabric slipped from my shoulders. He yanked me against his ice-cold chest, fangs piercing the tender flesh above my heart. I bit back a scream as his revolting tongue flicked over my nipple. When he dragged another girl onto his lap, I knew what came next. I'd witnessed this grotesque ritual countless times—how he climaxed while suffocating his victims between his thighs.

As his eyes rolled back in ecstasy, I searched the shadows. There. My lifeline. My only friend in this charnel house. We mouthed our mantra across the gore-slick floor, our gazes weaving an invisible shield against the horror.

The explosion shattered the castle doors.

Vampires scattered like cockroaches as silver gas canisters rolled across the flagstones. Wooden projectiles whizzed through the smoke—each hit causing a bloodsucker to age centuries in seconds, crumbling to dust mid-scream. I remained frozen, too broken to even flee my own salvation.

A heavy jacket engulfed my bare shoulders. "You're safe now," a gruff voice declared, though the battle still raged around us. "We're getting everyone out."

The sudden cold night air shocked my system. After years of imprisonment, my knees buckled at the sight of the moon. They loaded me into a waiting van where medics strapped an oxygen mask over my face.

"Who—" I rasped between gulps of clean air.

"Hunters Guild," my rescuer answered with grim pride. "We exterminate supernatural vermin." He vanished back into the fray before I could react.

Hunters. My stomach plummeted. I'd traded one executioner for another. If they discovered what pulsed beneath my skin...

A weak hand grasped mine. My friend tugged her oxygen mask aside, her whisper barely audible over the chaos: "Run. I've always known you're different. Go—I'll buy you time."

Her fingers slipped from mine as I melted into the shadows.