It had taken me hours to find this place. Now I was sure I was in the right place, after searching for many places.

The sun was already hanging low on the horizon, bathing the abandoned buildings in an ominous orange glow. Long shadows stretched across the crumbling asphalt of the driveway as I crept closer to the collapsing warehouse. My instincts told me this was the right place—but also that something was very wrong.

Normally, I trusted my instincts blindly—they had warned me of danger countless times, guided me when my reason failed me. But lately, they seemed to be acting completely crazy. They were constantly screaming for me to be near Leora, for me not to let her go.

But could I trust him this time? I wasn't sure.

Yes, my instincts had protected me many times. They had saved me from traps, whispered the right decisions to me in battle. But now it felt different.

The monster hunters were cautious. They didn't leave obvious tracks, but if you looked closely, you could spot them. I was rusty when it came to spotting tracks, but I still noticed a few things.

A door that had been moved too recently. A section of the floor damp from recent rains, while the rest remained dry. And there—barely visible in the fading light as I walked inside—a thin wire loop stretched just above the floor.

I almost laughed.

Were they serious? A simple tripping hazard? They hadn't even tried to hide it. I stepped carefully over it, my steps light as a hunter's, and moved further into the building. People wouldn't be able to hear me, and the fact that I was trying to move in the shadows probably made it difficult to see me.

It was quiet inside. Too quiet.

I stopped and took a deep breath. Nothing. No human smell, no voices, not even the dull crackling of old wood under heavy boots.

Usually, I could smell them if they'd been here a few hours ago, or if they were still here. But I couldn't detect anything, so I stepped closer.

The hall was large, a kind of storage room with high shelves, some of which were already half-collapsed. Dust danced in the last rays of sunlight that filtered through the broken windows. Once the sun had set, the monster hunters would have no chance against me. I was angry and seeking revenge. I had enough strength again to take on these trained hunters. But they weren't born hunters; I was. It was in my blood.

And then I saw her.

In the middle of the room, with her back to me, a woman sat on a chair, her hands tightly cuffed to the armrest. Her dark hair fell in tangled strands over her shoulders, her body appearing thin and vulnerable.

My muscles tensed. Was that...? I wasn't sure. The woman in the video was barely recognizable.

I moved slowly toward her, my senses sharpened. It was too easy. Too obvious. But if it was her—if she was indeed her mother—then I couldn't afford to hesitate. I had to get her out of this situation as quickly as possible. For Leora. Within a millisecond, I was at her side. Vampire speed.

My fingers closed around the rough rope that bound her hands. "I'm going to get you out of here," I murmured softly as I began to untie the knot.

At that moment she moved.

Too fast. Too unexpected.

Her shoulders jerked forward, and before I could react, I felt a sudden, brutal force pull me backward. A rope was wrapped around my neck, and with a powerful tug, I was pulled to the ground. I gasped, tried to turn, but before I could free myself, she was already on top of me, her knee pressed hard against my chest.

"Now, now," she breathed, cold triumph sparkling in her dark eyes.

Damned.

It was a trap. I hadn't noticed any of the signals. Blinded by my love for Leora.

And I walked right into it.

Leora : 

"This must be the building," I whispered to the four vampires behind me. I knew that with their superhuman hearing, they could easily understand me, even if I only whispered. My heart beat faster as I studied the grim silhouette before us. This was where they were holding my mother—and where Eryon had presumably fallen into a trap.

Although I didn't really feel comfortable without him, especially among a group of vampires, I trusted that Eryon knew where he was loyal. And even if he didn't, Novana would never let anything happen to me. I sensed that.

I raised my hand and pointed to various positions, a silent signal that we should split up. Without hesitation, the others followed my instruction until only Novana and I remained at the main entrance.

It was a strange feeling that they were actually obeying me. Maybe it was because I had made the plan. Or maybe because we all had the same goal:

Save Eryon.

We walked closer to the warehouse where I had often played as a child. The sun was just setting and had almost disappeared. Once it was gone, it would be pitch black, and I wouldn't be able to see anything.

We crept in as quietly as possible—or rather, she crept in quietly, while I probably sounded like a damn camel. Every step I took echoed far too loudly in my ears, while Novana glided silently beside me, as if she were a shadow.

I heard voices from inside the building. Loud, angry voices shouting at each other. My heart rate increased. I couldn't quite make out the words, but it was clear that something was going wrong inside.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped in alarm and quickly turned around—only to find Novana's annoyed face. With a quick shake of her head, she pointed down.

Confused, I followed her gaze and froze.

A thin wire ran right next to my foot. Barely visible in the darkness, but it was there – a tripping hazard. I almost tripped over it. I almost betrayed us both. But barely noticeable to my human eyes.

We cautiously entered the large hall and looked through the shelves. They couldn't have guessed we were there. I quickly got an overview. Three monster hunters were standing below, and four were standing above on a small raised platform. All eyes were fixed on a figure in the middle of the room.

Eryon.

He lay on the ground, bound—but not for long. Again and again he tore himself free, his movements unyielding, almost desperate. But every time he managed to free himself, shots rang out through the air. Bullets pierced his body, hurling him back to the blood-stained ground.

And then the cruel game began again. They tried to tie him up.

I could see him breathing heavily, his muscles twitching with exertion. Blood seeped from his wounds, but he kept fighting. He didn't give up.

My gaze darted around the room. Two corpses lay at the edge—probably hunters who hadn't survived the fight against him.

Eryon's eyes were red and dangerous, and I immediately recognized that the predator in him was out. He was no longer thinking rationally; he simply wanted to kill them, and if we didn't intervene, they would drain so much of his strength that he would no longer be able to defend himself, and they would have him under their control.

When I heard another shot, I thought about how he couldn't die. Still, it drained him of so much strength and made him weak. It hurt everything inside me to see him suffer so much. When he was back on the ground and they tied him up and pulled the trigger several times, I knew it was our turn.

I had to be careful. I wouldn't survive a single bullet, and the other four might not survive much either. They had no royal blood.

Novana tried to stop me, but I had already jumped out of my hiding place and was visible to everyone.