✦ ADRAIN POV
The forest blurred around me.
Trees. Darkness. Wind.
None of it mattered.
All I could see was her.
Eira's eyes.
Eira's voice.
Eira's pain.
"What do you want from me, Adrain?"
The question echoed inside my head like a curse.
A growl ripped from my throat.
I slammed my fist into a nearby tree.
CRACK.
The trunk split apart.
Another.
And another.
Wood shattered beneath my hands.
But the anger wouldn't leave.
The guilt wouldn't leave.
Her face wouldn't leave.
"Why?" she had asked.
Because of me.
All because of me.
I dragged a trembling hand through my hair.
"You should hate me."
My voice was barely a whisper.
"I only bring destruction."
Another tree exploded beneath my fist.
"I am a monster."
The words tasted bitter.
An animal.
A creature built to destroy.
So why did she keep looking at me as if there was something worth saving?
Why did she still care?
I remembered the tears in her eyes.
The hurt on her face when I walked away.
The memory burned.
"Stay away from me, Eira."
My voice cracked.
"Before I break you too."
The wind howled through the forest.
For the first time in years—
I felt afraid.
Not of enemies.
Not of war.
Not of death.
But of myself.
Because if I lost control—
I would destroy the one person I couldn't bear to hurt.
Hours later, I returned home.
My anger still boiling beneath my skin.
The mansion doors slammed behind me.
I was halfway up the staircase when a voice stopped me.
"ADRAIN."
Mike's voice echoed through the hall.
I turned slowly.
Mike Blake stood at the bottom of the stairs.
Beside him stood Elisa.
Watching.
Waiting.
"What happened tonight?" Mike demanded.
I said nothing.
His eyes narrowed.
"I asked you a question."
"I don't owe you an explanation."
A cold laugh escaped him.
"You think this is about explanations?"
He stepped closer.
"You were acting like a human."
The words hit harder than expected.
"We are not human, Adrain."
His voice turned sharp.
"We are vampires."
"We do not hesitate."
"We do not get attached."
Elisa finally spoke.
"Mike."
"Leave it."
But Mike ignored her.
His eyes never left mine.
"You know weakness gets people killed."
Then his expression darkened.
"That girl is making you weak."
Silence filled the hall.
"Stay away from her."
His voice lowered dangerously.
"Before others notice."
My jaw tightened.
But I said nothing.
Without another word, I walked upstairs.
Entered my room.
And slammed the door shut.
The moment I was alone—
I saw her face again.
And somehow...
That hurt more than anything Mike had said.
✦ JAKE'S POV ✦
"Hold still."
Lisa's voice carried a trace of exhaustion as she dabbed medicine over the deep wound carved into my arm.
"The reaction could have been much worse."
The sharp scent of herbs filled the room.
I barely heard her.
My attention was somewhere else entirely.
Somewhere far darker.
Adrain Blake.
The name alone was enough to make rage coil through my veins like poison.
His face kept appearing in my mind.
That infuriating confidence.
That mocking smile.
The way he had looked at us as if he had already won.
Again.
And again.
And again.
BOOM!
My fist crashed into the wall beside me.
The impact shook the room.
Cracks exploded across the concrete surface like lightning spreading through a storm-dark sky.
Fragments scattered across the floor.
Lisa jumped.
"Jake!"
But I couldn't stop.
The fury burning inside me had become something alive.
Something vicious.
Something hungry.
"He planned this."
My voice came out low.
Dangerously calm.
The kind of calm that existed only moments before destruction.
"He wanted everyone to see what we are."
My jaw tightened.
"He wanted to humiliate us."
For a brief second, claws slid from my fingertips.
Sharp.
Deadly.
Then disappeared again.
Lisa's eyes darkened with worry.
"Brother..."
I laughed.
A cold sound.
A cruel sound.
"If he wants a war..."
My gaze drifted toward the shattered wall.
"Then I'll give him one."
The silence that followed felt heavy enough to suffocate.
Then—
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
A servant hurried into the room.
"Sir."
I turned immediately.
"What?"
Excitement flickered across his face.
"We found a clue."
The words struck like lightning.
Every trace of anger vanished.
Replaced by something far more dangerous.
Hope.
After years of searching.
Years of dead ends.
Years of bloodshed.
A clue.
"A clue about the thing we've been searching for."
Lisa frowned.
"What thing?"
I rose from my seat.
The servant handed me a photograph.
The moment I looked at it, something cold settled inside me.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
A smile appeared.
Not a pleasant smile.
Not a human smile.
The smile of a predator finally catching the scent of its prey.
"Where is he?"
The servant swallowed.
"We captured him."
"Good."
I folded the photograph carefully.
Almost reverently.
Then slipped it into my pocket.
"Take me to him."
The underground chamber sat beneath layers of stone and darkness.
A place forgotten by sunlight.
A place where secrets came to die.
The heavy iron door groaned open.
The scent of fear greeted me before I even stepped inside.
Torches burned along ancient walls, their flames dancing wildly as though even fire felt uneasy here.
Several of my men stood around the room.
Silent.
Motionless.
Waiting.
At the center sat a man bound to a chair.
His wrists were chained.
His clothes were soaked with sweat.
And the moment his eyes landed on me—
The color drained from his face.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Fear.
Real fear.
Not the fear of pain.
Not the fear of death.
The fear of someone who knew exactly who stood before him.
I walked forward slowly.
Each footstep echoed through the chamber.
The man shrank farther into the chair.
As though he wished the darkness would swallow him whole.
Unfortunately for him—
Darkness belonged to me.
I stopped directly in front of him.
Then crouched.
A silver blade appeared in my hand.
The torchlight danced across its edge.
Beautiful.
Sharp.
Merciless.
I pressed it lightly against his shoulder.
Not enough to cut.
Just enough to remind him that his life rested between my fingers.
"Tell me where it is."
The man shook violently.
"I don't know!"
The blade remained steady.
"The Selenathyx."
The moment the name left my mouth, something changed.
His eyes widened.
His breathing stopped.
For a second, even the room itself seemed to grow quieter.
"Selenathyx?"
Confusion flickered across his face.
Or perhaps fear.
It was difficult to tell.
I leaned closer.
"Don't lie to me."
"N-No..."
His voice cracked.
"I've heard stories."
"Legends."
"But that's all."
I watched him carefully.
Every blink.
Every breath.
Every twitch.
Searching for deception.
Searching for weakness.
"It's a myth," he continued desperately.
"A fantasy."
"Something people tell children around fires."
"No one has ever proven it existed."
The torchlight trembled.
Shadows crawled across the walls.
The man swallowed hard.
"As far as history knows, it was destroyed centuries ago."
"Every record says the same thing."
"Every story says the same thing."
I remained silent.
The silence frightened him more than any threat could have.
Sweat rolled down his face.
Tears gathered in his eyes.
"I swear."
His voice broke.
"I don't know anything about the Selenathyx."
"Everyone knows the stories."
"But stories are all they are."
"It's no different than dragons."
"No different than gods."
"No different than impossible miracles."
The room fell completely silent.
I stared at him.
Seconds passed.
Then more.
The pressure became unbearable.
Until finally—
I smiled.
Slowly.
Terribly.
The man's face went white.
Because some smiles carry warmth.
Others carry death.
Mine carried promises.
Promises no one ever survived.
"You made one mistake."
The man's breathing faltered.
His eyes locked onto mine.
Fear flooded them.
Pure fear.
I leaned forward.
Close enough for him to hear every word.
"You called it impossible."
My voice was almost gentle.
Almost.
"And yet..."
I tilted my head.
"You've spent half your life running from those searching for it."
The man's eyes widened.
There.
That reaction.
Tiny.
Barely noticeable.
But it existed.
A crack.
A weakness.
A truth trying to hide itself.
And I saw it.
The smile vanished instantly.
Coldness replaced it.
Absolute.
Merciless.
"Tell me everything."
The silver blade pressed deeper.
A cry tore from his throat.
His entire body shook.
Because he finally understood.
This interrogation had never been about answers.
It had been about endurance.
And mine would outlast his.
No matter how many lies I had to cut through.
No matter how many bodies had to fall.
No matter how much blood stained my hands.
Because some people search for treasure.
Some search for power.
Some search for salvation.
I searched for extinction.
And once I found the Selenathyx—
The world would never be the same again.
Because whether the Selenathyx was merely a forgotten legend...
Or the most powerful relic ever created...
I was going to find it.
And if rivers of blood had to be spilled to reach it—
Then so be it.