Chapter 3
My throat seized, as if a phantom hand had wrapped around it. I couldn’t even utter a sound.
I had seen Lilith Davenport’s madness firsthand-her spite, her manipulations. And in this moment, standing face to face with her in the dark, I feared her more than any vampire.
Just yesterday, I had warned her not to enter Crimson Hollow. “Lucien said any human who dares to enter there will die.”
She had only laughed at me, cold and condescending. “Rules are meant to keep you in your place. I’ll show everyone who
the real mistress of Ravencourt is.”
It didn’t take long after she trespassed before her screams rang out from the depths of the Hollow.
Lucien had appeared like a bolt of lightning, dragging her out, livid with rage. “Harrow, someone violated the rules.
Summon the Court – we hold the hunting feast at the manor tomorrow!”
I was certain Lucien would make Lilith pay for her defiance-with her life.
Yet in the end, it wasn’t her who became the vampires’ plaything-
but me, a blood thrall for their amusement.
In the blink of an eye, Lilith had already sliced open her wrist with a small blade.
The scent of fresh blood spilled into the air. Every vampire in the castle grew restless and agitated, all rushing toward this place in unison.
But before any of them arrived, Lucien appeared.
He swept Lilith into his arms with a tenderness. “Who did this to you?” he asked, though his gaze had already turned to
me-cold, accusing.
Lilith hadn’t even spoken yet when tears began to fall down her cheeks. “I couldn’t stand to watch those girls get
slaughtered. They’re human, like me. I only wanted to help them survive. But Celeste… she didn’t want my help. She-”
“It’s not her fault. It’s my fault for meddling. I shouldn’t have entered the room.”
Lucien’s face hardened into ice. “No. It’s not your fault. Celeste Winslow is an ungrateful traitor.”
He didn’t give me a chance to explain. Instead, he stepped forward and carved thin, cruel lines into the skin of my arms
and legs.
My blood bloomed against my pale skin, bright red and damning. His crimson eyes darkened with a flash of something
wild. Uncontrolled.
It felt like someone was slicing into my heart, piece by piece.
“Lucien, the hunt is over. Do you really want me dead that badly?”
Hearing my hoarse, despairing voice, his eyes locked onto mine, momentarily unreadable. “Celeste, you committed an unforgivable crime against Lilith. Even if you die, you brought it on yourself.”
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And with that, the last fragile threads of love and hope I had clung to… snapped.
“You brought me to this manor because you loved me. If you don’t anymore, then let me go.”
His entire body stilled. Frustration and fury clouded his face. “Your blood is unlike anything I’ve ever known. To vampires,
it’s a drug-an irresistible lure. Without my protection, you’ll be hunted. You won’t last a day.”
“If you insist on leaving… I won’t stop you. But only if you’re lucky enough to make it out of this manor alive.”
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