His Cruel Game, My Cold Revenge

But the one being offered up as a blood slave for the vampires’ amusement today wasn’t her.

It was me.

While I was still frozen in shock, Laura had already sliced open her wrist with a small blade.

The scent of blood spread rapidly, stirring every vampire in the castle into a frenzy.

They surged in our direction, unable to resist the lure.

But faster than all of them was Oliver.

He rushed in and cradled Laura in his arms, his voice tender and full of concern.

“Who hurt you?”

Though the question was directed at her, his eyes cold as ice were locked on me.

Tears streamed down Laura’s face before she even spoke. “We’re both human. I just couldn’t stand seeing the other girls slaughtered. Oliver, I only wanted them to live. I never thought Sister Serena would refuse my kindness. And even-”

She paused, voice trembling with guilt.

“Please don’t blame her. I shouldn’t have come into this room. I was just meddling.”

Oliver’s face frosted over completely.

“It’s not your fault. It’s Serena, cruel and ungrateful as always.”

He didn’t even give me the chance to defend myself. Instead, he slashed open the skin on my arms and legs with his own hands.

As crimson blood trailed down my pale skin, I saw something flicker in his blood-red eyes, a flash of something feral, barely restrained.

It felt as though a dagger had carved into my heart over and over again.

“Oliver,” I choked out, “The hunt is over. Do you really want me dead that badly?”

My voice was hoarse, full of despair.

His gaze darkened. “Serena, the crime you’ve committed against Laura is unforgivable. If you die, it's no more than you deserve.”

And in that moment, the final ember of hope I had guarded so closely died.

The man I once loved no longer existed.

“Oliver, you brought me back to this castle because you loved me. If you no longer do then let me go.”

He froze. Annoyance flickered in his eyes, and frustration tightened his brows. “Your blood is… special. To vampires, it’s an irresistible lure. Without my protection, you’ll die the moment you step outside.”

“If you insist on leaving,” he said after a pause, “I won’t stop you. But only if you’re lucky enough to walk out of this castle alive.”

I staggered forward, each step tugging at my open wounds. Blood dripped behind me, marking a trail of pain.

I hadn’t even made it halfway down the corridor before I collapsed, too weak to move.

From both ends of the hallway, shadows began to emerge, twisted, hunched figures that bore no resemblance to the elegance vampires were known for.

Under the moonlight, I could see their grotesque grins, mouths stretching to their ears, filled with jagged, saw-like teeth.

Low-ranking vampires.

Ravenous.

Desperate.

They leered at me like wolves eyeing a bleeding lamb.

Panicked, desperate, I did the only thing I could. I screamed the only name that might save me.

“Oliver! Help me!”

A wave of invisible force surged through the corridor. The vampires visibly flinched and stumbled backward, whimpering, retreating into the shadows as if something greater than them had stepped into the space.

I had barely begun to breathe again when a delicate voice cut through the tension.

“Oliver, my head hurts so much. I lost so much blood. Am I going to die?”

It was Laura.

Her soft sob shattered the air.

And just like that, the invisible pressure lifted.

The low-ranking vampires snarled and lunged for me all at once, like starving beasts unleashed.

Pain stabbed through me, my neck, arms, and legs assaulted by sharp fangs. I threw my head back in agony, ears ringing with a deafening buzz.

All I could hear was the revolting sound of them gulping down my blood, greedy, wet, inhuman.

My lips and teeth trembled uncontrollably. The cold of blood loss seeped into my bones, and my consciousness began to slip.

And just when I thought the end had come.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Arrows split the air.

The vampires feeding on me froze mid-bite, silver arrows piercing their skulls.

They didn’t even have time to scream before turning to ash, still locked in their parasitic pose.