Two weeks had passed since the carriages had disappeared beyond the horizon, carrying Joy and Aqua toward the imperial capital.
And in the capital, Joy had thrown herself into her search with the ferocity of a woman possessed.
Every day, she scoured the streets. Every night, she consulted her networks.
She visited informants, bribed guards, threatened lowlifes who might have seen something. She left no stone unturned, no alley unexplored.
But Carmela was nowhere to be found.
It was as if the vampire had vanished into thin air, leaving behind only whispers and shadows.
Joy would catch a rumor—a hooded figure seen in the merchant quarter, a woman with crimson eyes spotted near the cathedral—and she would race to the location, her heart pounding in her chest.
But every time, she arrived too late. Every time, the trail was cold.
'Where are you, Carmela?' Joy thought, standing atop a rooftop as the sun began to set over the capital.
