Chapter 176

The chamber fell silent, heavy with the smell of blood and smoke. Darius stood tall in the center, his crimson eyes gleaming like fire in the torchlight.

Behind him, Mary hovered, her grip on the knife tight, but her gaze restless. Selene caught the flicker of hesitation, but she pushed it aside. Right now, only one thing mattered.

Lydia’s cry still echoed behind the locked door.

“Mummy!”

Selene’s claws slid out, her body trembling with rage. “Let her go, Darius.”

Darius smirked. “She’s the key, Selene. With her blood, with Caius’s blood, I can create perfection. And you—” his gaze sharpened—“you’ll be alive to witness it, that's if...