Chapter 73: Hunted After Dusk
{CAROLINE}
Where had Iris gone?
The question gnawed at me the moment I returned to the dormitories and found her bed untouched, her things precisely as she’d left them.
It was nearly curfew.
An uneasy chill crept up my spine as I stared at the darkened corridor, the silence pressing heavier than the stone walls themselves.
The academy never truly slept, but there were moments—like this—when it seemed to hold its breath, as though waiting for something dreadful to unfold.
I lifted my gaze toward the narrow window at the end of the wall. Night had already claimed the sky, velvet-black and starless, the moon half-veiled behind drifting clouds.
The lanterns along the walkways below shimmered faintly, enchanted flames casting pale halos against the encroaching dark.
I exhaled slowly and squared my shoulders.
I was a noble lady. I had been raised with posture straight and chin high, taught etiquette with one hand and survival with the other.
Fear was a luxury I had never been allowed to indulge. The dark, the whispers, the creatures that ruled the night—none of them were strangers to my bloodline.
Quietly, I slipped from the dormitories, careful not to draw the attention of the other girls lingering in the common halls. Curfew made everyone nervous.
No one wished to be caught wandering after the bells, not when the faculty turned a blind eye to what prowled once night fully fell.
It was past six. The world beyond the dorms lay submerged in twilight, illuminated only by the floating lanterns that lined the academy’s paths.
A few students still hurried about, cloaks drawn tight, their steps brisk and heads lowered. Each one disappeared quickly into the safety of stone and wards.
I kept to the shadows, senses sharpened, pulse steady. Vampires were common here—too common—but that did not mean they were harmless. Especially not at night.
I knew where Iris would go.
The lake.
It lay just beyond the eastern gardens, near the ancient willow whose roots drank deep from the dark waters.
Iris liked the place. Said it helped her think. Said it was peaceful and beautiful.
When I reached the clearing, my heart sank.
The lake was empty.
Its surface lay unnaturally still, reflecting the lanternlight like a sheet of black glass.
In the daytime, it was serene, even inviting—but at night, it felt... watchful. The air was colder here, heavy with damp earth and something older, something that stirred uneasily beneath the water’s skin.
I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself.
"It looks especially creepy tonight," I muttered under my breath, remembering how Iris got pranked by the monster living in the deep.
I did not linger. Whatever dwelled beneath the surface had a cruel sense of humor, and I had no desire to become its next amusement.
I turned to leave.
"My, my... going somewhere?"
I froze.
Every instinct screamed at once.
I turned slowly, already knowing what—or rather, who—I would find.
Valerius stood before me, his tall frame relaxed, almost leisurely, as though this were nothing more than a casual encounter.
Two other male vampires flanked him, their eyes gleaming faintly in the lanternlight, smiles sharp and full of malice.
"You certainly caused enough trouble," Valerius continued mildly, "to have Morgana punished and confined to the left wing."
Damn it.
Had they followed my scent?
I kept my expression calm, though cold sweat slid down my back. Arcane magic was out of the question here—the wards inside the Academy suppressed most spellcasting.
My fingers brushed the pocket of my cloak, and I steadied myself.
"Suffer?" I scoffed, forcing a smile. "After she nearly killed me, a week of lectures is hardly punishment."
Valerius’s eyes narrowed, crimson flickering beneath their dark depths. "For a human, you possess an impressive amount of audacity," he said softly. "I like that. It makes the prospect of breaking you far more pleasurable."
The two vampires behind him laughed, low and hungry.
I let out a short chuckle. "What is this, then? Revenge? Are you truly so fragile that you must avenge a woman who couldn’t finish the job herself? Did I hurt your vampire pride?"
Valerius laughed, the sound smooth and unbothered. "Revenge? Don’t insult us by assuming something so petty."
Before I could react, he was behind me.
His grip locked around my arms, iron-strong, his body pressed close, his breath cold against my neck. I stiffened, forcing down the surge of fear clawing at my chest.
"I’m merely here to indulge," he murmured. "The moment I smelled your virgin blood, it refused to leave my thoughts."
I gasped as his fangs brushed my skin, sharp and slow. The cold fear threatened to break me, but I held it back, locking it away where it could not betray me.
"I’ve waited," he rasped, "to taste you at the height of ecstasy."
I moved.
My hand shot into my pocket, fingers closing around the pouch hidden there. In one swift motion, I flung the contents over my shoulder.
Garlic powder exploded into the air.
"Agh—you bitch!" Valerius roared.
He staggered back, hissing as smoke curled from his skin, the scent of burning flesh sharp and acrid.
I tore free from his grasp and put distance between us, heart pounding but mind razor-sharp.
The powder would not kill him. It would barely slow him.
But seconds mattered.
"Get her!" Valerius thundered.
The other two lunged for me. I hurled the remaining garlic powder into their faces and darted past them, skirts gathered in my fists as I ran. Footsteps thundered behind me.
I barely made it a few meters before Valerius was upon me again.
I twisted aside just in time, drawing the silver dagger concealed in my boot. I slashed upward. He dodged easily—but not cleanly enough.
The blade kissed his cheek.
Blood welled, dark and glistening.
For a heartbeat, everything went still.
Then he laughed.
The two vampires flanked me once more, hemming me in. Valerius’s wound was already healing, but his gaze burned as he licked the blood from his fingers, eyes glowing red.
"Feisty," he said with approval. "You’re the first human girl who has ever dared to fight me—and actually land a strike."
