CHAPTER THIRTEEN
539 Words
CHAPTER 13: BLOOD IN THE DARK 1
(Damian’s POV)
Selene was going to get herself killed.
I saw it in the way she moved, the sharpness of her steps, the way her hands never left her blades.
She wasn’t just hunting Devereaux.
She was preparing for war.
We left Kade’s safehouse with the weight of the Hollow Queen’s betrayal pressing down on us. The night was thick with fog, the city’s lanterns flickering like dying stars.
Selene walked ahead of me, silent, her shoulders stiff.
"You’re planning to go in alone," I said.
She didn’t flinch. Didn’t slow down. "You don’t have to come."
I grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop. "That’s not what I said."
Her eyes snapped to mine—cold, sharp, unyielding.
"Then what are you saying, Damian?"
I exhaled, my fingers tightening against her wrist. "I know you. You’re thinking of going straight for Devereaux, cutting through his defenses until you reach him. But if the Hollow Queen is backing him—"
"Then I’ll kill her too," she interrupted, voice like steel.
"Selene—"
"Damian." Her voice dropped lower. "This isn’t your fight."
But it was.
Because everything she was doing, every reckless choice, every dangerous step—
It was for me.
To break the curse.
To free me.
I let go of her, jaw tight. "Just tell me the plan."
She studied me for a long moment, then finally sighed, rubbing a hand over her face.
"Fine," she muttered. "We strike at dawn. The manor’s weakest during the morning shift change. Kade said there are tunnels beneath the estate. We use them to get in, take out Devereaux before he even knows we’re there."
"And the Queen?"
Selene’s gaze darkened. "We cross that bridge when we get to it."
Everything about this screamed suicide mission.
But I’d be damned if I let her do it alone.
I nodded. "Then let’s end this."
---
The tunnels beneath Ravenshade Manor were older than the city itself. The walls were damp with age, the air thick with mildew and decay.
We moved silently, our steps barely a whisper against the stone.
Selene was in front, blades drawn, her senses sharp. I followed close behind, my body tense, my instincts screaming danger.
Then—a shift in the air.
I grabbed Selene’s wrist, pulling her back just as a blade sliced through the space where she had been.
A figure lunged from the darkness—a vampire, armored and fast.
Selene twisted free of my grip, moving like lightning. Her dagger found flesh, sinking into the vampire’s throat.
A wet gurgle. A body hitting the ground.
Selene exhaled, wiping her blade clean. "They know we’re here."
No turning back now.
I let my claws slide free, my canines sharpening. "Then let’s give them something to fear."
We ran.
Through the tunnels, through the darkness, until we reached the heart of the manor.
And standing at the top of the grand staircase, waiting—was Vincent Devereaux.
He smiled, fangs gleaming. "Ah, Selene Vaughn. I was wondering when you’d come for me."
Selene didn’t hesitate.
She attacked.
Blades flashed. Shadows swirled. The battle had begun.
And there was only one way this ended—
In blood.
- Writer
