"Some monsters smile before they kill."

**********

Something breathed behind him.

The sound was low.

Wet and ancient.

Xandros turned instantly.

His body moved before thought itself could catch up. The moment he spun around, dark silver energy exploded beneath his feet and hurled him several meters backward across the endless black void.

The space where he had been standing split apart violently.

A claw of black magic tore through the darkness with enough force to shatter stone.

Or flesh.

Xandros landed smoothly despite the attack, one hand brushing against the ground as silver-black power crackled around his fingers.

His grey eyes lifted slowly.

Then he saw it.

The illusion had collapsed already, but something still remained inside the broken realm.

A figure stood within the darkness ahead.

Not fully visible.

Only pieces.

Long tangled black hair floated unnaturally around a woman’s silhouette while dozens of crimson runes crawled across her skin like living scars. Her eyes glowed pale white beneath the void around them.

A witch.

But not an ordinary one.

This magic smelled rotten.

Blood magic.....a forbidden one at that.

The woman’s distorted voice echoed strangely through the darkness.

"You broke my illusion."

Xandros straightened slowly.

"I dislike repetition."

The witch tilted her head unnaturally.

Most men would have feared her appearance.

Most men would already be dead.

Xandros only looked mildly annoyed.

Then suddenly...

he smiled.

A slow, cold smirk.

And for the first time since entering the trajectory.....

the witch hesitated.

That reaction alone amused him.

"You should run," she whispered.

"No," Xandros replied softly. "You should."

The darkness exploded.

The witch attacked first.

Black chains made entirely from cursed magic shot toward him violently, shrieking through the air like tortured souls. The force behind them cracked the space itself.

Fast.

Deadly.

But vampires older than kingdoms did not survive by being slow.

Xandros disappeared.

The chains pierced nothing except empty darkness.

The witch’s eyes widened...

then pain exploded across her shoulder.

A silver-black blade of energy had sliced cleanly through her flesh before she even sensed him moving.

Blood splattered across the void.

The witch screamed violently and spun around.

Xandros stood directly behind her.

One gloved hand remained lazily inside his pocket while dark power curled around the other like smoke.

His expression remained calm.

Too calm.

"You entered my memories," he said quietly. "That was rude."

The witch snarled and lifted both hands instantly.

Blood burst from her palms.

The crimson liquid twisted unnaturally in the air before forming hundreds of razor-sharp needles that shot toward him from every direction.

This time...

Xandros didn’t dodge.

The air around him distorted.

Then the needles stopped.

Completely.

Suspended midair.

The witch froze.

Slowly...

very slowly...

Xandros lifted his eyes toward her.

And the blood began moving backward.

The witch’s expression cracked instantly.

Impossible.

Her own spell reversed violently.

The crimson needles turned around and launched back toward her at terrifying speed.

She screamed again as dozens pierced straight through her body.

Blood splashed across the darkness beneath her feet.

Far away...

inside the hidden chamber deep within the forest...

the real witch convulsed violently on the floor.

Her body arched painfully while blood poured from her mouth and nose.

The magical connection between the two space had become unstable.

Candles burst apart one after another.

The shattered mirror beside her cracked further.

"My prince...!"she shrieked out painfully.

She choked painfully before another wave of backlash slammed into her chest.

The woman was thrown across the room hard enough to splinter wood beneath her body.

Outside the chamber doors, frightened servants immediately rushed toward the noise.

Gillian remained standing near the window silently while watching everything unfold.

His expression did not change.

Not once.

The witch trembled violently on the floor.

"He...he reversed the spell..."

Her voice cracked with terror.

Nobody reversed blood magic that easily.

Nobody.

Gillian finally turned slightly toward her afterward.

Golden eyes cold.

Unreadable.

"Pathetic."

The witch lowered her head instantly.

Fear swallowed her whole.

"My prince, please..."

"Enough."

The single word silenced the room immediately.

Gillian looked toward the shattered mirror again where fragments of silver-black energy still flickered dangerously across the broken glass.

Then calmly...

he looked toward one of the servants standing frozen near the doorway.

"Remove her."

The maid flinched immediately before bowing deeply.

"Y-Yes, my prince."

Two servants hurried forward carefully afterward, lifting the barely conscious witch from the floor while avoiding the blood spreading beneath her body.

The woman looked terrified now.

Not of death.

Of Xandros.

Back to the forest....

The witch’s projected form staggered backward while blood dripped steadily from her lips.

Xandros walked toward her slowly.

Not hurried.

Not angry.

That somehow made him worse.

The darkness cracked beneath each step he took.

The woman looked up at him weakly.

"W-What are you...?"

The question escaped before she could stop it.

Xandros stopped directly in front of her afterward.

His silver-grey eyes glowed faintly within the darkness.

"A warning."

The witch barely had time to understand the words before his hand closed around her throat.

Dark power exploded instantly.

The witch screamed one final time...

then vanished completely.

Silence followed.

Absolute silence.

The darkness around Xandros slowly faded afterward until light returned once more.

Cold forest air.

Trees.

Night.

The portal behind him trembled weakly before collapsing inward and disappearing entirely.

For several seconds, Xandros simply stood there.

Motionless.

Then he brushed invisible dust from his sleeve calmly like nothing important had happened.

Behind him, Seth stared openly.

"...I hate when you do that."

Xandros glanced sideways.

"Do what?"

"Fight ancient cursed witches like you’re mildly inconvenienced."

Xandros started walking past him.

Seth followed quickly afterward, still looking disturbed.

"You vanished into another dimension for almost five hours." Seth nagged.

"It wasn’t five."

"It was four...I know. I counted because I thought I was going to have to explain your death to Her grace."

That finally earned him a glance.

Seth immediately pointed at him.

"See? There it is."

"What?"

"That look. The scary one."

Xandros ignored him entirely.

At the edge of the forest, Cassian still waited exactly where they had left him. The man straightened immediately the moment Xandros emerged from the trees.

Though this time...

his expression carried visible tension.

He had seen the sky change earlier.

Seen the forest darken unnaturally.

And then heard the scream.

Cassian bowed his head carefully.

"Your Grace."

Xandros walked past him without stopping.

"We’re leaving."

Cassian blinked once before immediately following.

No questions.

He was smart enough to not question this man when he was like this, coupled with the fact that he was probably on his death list now.

The streets of the northern border had grown quieter by the time they returned. Lanterns flickered weakly outside abandoned homes while cold wind swept through the empty roads.

Seth shoved both hands into his pockets while glancing sideways again.

"So..." he started carefully. "What exactly happened in there?"

"An illusion."

"And?"

"A witch."

"And?"

"She’s injured now."

Seth stared at him for several seconds.

"That explanation somehow concerns me more."

Cassian wisely remained silent throughout the entire walk back....meters away from them.

He had long since learned something important about powerful people.

The less you know...

the longer you lived.

The carriage waited near the outer gates now.

Unlike earlier, they would not return using vampire speed through the forests.

The coachman bowed immediately upon seeing Xandros approach while Cassian moved aside respectfully.

The investigator hesitated briefly before speaking.

"The disappearances...?"

Xandros stepped into the carriage calmly.

"Continue investigating the forests."

Cassian frowned slightly. "You believe the cause remains here?"

"Yes."

"And the lights?"

Xandros paused briefly before answering.

"Do not follow them."

The warning settled heavily in the cold night air.

Cassian nodded slowly afterward.

"I understand."

The carriage finally began moving.

Hours passed quietly afterward while darkness swallowed the roads leading back toward the capital.

Inside the carriage, Seth occasionally glanced toward Xandros suspiciously.

Mostly because the Duke had become far too quiet.

Finally....

Seth sighed dramatically.

"You’re thinking about her."

Xandros did not bother pretending ignorance anymore.

"Yes."

Seth leaned back against the seat immediately.

"Oh, we’re doomed."

The carriage reached the mansion close to midnight.

Nine o’clock lanterns still glowed softly throughout the estate while servants moved quietly through the halls preparing for the colder night ahead.

The moment Xandros stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted naturally.

Servants bowed instantly.

Silence followed him.

But unlike usual...

his attention was elsewhere tonight.

He moved through the corridors without stopping until finally reaching his chamber doors.

The room inside remained dimly lit by candlelight.

Quiet and peaceful.

Rosaline had fallen asleep.

She rested near the center of the bed beneath tangled blankets while silver-white wings curled loosely around her body protectively. Moonlight spilled softly across her white hair while one feather drifted slowly onto the pillow beside her.

For a moment...

Xandros simply stood there watching her. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

After everything tonight...

the sight strangely calmed him.

He crossed the room silently afterward.

Rosaline had apparently fallen asleep waiting.

One candle still burned near the bedside table.

A book remained half-open near her hand.

Xandros sat carefully at the edge of the bed before reaching toward the blankets, adjusting them slightly around her shoulders.

One wing twitched softly beneath his touch.

Then...

her eyes opened.

Directly onto his face.

And neither of them spoke.

**************

Thank you so much everyone, for still reading this book.

XX.