Beneath his bite

Lucinda

Cold.

That was the first thing I felt when consciousness clawed its way back into me. Not the soft kind of cold that brushed against skin during winter nights at Moon Rose Academy, but a dead, rotting cold that lived inside the stone itself, crawling through my bones until my entire body ached with it. Moisture dripped somewhere in the darkness, the slowtap… tap… tapechoing through the chamber like a countdown to something terrible, and when I forced my eyes open, all I saw were jagged stone walls swallowing the little light that existed.

For a second, panic refused to settle into place.

My mind floated in that horrible space between sleep and reality, disoriented and heavy, until I turned my head and saw the iron bars standing in front of me.

A cell.

The realization slammed into my chest so violently it knocked the breath from my lungs.

I jerked upright too fast, and pain ripped through my wrists. Metal clanged sharply in the silence as chains snapped taut, dragging me back against the wall. My pulse spiked instantly. I looked down and saw thick black cuffs locked around my wrists, ancient runes burned into the steel in crimson and blue.

“No…”

The word left me hoarse. Weak.

I reached for my blood magic instinctively, searching for the familiar heat that always coiled beneath my skin, the living power that answered me like a second heartbeat but there was nothing.

Nothing.

Panic clawed up my throat.

Again, I tried forcing harder this time, desperate for even the smallest flicker of crimson energy, but the magic refused to answer me. It was like reaching into an empty grave. Hollow. Dead.

“Fuck!”

The curse tore out of me as rage surged through my chest. I yanked against the chains hard enough to bruise my wrists instantly, metal scraping skin raw. “How do I get out of here?” My breathing became uneven. Sharp. Frantic. “I need to get back to Caleb.”

Caleb.

Just thinking his name made my chest tighten painfully.

I slammed the cuffs against the wall over and over, the sound cracking through the dungeon as sparks of agony shot through my arms, but the chains refused to break. Again. Again. Again. The iron bit deeper into my skin until warm blood slid down my hands, but still nothing happened.

Hours passed. Or maybe minutes. Time didn’t feel real down there.

Eventually exhaustion forced me still. My entire body trembled from effort as I pushed myself shakily to my feet and tested how far the chains would let me move. They dragged across the stone floor with a horrible metallic screech until I reached the bars.

I gripped them instantly. Cold iron burned against my palms.

“Anyone there?” My voice echoed through the darkness. “Let me out of here! Do you know who you kidnapped?”

Silence answered me.

Not normal silence either.

This silence felt haunted. Heavy. Like screams had soaked into the walls so deeply the stones themselves remembered them. The air smelled thick with old blood and mildew, copper rotting beneath damp earth, and suddenly my stomach twisted violently because I realized people had suffered here. Tortured here. Left to rot here.

My heartbeat slammed harder against my ribs.

Too hard.

Fragments of memory crashed into me without warning.

The garden at Moon Rose Academy. The scent of roses drifting through the night air. The old photo album Lady Lyra had given me resting in my lap. Then Sylus appearing from the shadows. Calm. Charming. Manipulative.

The Royal Lines.

The vials.

The crests burned into the glass.

My biological brother Damon.

God.

I remembered handing Sylus the blood. Remembered the exact second everything shifted. Caleb appearing. The terror on his face. Sylus grabbing me and using me like a shield while I screamed for Caleb to help me…

Then darkness.

My eyes snapped open again, breath catching painfully in my throat.

“Fuck…” I whispered shakily. “Sylus took me from Caleb.”

The words made the fear inside me crack.

I pulled at the chains again desperately, slamming them against the bars until my arms shook violently from weakness, but they still wouldn’t break. Eventually my strength failed me completely, and I staggered backward until I hit the far wall and collapsed onto the cold stone floor.

That was when I realized my clothes had been changed.

A sick feeling twisted through my stomach.

My blue top and shorts were gone. In their place was a dark red dress that clung uncomfortably to my skin, soft fabric against bruised flesh. My fingers curled into it instantly.

He changed me.

While I was unconscious.

Humiliation crawled beneath my skin like insects. Rage followed right behind it.

“Is there any way out of this place?” I muttered weakly, my throat dry enough to ache. “I need to get back to Caleb…”

My mouth felt like sandpaper. Every breath scraped. Hunger gnawed at me viciously now, deep and primal, the thirst for blood becoming unbearable with every passing hour. My fangs ached constantly.

I kept trying to break free at first.

Until I realized every failed attempt only made me weaker.

Eventually I stopped fighting and simply sat there in the darkness listening to my own breathing, wondering if Caleb was searching for me right now… or if he thought I abandoned him.

That thought hurt more than the chains ever could.

Days passed.

I knew because the hunger became unbearable.

My body felt hollowed out from the inside, skin pale and cold, veins aching beneath the surface. Even keeping my eyes open took effort now. When I moved, the chains rattled weakly instead of violently.

I stared down at the cuffs around my wrists again and finally noticed the symbol carved into them clearly, a crimson moon split through the center with a streak of blue crossing it.

Suppressors.

Of course.

A bitter laugh escaped me. “Did he really have to use chains that suppress my power?” My reply sounded broken now. Thin. “Guess he really doesn’t want me escaping.”

Then I heard footsteps.

Slow. Measured.

Each one echoed through the dungeon louder than the last.

My body tensed instantly despite how weak I felt.

Closer.

Closer.

I forced my eyes open wider, fighting through exhaustion as the footsteps finally stopped outside my cell.

And there he was.

Sylus.

Black uniform. Crimson lining across the collar. A matching black coat resting perfectly against his shoulders like he belonged in darkness. The crest stitched into his chest glowed faintly red beneath the dim torchlight. Silver hair framed his pale face, and his blood hungry eyes locked onto mine with a calmness that made my stomach twist violently.

I hated how composed he looked while I sat chained to a wall starving.

My throat burned as I tried to speak. “I guess…” I swallowed painfully. “I can thank you for the outfit change, huh?” My lips curled weakly. “Bet you feel strong standing on that side of the cage seeing me like this.”

The cell door creaked open.

Fear slithered down my spine instantly.

I tried to move away from him, but my body barely obeyed me anymore. My limbs felt heavy and numb from blood deprivation.

Then I saw the bottle in his hand.

Blood.

The scent hit me instantly. Rich. Metallic. Warm.

My control nearly shattered on the spot.

Hunger ripped through me so hard it physically hurt. I reached for it before I could stop myself, desperate enough to hate myself for it.

Sylus smirked and pulled it back slightly.

“Interesting,” he murmured softly. “So, this is what it takes to break a royal pureblood.”

Hatred flared through me instantly.

He crouched in front of me, setting the bottle beside him instead. “You fought harder than I expected,” he admitted calmly. “Getting you here unconscious wasn’t exactly easy. You screamed Caleb’s name the entire time.”

My chest tightened violently.

He grabbed my chin suddenly, forcing me to look at him. “Want to know a secret, Lucinda?” His tone dropped lower. Colder. “Your precious Caleb will never find you here.”

The words hit harder than they should have.

“No,” I whispered instantly, but doubt crept in anyway.

He smiled. “The only way you leave this place… is if you obey me.”

Then he handed me the bottle.

The second it touched my hands, instinct devoured every ounce of pride I had left. I drank desperately, blood spilling down my throat so fast it hurt, warmth flooding my veins again like life itself returning to my body. My vision sharpened almost instantly. My breathing steadied.

God.

I hated how badly I needed it.

When the bottle emptied, I wiped my mouth shakily. “Did you really have to bleed me dry?”

Sylus brushed his thumb across my lip.

I recoiled violently, slamming against the wall behind me with a hiss. “Don’t touch me.”

His eyes darkened slightly with amusement instead of anger. That somehow made it worse.

“Oh, sweet Lucinda,” he murmured near my ear, smooth as poison, “we needed you weak. It’s the only way you’d listen.”

I looked down at the chains again. “Is this really necessary?”

He laughed softly. Darkly. “This is what happens to everyone brought down here.” He leaned closer. “Go ahead and scream if you want. No one can hear you.”

A chill crawled through me.

“The lowest level,” he continued. “The dungeon beneath everything else.”

Dungeon.

The word settled like rot inside my chest.

He unhooked the chains from the wall suddenly, and I instinctively tried to move away. Pain exploded through my stomach as his boot slammed into me hard enough to steal the air from my lungs.

I folded instantly with a strangled gasp.

“If you want more blood,” he said coldly above me, “behave princess.”

Humiliation burned hotter than pain.

I hated him.

God, I hated him.

He locked the chains into the floor instead and pulled me upright roughly. “Better,” he murmured. “You look less pathetic sitting up.”

I leaned against the opposite wall near the bars instead, forcing distance between us. “Fine,” I muttered bitterly. “Tell me what the Royal Lines are.”

Sylus handed me another bottle before sitting across from me. I drank slower this time, forcing control back into myself piece by piece.

“Ah,” he said with a smirk. “Someone remembers how to control her bloodlust.”

I rolled my eyes weakly. “Stop playing games.”

His hand snapped around my chin again. “Careful.”

Rage flickered through me, but I stayed silent. Barely.

Finally he sighed. “The Royal Lines have served the Blackthorne Family for centuries. Fear maintains order. Control maintains survival. Without us, vampires would leave the schools, flood human territory, slaughter everything in sight.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

Then I laughed.

Not because it was funny. Because it was insane.

“Bullshit.” I hiss the soundsharpened instantly. “Before I came to Moon Rose Academy, I lived nowhere near vampires. Humans live in the United States. Vampires are here in England. Thousands of miles apart.”

He watched me carefully now.

“They’d have to travel for days,” I continued bitterly. “Most vampires wouldn’t survive the journey. Not in sunlight. And don’t try telling me the sun doesn’t affect them because we both know that’s a lie.”

I leaned forward slightly despite the chains.

“Purebloods?” I said colder now. “Royal purebloods like me? Maybe. But ordinary vampires?” I shook my head slowly. “You thought I was stupid, didn’t you?”

Sylus said nothing.

“You thought I was some newborn vampire who knew nothing about our race.” My lip curled. “But I know exactly who can walk in daylight… and who burns.”

For the first time since waking up in that dungeon.

Sylus stopped smiling.

Sylus laughed again, but this time the sound felt wrong hollow, empty and like a madness trying to imitate amusement. The noise echoed through the dungeon walls and curled beneath my skin until goosebumps crawled across my arms.

“So,” he murmured, tilting his head slightly, silver hair slipping across his forehead, “Lyra really did teach you.”

I let out a weak laugh of my own, though there was no humor inside it. My throat still burned from days without blood, every word scraping raw on the way out.

“Not just her.” I shifted carefully against the chains digging into my wrists. “All the elders did. Caleb too.”

Just saying his name sent a sharp ache through my chest.

I could almost picture him. Crimson eyes. Dark hair falling into his face. The way his hands always steadied me whenever my powers spiraled too far. The memory hit so suddenly my stomach twisted painfully. God, I missed him.

“They made sure I understood everything,” I continued quieter now. “Every branch of vampires. Purebloods. Aristocrats. Level E’s.” I swallowed hard before meeting Sylus’s eyes again. “So, let’s stop pretending, okay?”

The torchlight flickered violently between us, throwing shadows across his face. He didn’t move. Didn’t speak. He just watched me with that same unnerving stillness that made me feel like prey being studied before the kill.

“I already knew there was a faction that served under Zane,” I whispered. “And even more that hid in the shadows that aren’t apart of…” I let the words trail off deliberately before giving a bitter laugh. “What do you call yourselves? Oh right.” My eyes locked onto his. “The Royal Lines.”

The second the words left my mouth, the air changed.

I felt it immediately.

Sylus went still. Not physically his breathing remained calm, posture relaxed but the darkness behind his eyes sharpened. Predatory. Calculating.

Like he was dissecting me.

Every movement. Every breath. Every flicker of fear I failed to hide.

It made my skin crawl.

I took a slow breath anyway, forcing my tone steady despite the unease building inside me. “Now that we’re done lying to each other…” I looked directly at him. “Tell me the truth.”

The chains shifted softly when I moved. Metal scraping stone.

“You don’t kidnap the future queen over revenge for a dead ruler.” My pulse thudded harder beneath my skin. “Unless that’s what this is.” Fear crept into my response despite my efforts to bury it. “Am I here to be tortured to death, Sylus?”

Silence stretched between us for one long second.

Then he laughed.

“Oh, man…” He dragged a hand down his face like I’d genuinely entertained him. “How the hell did Caleb end up catching one like you?”

I stiffened instantly.

“You’re lively,” he continued, smirking now. “Got spunk, Lady Lucinda.”

Before I could move, his hand shot forward and gripped my chin hard enough to hurt.

I hissed and jerked backward instinctively, but he only tightened his hold. My chains rattled violently as he yanked me forward off the wall. My knees slammed painfully against the stone floor when he forced me into the center of the cell. Agony shot through my legs instantly.

“Let go of me!”

The dungeon swallowed my words whole.

Sylus shoved my hands down against the floor, pinning me there effortlessly while the chains clanged around us. Panic flashed hot through my chest.

“Revenge?” he repeated softly, almost amused. “Why would I need revenge against you?” His blood red eyes locked onto mine. “Yes, you killed Zane.”

The name alone made nausea twist through my stomach.

Blood.

Screaming.

Yuki and Ron lying dead across the garden, their severed heads resting beside their bodies while blood spread beneath them in dark rivers. Zane’s blood soaked through my dress so heavily it clung to my skin, warm and sticky, the metallic scent choking the air around me while his corpse sprawled across the garden like the remains of a nightmare that still refused to end.

My breathing faltered.

“But that’s not the revenge I want,” Sylus whispered. “Not even close.”

Fear slid icy fingers down my spine.

“Then what?” I stammered as it cracked this time. I hated that he heard it. “What am I missing?”

For a second he just stared at me.

Then suddenly pressure exploded through my hand.

I screamed.

The sound ripped from my throat before I could stop it as Sylus planted his boot directly onto my hand and pressed down hard against the bones. White-hot pain shot up my entire arm instantly. My vision blurred.

“Oh my God—!”

I tried jerking away, but the chains held me in place while his weight crushed harder. I could feel stone grinding into my skin beneath my palm.

And the worst part was the look on his face. Not rage, not madness violence far colder. Interest. Like he genuinely enjoyed watching pain unfold beneath his hands, like my screams were nothing more than entertainment echoing through the dungeon walls. Tears burned viciously behind my eyes from the pressure crushing my hand, but I forced them back down, refusing to let them fall in front of him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me break. Sylus leaned closer slowly, deliberately, until I could smell the thick metallic scent of blood lingering on his clothes beneath the damp stone and mildew, and the realization that some of it probably wasn’t his made nausea twist violently through my stomach.

Sylus leaned closer slowly until I could smell the blood lingering on his clothes.

“Your bloodline,” he whispered near my ear, “must be erased.”

The words hollowed fear inside me.

My body froze beneath him.

“It wouldn’t have come to this if you’d grown up beside Lord Zane like you were supposed to.” His response darkened. “But you disappeared.”

I stared at him in horror.

“You vanished for seventeen years and then show up at Moon Rose Academy”

My heart slammed painfully against my ribs.

“Then Zane killed you.” His lips curled faintly beneath the dim torchlight, murderous red gaze gleaming with darkness. “You were supposed to stay dead.”

The words hit like a blade sliding between my ribs, and before I could stop myself, fury violent snapped loose inside me. Rage surged hotter than fear. I spat directly into his face. The action shocked even me the second it happened, but it was too late to take back. Silence crashed through the dungeon instantly afterward, heavy and suffocating, until even the dripping water somewhere deep in the darkness seemed to stop. Sylus didn’t move for one long terrifying second. Then slowly far too calmly he lifted his hand and wiped the spit from his cheek with his thumb, his expression unreadable in a way that made fear crawl colder beneath my skin than any scream ever could.

“Sorry for wanting to stay alive,” I hissed, my words breaking beneath the weight of anger and fear twisting violently together inside my chest. “And for your information, until a year ago I didn’t even know any of this was real!” My breathing turned uneven with every word, shaking so badly it hurt to force air into my lungs. “I didn’t know what I was!”

The confession ripped out of me harsher than I intended, and suddenly memories crashed into my head so violently it felt like drowning in them all over again.

being a teenager standing frozen in front of the bathroom mirror after my eyes flashed crimson during arguments, panic clawing through me while I tried convincing myself it was stress or exhaustion, furniture splintering apart whenever my anger spiraled too far, lightbulbs exploding above my head, windows cracking without me touching them, strange power erupting from my body every single time someone I loved got hurt while I stood there terrified of myself and completely alone because no one could explain why I was different.

“I thought vampires were stories,” I whispered, my throat tightening painfully. “Fairytales people made up because they wanted to believe eternal love existed.”

Caleb flashed through my mind again instantly.

His touch.

His voice.

The way he looked at me like I wasn’t a monster.

Pain squeezed so tightly around my chest I could barely breathe through it.

“I didn’t understand why my eyes changed when I got angry,” I continued weakly. “Why strange powers came out of my body. Why people got hurt when I lost control.” Tears blurred my vision now despite how badly I fought them. “I didn’t even know vampires were real.”

Sylus stared at me silently for a long moment.

Then finally he lifted his boot from my hand.

Pain throbbed viciously through my fingers as I scrambled backward immediately until my spine slammed into the wall again. The chains rattled loudly around me.

The stone behind me felt freezing against my skin.

Sylus sighed softly, almost tired.

“Look,” he murmured, “I don’t hate you.”

A bitter laugh escaped me instantly. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“None of the Royal Lines hate you,” he corrected calmly. “That’s the problem.”

I frowned slightly despite myself.

“You weren’t supposed to survive when Zane killed you.” His eyes darkened. “Your bloodline wasn’t supposed to return.”

A sick feeling settled deep in my stomach.

“Your brother was meant to be the last.”

Damon.

The thought of him made unease slither through me instantly.

Sylus crouched slightly in front of me again, violent crimson gaze gleaming in the flickering torchlight.

“But honestly?”

A slow smile spread across his face.

“You being here…” His gaze dragged over me carefully. “Actually helps us.”

Ice flooded through my veins so fast it stole the air from my lungs. The dungeon suddenly felt smaller around me, the stone walls pressing closer while Sylus’s words echoed endlessly inside my head. My heartbeat stumbled unevenly against my ribs as dread curled deep in my stomach, darker and colder than fear itself, because for the first time since waking up chained in that cell, bruised and starving beneath the earth, I realized they might not have dragged me down there to kill me at all. And somehow that realization felt far worse.

I stared at Sylus across the dim torchlight, wrapping my arms tightly around myself as if it could somehow stop the cold slowly crawling deeper beneath my skin. The chains around my wrists clinked softly with the movement, the sound swallowed by the heavy silence rotting through the dungeon.

“And how exactly does me being here help you and the Royal Lines?” I asked bitterly. “Just tell me the truth for once.”

Sylus watched me for a moment before slowly leaning closer. Too close. I could smell blood and smoke clinging to his clothes, thick enough to choke the air around him.

“Fine,” he murmured near my ear. “I’ll tell you the truth, Lady Lucinda.”

Then I felt his breath ghost across my skin as he whispered.

“You’re bait.”

The words hollowed my chest instantly.

I blinked at him in disbelief. “Come again?”

A cold laugh escaped him. “I didn’t stutter.” His eyes glowing like blood beneath the glass gleamed in the darkness. “You’re bait.”

I tightened my arms harder around myself. “I thought you said Caleb would never find this place.” My pulse thudded unevenly now. “So if I’m bait, why tell me that?”

Sylus stepped backward and leaned lazily against the bars of the cell, amusement twisting across his face like this entire conversation entertained him.

“Not bait for Caleb, silly girl.” He scoffed lightly. “I could care less about him.” His lips curled faintly. “He’s useless now that he’s no longer the weapon.”

Anger flickered hot through my chest at the way he spoke about Caleb, but I swallowed it down when he handed me another bottle of blood. My fingers wrapped around it instantly, hunger reacting before pride could.

The bottle felt cold in my trembling hands.

I opened it slowly this time and took a careful sip, forcing myself not to lose control. Warmth slid down my throat immediately, easing the raw ache that had turned my insides into sandpaper.

“Okay…” I whispered after a moment, lifting my eyes back to him. “If not Caleb… then who?”

Sylus smirked.

“Your brother.”

The words landed harder than expected.

“Damon.”

The dungeon suddenly felt too small around me.

“You’re bait for him.”

A laugh escaped me automatically, sharp and disbelieving. “My family’s gone, Sylus.”

He crossed the cell faster than I expected one second, he stood near the bars, and the next his hand was gripping my chin hard enough to force my head upward.

“Oh, poor Lucinda.” His words lowered almost mockingly. “You really don’t know anything.”

Fear curled slowly through my stomach.

“Let me tell you something.” His eyes like fresh blood beneath the moonlight locked onto mine. “Your family isn’t gone.”

My heartbeat stumbled.

“And Damon…” His grip tightened slightly. “Damon is the key to finding them.”

For a second I forgot how to breathe.

My parents.

Alive?

No.

No, this had to be another manipulation. Another game meant to break me apart slowly until I stopped fighting back. But the problem was… part of me wanted to believe him.

And that terrified me.

Sylus finally released my chin and glanced around the dungeon cell before his gaze landed on the bare stone floor behind me. A faint smirk touched his lips.

“No bed?” he muttered almost thoughtfully before suddenly striking the bars sharply with his hand.

The metallic clang echoed through the dungeon.

A guard appeared moments later dressed in the same black uniform marked with crimson lining. His eyes barely flicked toward me.

Sylus smiled pleasantly. “Please bring Lady Lucinda a bed for her cell.” His tone sounded almost civilized, which somehow made him feel even crueler. “She’s being cooperative for now, so let’s get her something comfortable to sleep on.”

The guard nodded instantly. “Yes, sir.”

As the footsteps disappeared again, Sylus turned back toward me slowly.

“You,” he said calmly, “are going to help us make Damon talk.”

Ice slid down my spine.

“He’s going to tell us where your parents are hiding.”

My eyes widened. “Why the hell do you need my parents?”

Sylus laughed softly. “That, my dear Lucinda, is information you don’t earn until I have all three of you locked in cells beside each other.”

My stomach twisted violently.

The image hit me instantly, Damon chained beside me somewhere beneath this place while my parents suffered in these same rotting halls.

No.

Absolutely not.

Before I could answer, the guard returned carrying a small bed frame with dark sheets and pillows balanced awkwardly in his arms. Sylus stepped aside while the guard dragged it toward the far wall of my cell.

The sight of something as normal as pillows inside a dungeon filled with blood and screams felt deeply unsettling somehow. Wrong. Like decorating a grave.

Once the guard finished and stepped away, I let out a slow breath. “Fine. Don’t tell me.” I lifted my eyes back to Sylus. “But if you think I’m just going to bend to your will, you’re insane.”

Sylus laughed again, low and dark.

“Oh, you will.” His eyes gleamed with quiet certainty. “You’d be amazed what people reveal when enough pressure is applied.”

A chill crawled beneath my skin.

“Get some rest, Lucinda.” He stepped backward toward the cell door. “I’ll return tomorrow.”

The guard followed him out while Sylus left one final bottle of blood sitting near the bars. The heavy cell door slammed shut behind them with a deep metallic boom that echoed endlessly through the dungeon halls.

Then silence returned, thick and suffocating as it swallowed the sound of Sylus’s footsteps disappearing down the dungeon halls until all that remained was the distant dripping of water and the low crackling of torches somewhere far beyond my cell. It was the kind of silence that made every tiny sound feel wrong, monstrous, like the darkness itself was listening and waiting beneath the stone.

I stared at the bottles of blood sitting near the floor beside me, the dark crimson liquid shifting faintly inside the bottle while my thoughts spiraled faster and faster inside my head.

Damon was here. Somewhere beneath this place. Somewhere inside this rotting nightmare of chains and blood and screaming walls while the Royal Lines hunted him through me,

and the realization settled into my chest like ice.becauseif they already had me trapped down here, then maybe my brother was closer than I ever imagined or already suffering somewhere in the dark beside me.

And I was being used to lure him out so the Royal Lines could get to my parents.

But why?

What could they possibly want badly enough to kidnap entire bloodlines for it?

I looked around the dungeon again, at the stained stone walls and rusted bars and dried blood soaked into the cracks of the floor, and dread settled deeper into my chest because I already knew one thing for certain.

Whatever they planned to do with my family…

It wasn’t going to end with any of us walking out alive.

Hours passed slowly after that.

The torches dimmed lower. The dungeon grew colder.

Eventually I carried the remaining bottles toward the bed and sat down carefully against the thin mattress. The sheets smelled faintly dusty, untouched for years. I curled into myself instinctively, knees pulled tightly against my chest while the chains pooled beside me across the floor.

And despite everything the chains digging into my skin, the fear crawling beneath my ribs, the lingering ache in my bruised hand, the cold dungeon swallowing me deeper with every passing hour. my thoughts still drifted back to Caleb like some desperate part of me refused to survive this place without him.God, I missed him so muchit physically hurt. The ache inside my chest became unbearable the longer I sat there alone, sharp and suffocating, because all I could picturewas his face the last time I saw him in that garden, the panic in his bloodlit eyes while Sylus dragged me away from him, and suddenly the emptiness beside me felt crueler than the chains ever could.

I buried my face against my arms and closed my eyes tightly.Please,I thought desperately.Please find me.

I wanted to hear his voice.

Wanted his arms around me.

Wanted to feel safe again.

The thought shattered the little strength I had left.

“Oh, Caleb…” I whispered weakly into the darkness. “Please save me from this place.”

A sudden rattling sound tore me out of my spiraling thoughts so fast my entire body tensed instantly against the mattress. Chains. But not mine. These sounded heavier, uneven, dragging slowly across stone somewhere beyond the darkness outside my cell. My head snapped upward sharply while my heartbeat stumbled hard against my ribs, every nerve in my body going painfully alert as the metallic scraping echoed again through the dungeon halls, closer this time, followed by the faint sound of footsteps moving somewhere just beyond the flickering torchlight.

Metal scraped somewhere nearby, followed by slow uneven footsteps dragging across stone. My pulse spiked instantly as I pushed myself off the bed and moved toward the bars of my cell.

“Lucinda…”

The voice sounded ruined.

Like sandpaper dragged across broken glass.

I froze.

Every muscle in my body tightened as I stared into the darkness beyond my cell.

“Who are you?” I whispered carefully.

Silence answered me again at first.

Then finally…

“I heard them talking about you.”

The chains moved again somewhere beyond the wall, clinking heavily as if whoever was attached to them barely had the strength to walk.

“The girl who killed Zane.”

A chill crept slowly through me.

I lowered myself against the wall nearest the voice, trying to see through the darkness separating the cells, but there was nothing except shadows and flickering torchlight far down the corridor.

“So…” I swallowed carefully. “I’m not the only person they kidnapped?”

The voice gave a soft sound that almost resembled a laugh. Almost.

“No.”

More chains dragged softly against stone before he spoke again.

“I’m sorry this happened to you.”

The way he said it made my stomach tighten uneasily.

“There’s probably somewhere else you’d rather be,” he murmured quietly. “Someone else.”

Caleb.

The thought hit instantly.

“Yes,” I whispered. “There is.”

For a second the silence between us softened slightly, and I could almost imagine him smiling somewhere in the darkness beside me.

Then the chains shifted again like he was wrapping his arms around himself.

“I knew they’d come for you eventually,” he admitted quietly. “I just didn’t think it would happen this soon.”

Every thought in my head stopped.

Cold crept slowly through my veins again.

My mind spiraled instantly.

How does he know that?

Who is he?

Why was he expecting them to come for me?

Fear tightened painfully around my chest until it became hard to breathe, but beneath the terror and confusion,longingslowly awakened inside me. A feeling far more dangerous in a place like this. Hope. Small and fragile, but alive enough to make my pulse quicken anyway. Because whoever this stranger was hidden somewhere beyond the darkness of these dungeon walls, he knew things.

About me.

About my family.

About the Royal Lines and whatever nightmare they were planning beneath this place.

My thoughts spiraled endlessly as I stared into the shadows separating our cells, and for the first time since waking up chained beneath the earth, another possibility slipped into my mind besides dying down here forgotten.Maybe this stranger knew more than Sylus realized. Maybe he knew secrets the Royal Lines wanted buried.

And maybe…

Just maybe…

He knew how to escape this nightmare alive.

Caleb

I stood in the middle of my dorm staring at the side of the room where Lucinda used to sleep, and the silence inside the space felt wrong now. Empty. Her books still sat stacked beside the bed exactly the way she left them, one laying open face down with dried rose petals pressed between the pages, and the faint scent of her perfume still lingered in the air beneath the smell of old wood and candle wax.

It fucking killed me. Every corner of the dorm carried pieces of her the blanket she always stole from me during storms, the chair near the window where she curled up to read, the crimson ribbon she forgot beside the dresser and the longer I stood there staring at those little traces she left behind, the more it felt like half my soul had been ripped out of my chest and buried somewhere I couldn’t reach.

Sleep hadn’t touched me in days.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Sylus dragging her away from me in the front of Moon Rose Academy while her screams echoed through my head over and over again.

So instead of trying to sleep again, I left the dorm.

The academy halls were dark and quiet this late at night, moonlight spilling through the tall gothic windows in silver streaks across the stone floors while torches flickered weakly along the walls. My boots hit the floor harder than usual as anger and panic twisted violently together inside me.

By the time I reached Ren’s dorm, I was already slamming my fist against the door hard enough to shake the frame.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

Finally, I heard movement inside followed by an irritated groan.

“God damn it, Caleb, hold on!”

Locks clicked before the door swung open, revealing Ren standing there half awake with white hair falling messily over his eyes. Fresh blood stained the corner of his mouth like he’d been feeding before I interrupted him.

“Do you realize it’s the middle of the night?” he muttered, rubbing a hand down his face. “This is the third night this week.”

He stepped aside anyway, silently letting me in before shutting the door behind me.

The warmth of the dorm hit immediately, thick with the scent of coffee, blood, and smoke from the fireplace crackling softly in the corner.

“Let me guess,” Ren sighed tiredly. “You can’t sleep again.”

A bitter laugh escaped me.

“How the hell does anyone expect me to sleep?” I snapped, pacing immediately. “Lucinda’s gone, Ren.” My chest tightened painfully saying it out loud again. “Kidnapped by some fucking group called the Royal Lines.”

Ren’s expression darkened instantly.

“Yeah,” he muttered quietly. “That was the name on the limo before they took Lady Lucinda.”

A growl ripped out of me before I could stop it.

“You know she wouldn’t want you calling her that,” I hissed. “So don’t call her that around me.”

Ren immediately raised both hands defensively. “Alright, alright.” He sighed. “Sorry. Old habit. That’s how royals are addressed.”

I dragged a hand through my hair violently before collapsing into the chair in the living room of his dorm. Exhaustion weighed heavily against my body, but fear kept my mind moving too fast to rest.

“She could be hurt right now,” I whispered roughly. “Starving, bleeding or worse…” My throat tightened painfully. “They could’ve already killed her.”

The words nearly destroyed me the second they left my mouth, the thought of, Lucindalying dead somewhere in the dark hitting so hard it felt like the fear inside my chest physically cracked beneath the weight of it. No. I refused to believe that.

Refused to even let the possibility settle into my mind for more than a second because if I did, I knew it would consume me completely.

Lucinda was alive, she had to be. She was too stubborn, too strong, too full of fire to simply disappear into the shadows without fighting her way back to me.

Ren watched me quietly from across the dorm for a long moment, his expression tightening with sympathy before he finally exhaled heavily and rubbed a tired hand down his face. “I’ll make blood espressos,” he muttered softly. I only nodded in silence, staring down at the floor while panic and hope tore each other apart inside my chest.

Before he could move toward the kitchen though, another knock echoed through the dorm. Then another immediately after.

Ren groaned softly. “Apparently nobody sleeps anymore.”

He opened the door again to reveal Rose, Liz, and Tristan standing outside looking just as exhausted as I felt.

Ren rolled his eyes dramatically. “Okay. Make that four blood espressos.”

The three of them stepped inside the dorm quietly, their movements slower than usual as the door shut behind them with a dull click that seemed to deepen the tension already choking the room. Nobody smiled. Nobody threw out sarcastic comments or tried to lighten the mood the way we normally would after a long night at Moon Rose Academy.

Even Rose looked pale beneath the firelight, her hands wrapped tightly around her arms while Liz avoided looking directly at me altogether. The fear hanging between all of us had grown too heavy for jokes now, thick and suffocating like smoke filling the dorm room, because every single one of us was imagining the same thing.

Lucinda trapped somewhere cold and dark while none of us had any idea how to bring her home.

A few minutes later Ren returned carrying steaming mugs, the bitter metallic scent of heated blood filling the room immediately. We all sat scattered around the dorm in tense silence while the fire crackled softly behind us.

I took a sip from the mug, the warmth burning down my throat, but it did nothing to ease the knot twisting inside my chest.

Finally, Ren broke the silence first.

“Let me guess,” he muttered. “None of you can sleep because of Lucinda either.”

Rose frowned deeply into her cup. “Look at us.” Her words sounded hollow. “We’re sitting here drinking hot blood espressos while we don’t even know if they’re feeding her.”

The image slammed into my head so suddenly it nearly made me sick Lucinda chained somewhere beneath the earth in some freezing dungeon, starving for blood while darkness swallowed her whole. Alone.The thought of her sitting there terrified without anyone to protect her twisted violently through my chest until it became hard to breathe. I could practicallysee her pale skin, hear the chains dragging across stone, imagine the fear she’d try so desperately to hide from whoever was holding her captive,and rage exploded through me so fast my grip tightened instinctively around the mug in my hand until cracks splintered through the ceramic with a sharp snap beneath my fingers.

Ren noticed immediately and sighed. “Fine.” He set his drink down. “Tomorrow morning we’ll go to the Headmistress’s office and see what information they have on the Royal Lines.”

I looked up sharply. “Aren’t you worried about her, Ren?”

The question came out harsher than intended.

He took another slow sip before answering quietly. “Yes.”

Silence settled over the room again.

“She’s not just our friend,” he continued softly. “She’s the future queen.”

The firelight flickered across his pale face as he leaned back into the couch.

“The one meant to restore order to the vampire race and the royal houses.” His response lowered. “Now that Zane is dead, the Blackthorne Family no longer rules. He was the last of that bloodline.”

The room grew still.

“There’s nobody better suited to rule us than Lucinda.”

My chest tightened painfully hearing her name spoken like that.Queen.

She never even wanted the throne.

“She’ll rule differently,” Ren said quietly. “Not through fear. Not through control.” His eyes shifted toward me then. “And no more weapons.”

The words hit harder than Ren probably realized, settling deep inside my chest like an old wound being ripped back open.

Weapon.

That was all Zane had ever seen when he looked at me not a person, not someone capable of love or fear or grief, just useful he could point toward his enemies and unleash until there was nothing left standing. Disposable. Replaceable. A monster shaped by his orders and sharpened through bloodshed until even I started believing that was all I would ever be.

The memories clawed back instantly after hearing the word again as I lowered my eyes toward the steaming mug in my hands.Screams echoing through the academy rooms, blood coating my hands so heavily it dripped onto the stone floors, Zane’s cold voice praising me only when I destroyed someone for him while orders were screamed into my face over and over until violence stopped feeling like a choice and became instinct instead. The endless brutality he forced into me had twisted so deeply beneath my skin that there were moments I barely recognized myself anymore.

Nausea rolled violently through my stomach because part of me still feared that no matter how much Lucinda loved me, there would always be pieces of that weapon buried somewhere inside me waiting to resurface.

“No more aristocrats forced into becoming monsters for the crown,” Ren finished softly.

The room fell silent again after that, a heavy suffocating silence that settled over all of us like smoke while the fire crackled softly in the corner and the scent of heated blood lingered thick in the air. Ren inhaled slowly, gripping his cup tighter between his hands before finally lifting his eyes toward me, And the look on his face made my chest tighten painfully before he even spoke. “Lucinda will rule with love instead of fear.”

He whispered quietly, the firelight flickering across his pale features. “And you, Caleb…” He hesitated then, the unfinished words hanging heavily between us while everyone in the room turned toward him in silence. The fire cracked sharply behind us, the sound echoing through the dorm just before Ren finally finished in a cracked whisper that hit harder than I expected. “You’ll stand beside her.”

The words hollowed me out completely.

Because all I could think was.

What if she never comes back?

Ren looked away briefly before continuing quieter this time.

“But if that happens…” He swallowed hard. “You’ll still need to earn the respect of the elders and the heads of the royal families.”

My jaw tightened instantly.

“And the only way that happens,” he murmured, “is during Lucinda’s coronation ceremony.”

The room went silent again after that.

But deep down inside me, a darkness whispered relentlessly beneath the fear.

If I didn’t find Lucinda soon…

There might never be a coronation at all.

My grip tightened violently around the arm of the chair until the wood cracked beneath my fingers with a sharp splintering sound that echoed through the dorm. Rage and fear slammed together so hard inside my chest it became impossible to separate them anymore.

“If that even happens!” I snapped, shooting to my feet so fast the chair nearly toppled backward behind me. “If she’s even alive!”

The words ripped out of me raw enough to burn my throat afterward.

Silence crashed through the room instantly.

The fire behind us crackled softly, throwing flickering shadows across everyone’s faces while the scent of blood espresso and smoke lingered heavily in the air. Nobody looked away from me, nobody argued because the truth was written all over their expressions. Already, they were thinking the exact same thing I was.

What if we were already too late?

Ren sighed heavily before stepping closer and placing a hand firmly against my shoulder. The warmth of it barely grounded me.

“Look,” he muttered quietly, “I know you’re worried about her safety.” His jaw tightened slightly. “God, I’m worried too.”

I dragged a hand roughly through my hair, pacing again because sitting still felt impossible. My entire body buzzed with restless panic, the vampire instincts inside me screaming to hunt, to tear through every inch of England until I found her.

“I don’t know who the Royal Lines really are,” Ren admitted. “And I sure as hell don’t know why that scum Sylus wants Lucinda.” His expression darkened. “But from what I saw… he was one of Zane’s followers.”

My stomach twisted violently at the mention of Zane’s followers, dread settling heavily into my chest because anyone still loyal to him after everything was dangerous by nature. Cruel. Twisted by years of fear, bloodshed, and obedience beneath his rule until violence became second nature to them. The thought of Lucinda trapped somewhere surrounded by people like that made my pulse spike painfully, but before the panic could fully consume me, Ren squeezed my shoulder slightly, grounding me just enough to keep me from spiraling further.

“Remember, Caleb,” he said quietly. “We trained her.” I slowly lifted my eyes toward him, the words striking somewhere deep inside me while memories of Lucinda fighting through bruises and exhaustion flashed through my head.

“When we were with Lady Lyra…” He exhaled. “We taught Lucinda how to fight. How to survive.”

Memories flooded my head instantly.Lucindastanding beneath the moonlight in Lady Lyra’s mansion training room whileRentaught her hand-to-hand combat and how to wield a blade properly, the sword trembling in her hands from exhaustion while sweat clung to her skin and frustration burned in her molten red eyesevery time she lost another sparring match against me. I could still see the stubborn determination on her face every single time she got knocked down only to force herself back up again seconds later, refusing to quit no matter how bruised or exhausted she became. I remembered her hands shaking the first time she tried learning how to control her bloodlust without losing herself to it, the fear hidden beneath her anger whenever she thought she was failing,

God… she had worked so hard to become stronger.

A slow breath left me. “You’re right.” My response sounded rough even to myself. “Lucinda is strong.”

But fear still clawed relentlessly through my chest.

“Still…” I swallowed hard. “These people are purebloods, Ren.” My eyes drifted toward the floor. “Most of Zane’s followers were either purebloods or aristocrats.”

Older vampires, killers who had survived centuries of bloodshed, war, and power struggles long before any of us were even born, the kind of monsters who learned how to torture, manipulate, and destroy people over lifetimes instead of years. “They’re stronger than either of us,” I admitted quietly, the words tasting bitter in my mouth the second they left it.

The truth settled heavily across the room afterward like a weight pressing against all our chests, and nobody tried denying it because we all knew exactly what Zane’s followers were capable of. Silence swallowed the dorm once more as we finished our drinks slowly, the warmth of the blood espresso sliding down my throat doing absolutely nothing to ease the cold knot twisting painfully deep in my stomach.

Then finally Rose spoke softly for the first time all night.

“Maybe they haven’t killed her…”

She trailed off before finishing the sentence, but she didn’t need to. The unfinished words already hung heavily in the air above all of us like a blade waiting to fall, filling the room with a silence so thick it became hard to breathe through it.

Before anyone could answer, Liz quietly continued for her, “But they could be hurting her.” The words slammed into my chest instantly sharp and brutal, and pain twisted so violently beneath my ribs it physically hurt because the second she said it, my mind betrayed me with images of Lucinda chained somewhere cold and terrified while monsters loyal to Zane put their hands on her.

Liz lowered her eyes into her cup before speaking again, softer this time. “I know you don’t want to think about this, Caleb…”

Every instinct inside me already hated where this was going.

“But have you considered that when we find her…” Her wordsnearly broke. “She might not still be the same Lucinda?”

The room went completely silent.

Even the fire seemed quieter.

I looked toward Tristan and saw the fear settling visibly across his face too, his jaw tightening while his eyes lowered toward the floor like even thinking about it made him sick. Nobody in the room wanted to say the words out loud after that, but we all understood exactly what Liz meant.

Torture, manipulation and starvation pureblood cruelty twisted into fear far darker than ordinary violence. Zane had destroyed people without ever needing to lay a hand on them, breaking minds apart slowly until there was nothing left of the person underneath, and the horrifying truth was that his followers had probably spent centuries perfecting methods far worse than anything we could even imagine.

The thought of Lucinda trapped somewhere terrified and alone while monsters tried breaking her apart piece by piece nearly shattered sadness inside me.

But beneath the fear, beneath all the panic and rage tearing violently through my chest until it felt impossible to breathe around it, I still knew one thing with absolute certainty. Lucinda wasn’t weak. She never had been. I’d watched her fight through fear, bloodlust, pain, and powers she didn’t understand without ever fully breaking, even when the world kept trying to crush her beneath it. And no matter where the Royal Lines had taken her, no matter how dark or terrifying that place was, she wasn’t alone, not really because somewhere deep down I knew she was still holding onto the same thing I was. Hope. And I was going to tear apart every inch of this world if that’s what it took to bring her home.

I finally lifted my head. “I have thought about it” I mummer, roughened by exhaustion and emotion. “Every second since they took her.”

Images flashed violently through my head again the second I closed my eyes,Lucinda screaming my name near the front of the academy while moonlight spilled acrossthe front door and the outside of the academy , her hand reaching desperately toward me as Sylus dragged her backward into the darkness while I failed to get to her in time.

The memory hit so hard it physically hurt to breathe through it, guilt crushing against my ribs like guilt clawing its way through my chest because no matter how many times I replayed that moment in my head, the ending never changed, I still lost her. I swallowed hard against the ache burning in my throat before forcing the words out anyway. “But wherever she is…” My response came out rough and uneven. “She has to know I’m coming for her.”

Because if she believed for even one second that I’d stop searching…

Then I’d already failed her.

“She has to know there’s still hope for her to come home.”

The room stayed silent after that.

Heavy, exhausted and haunted.

Then Ren suddenly stood up, clapping his hands together once. “Alright.” He pointed toward the door. “Everyone out.”

Rose blinked at him. “Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.” He rolled his eyes. “If we’re going to find Lucinda tomorrow, then all of you need sleep before you become completely useless.”

A weak snort escaped Christan despite everything.

“Go to bed,” Ren muttered. “All of you.”

Eventually we all dragged ourselves toward the door one by one, the exhaustion finally beginning to settle into everyone’s movements.

The academy halls felt colder when I stepped back into them alone. Moonlight spilled across the stone floors in pale silver streaks while the silence of the sleeping academy pressed heavily around me.

But even then, even with exhaustion finally dragging heavily at the edges of my mind and sleep trying to pull me under, I could still hear Lucinda screaming my name near the front of the academy like the sound had carved itself permanently into my soul. The memory echoed endlessly through my head beneath the silence of the dorm, mixing with guilt so sharp it physically hurt because every part of me still believed I should have saved her. Eventually my eyes closed anyway, my body finally giving in after days without real rest, and somewhere between fear, exhaustion, and the crushing guilt eating me alive from the inside out, sleep finally claimed me.