Chapter 85

**ADAM**

Blood slicked my fingers as I tore through the hunters in front of me. My claws, half-shifted from the fight, dripped with the evidence of my rage. Gunfire rang through the air, the sharp scent of silver mixing with the copper tang of fresh kills. Screams echoed off the stone walls of the castle, but I tuned them out, focused only on staying alive and finding Aria.

Beside me, the vampire fought with terrifying ease. He moved like a shadow, slipping between enemies and tearing them apart with a predator’s grace. His sword—because of course he used a sword—flashed under the dim torchlight, carving through flesh like it was nothing. A hunter cried out as the blade sliced through his shoulder, sending him sprawling.

The vampire crouched over the man before he could crawl away. “A pity,” he murmured, fangs gleaming, before sinking his teeth into the hunter’s throat.

I forced myself to look away as the wet, gurgling sounds filled the corridor. Around us, more vampires fed, drinking deeply from fallen hunters, their eyes burning with hunger and bloodlust. It made my skin crawl, my own instincts clawing at the edges of my control. The scent of human blood was overwhelming.

I forced it down. Focus.

The remaining hunters began retreating, pulling back toward the depths of the castle.

“They’re running,” I muttered.

My vampire companion wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, licking the last traces of blood from his lips. “No, they are regrouping. And I have no interest in allowing that.”

I scoffed, stepping over a corpse as we moved forward. “You got a name?”

He cast me a sideways glance, eyes gleaming red in the darkness. “An Old English one, if you must know.”

I exhaled sharply. “So what should I call you?”

He smirked. “Cædmon.”

Figures.

We moved quickly through the winding corridors, bodies littering the path behind us. Every so often, another vampire joined our pursuit, some still dripping blood from their recent feedings.

“They’re heading toward the eastern wing,” Cædmon murmured. “That’s where Ambrose’s secret chambers are.”

A cold weight settled in my gut. Aria.

I picked up the pace, but Cædmon’s voice cut through my urgency. “Tell me, hybrid… Have you considered the possibility that this is exactly what Ambrose wanted?”

I shot him a glare. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged, unbothered by my anger. “Only that our dear Lord Ambrose has never been particularly fond of hybrids. And you, my new friend, are a rather interesting complication.”

I growled. “That doesn’t mean he’d sell us out to hunters.”

Cædmon hummed, amused. “Perhaps. Or perhaps he merely chose to… look the other way.”

I clenched my fists. “Why? What does he have against hybrids?”

The vampire’s expression darkened, his usual smug amusement fading. “That, I do not know. But I do know that he does not wish the prophecy to come true.”

I stopped in my tracks. “What?”

He turned to face me fully, head tilting. “Ah. So you didn’t know? I didn't change his mind.”

My pulse pounded in my ears. Ambrose had played friendly enough when we arrived, eccentric and dramatic, but nothing in his demeanor had suggested outright hostility. Had we walked right into a trap?

A crash echoed through the hall ahead. The hunters had reached their destination.

I snarled. “Whatever he’s planning, it doesn’t matter right now. We have to get to Aria.”

Cædmon grinned, wicked and sharp. “Now that is something I can agree with.”

We surged forward, ready to cut down anything in our way.

**AUSTIN**

The black SUV rumbled over uneven roads as we sped through the Romanian countryside. Fog clung to the trees, thick and low, swallowing the headlights before they could stretch too far ahead. I barely noticed. My mind was on Aria.

She was safe. For now.

My grip tightened around my phone as I replayed her brief message in my head. They were at an inn in a nearby village. They had escaped the castle. But something felt off.

I turned to Fares, who sat in the passenger seat, his sharp eyes scanning the road ahead. “This smells like a trap.”

He didn’t look at me when he spoke. “Could be.”

I clenched my jaw. “Adam convinced her to go. If something happened to her—”

Fares cut me a look. “Let’s see what’s actually happening before you kill him, yeah?”

I exhaled through my nose, forcing myself to stay calm.

We pulled into the village, the streets quiet except for the occasional pedestrian braving the cold. The inn was tucked between two old stone buildings, warm light spilling from the windows onto the damp cobblestone street.

The second I stepped inside, my eyes locked on Aria.

She was sitting at a wooden table near the back, looking exhausted but unharmed. Adam was next to her, his usual infuriatingly calm self, while another figure lounged beside them—a vampire.

Immediately, my muscles tensed.

Aria spotted me first, her face lighting up in relief. She stood, crossing the space between us in quick strides. Before I could say a word, she threw her arms around me.

The tension in my shoulders eased, just a fraction. I wrapped my arms around her, inhaling her scent, grounding myself in the fact that she was here, in one piece.

“You okay?” I murmured.

She nodded. “We’re fine. I promise.”

I glanced over her shoulder, my gaze locking onto Adam’s. He raised a brow, and just like that, the anger returned.

“You should never have brought her,” I said, my voice low and cold.

Adam sighed. “Not now, Austin.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Fares stepped between us. “Later,” he muttered. “First, let’s figure out what’s going on.”
Aria tugged me toward the table, and that’s when I got a good look at the stranger. He leaned back in his chair, entirely at ease, watching me with amusement.

“This is Cædmon,” Aria introduced. “He fought with Adam at the castle.”

I didn’t sit. “And why are you here?”

Cædmon smiled, slow and knowing. “The community intrigues me,” he said simply. “I wish to see it for myself.”

I didn’t trust him. Not yet. And from the way Fares stiffened beside me, neither did he.

“We’ll discuss that later,” Fares said, his voice sharp. “First, I want to know exactly what happened back there.”

We moved to a more secluded part of the inn, lowering our voices as Adam and Aria filled us in. Ambrose’s possible involvement. The attack. How they left the castle.

Fares listened intently, arms crossed. His focus was already shifting to security—what this meant for our people, how to handle the threat. I knew him well enough to recognize when he was already forming a plan.

Then Aria turned to me, her expression curious. “Wait—how did you even get here so fast?”

I smirked. “Took Adam’s jet.”

She blinked. “Adam has a jet?”

Adam sighed. “Here we go.”

Aria whirled on him. “Are you telling me we flew economy when you own a jet?”

Adam shifted in his seat. “It wasn’t—”

“We had a layover in Frankfurt, Adam.”

Fares bit back a laugh. Cædmon watched the exchange like it was the most entertaining thing he’d seen in years.

I shrugged. “I figured we deserved a little comfort.”

Aria threw her hands in the air. “Unbelievable.”

And despite everything—despite the danger still looming over us—I couldn’t help but smile.