BLAIR'S POV
This castle was a labyrinth of shadows, yet somehow, my feet knew exactly where to go. Perhaps it was the remnants of my lingering humanity, or perhaps it was that strange, static warmth in my veins guiding me toward the subterranean cells where Damien had imprisoned Julian.
I managed to slip past the shadow guards. Strangely, they seemed to let me through without a word. Was Damien letting me do this on purpose? Was it a test?
The dungeon was cold, smelling of damp moss and ancient rot. There, behind rusted black iron bars, Julian sat leaning against the stone wall. The moment he saw me, his dull, weary face lit up with a desperate hope.
"Blair? You came..." his voice was hoarse, thick with a suffering that looked painfully real.
I stopped in front of the bars, my hands gripping the cold iron. "Why are you here, Julian? You know this place will kill you."
Julian crawled closer, his trembling fingers reaching out to touch my hand through the gaps in the bars. "I couldn't let you die as a sacrifice, Blair. I know I was a coward in the past. I know I let your father destroy us. But all this time, I've been searching... searching for a cure for you."
My heart gave a painful throb. A cure? "There is no cure for a heart that has been broken since birth, Julian. You know that better than anyone."
"There is, Blair! There's a secret your family never told you," he whispered, his eyes boring into mine with an intensity that made me waver. Julian was always a master of words. He knew exactly which strings to pull to break through my defenses. "The experiments they performed on you... they weren't just to purify your blood. It was a seal. You aren't dying from a disease, Blair; you're dying because that seal is draining your soul to feed someone else. And I know how to break it."
I froze. My entire life, I believed I was a failed product. A broken doll. But Julian was offering me hope—something far more dangerous than despair.
"Come with me, Blair," he pleaded, his voice soft as silk, weaving a snare around my mind. "That vampire... Damien... he doesn't love you. You're just Target Number Thirty to him. He only wants to consume you. If you stay here, the tenth day will be your last. But with me, you can live. We can run to a place where his shadows can never reach us."
I looked into Julian's eyes. I saw truth there, but I also saw something hidden, something murky. Yet, the promise to live—to truly be healed—was so sweet it was almost intoxicating. I was torn. On one side was Damien, who ignited a passion I never knew existed; on the other was Julian, who promised the future I had once dreamed of.
"I... I don't know," I whispered, my voice barely audible.
"Think about it, Blair. Don't let that monster extinguish your light," Julian said, giving my hand one last squeeze before I pulled away.
I turned and walked away from the cells, my mind a chaotic storm. Julian was right; Damien was a monster. I was just a sacrifice. But why did my heart feel like lead at the thought of leaving him?
As I emerged from the dark tunnel into the grand hall, my footsteps halted. The air around me suddenly froze, becoming so heavy it felt like lead in my lungs.
Damien was standing there.
He was leaning against a massive obsidian pillar, his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were no longer a dull crimson; they were blazing with a fire of fury that could incinerate entire kingdoms. He had seen everything. He had heard every single word that tumbled from Julian's lips.
"D-Damien..." my voice caught in my throat. I felt like a thief caught red-handed. "I was only—"
Without a single word, Damien moved with the speed of a strike of lightning. Before I could even blink, he was in front of me. He gripped my waist roughly and hauled me into his arms. I expected him to roar at me, to choke me, or to cast me out. Instead, he did the opposite.
Damien kissed me.
It wasn't a gentle kiss. It was a violent assault of passion, jealousy, and an undeniable claim. He crushed his lips against mine as if trying to erase every trace of Julian's words from my memory. His hands kneaded my hips, marking my skin through the thin fabric I wore.
Then, with one powerful movement, he hoisted me up into his arms. He didn't carry me to our room. He turned back toward the dungeons, carrying me straight to the front of Julian's cell.
Julian's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. His face turned ghostly pale as he saw the raw, possessive way Damien held me.
Damien set my feet down but didn't let go. He pressed his body firmly against my back, his hands creeping forward to grip my waist and slide up to my chest, right in front of Julian's devastated eyes.
Damien leaned down, his lips brushing my ear, but his eyes remained locked on the trembling man behind the bars.
"You want to save her, mortal?" Damien's voice was low, gravelly, and filled with a dark triumph. "Then watch closely. Watch how she moans under my touch. Watch how she begs for me to ruin her."
Damien bit my shoulder, drawing a sharp, loud moan from my throat that I couldn't suppress. He whispered directly into my ear, a command that made my entire body shudder violently.
"Let us make love right here, Blair. Right in front of him. Let him see how his precious bride is shattered into madness at the hands of her King."
I gasped, my eyes meeting Julian's broken gaze for a split second before I arched my neck back to meet Damien's hungry eyes. I knew this was wrong. I knew this was insane. But as Damien's lips found my neck again, I knew I wasn't going anywhere.