Chapter 85: Missing I
I’m so sorry about the late update.
Life really got to me in a funny way but here we are, Thank you for not giving up.
Love y’all.
*********
The room was cold, dark, and damp, its stone walls glistening with moisture. A faint scent of mildew hung heavily in the air.
Saline was bound tightly to a wooden chair. Thick ropes wrapped around her waist, pinning her firmly against the backrest, while her wrists were tied securely behind it. Every attempt to move only caused the coarse ropes to dig deeper into her skin.
A soft groan escaped her lips as consciousness slowly returned.
She blinked repeatedly, struggling to adjust her vision to the suffocating darkness. As fragments of memory came rushing back, panic surged through her.
Immediately, she struggled against the ropes, twisting her wrists and shifting her weight in a desperate attempt to free herself.
Nothing.
The bindings refused to budge.
Her breathing quickened. She opened her mouth and screamed, but the sound seemed to vanish within the room itself. The thick stone walls swallowed every cry, ensuring no one outside would ever hear her.
Then a calm voice shattered the silence.
"Do you intend to keep screaming?"
Saline froze.
Footsteps echoed through the darkness as a woman slowly stepped into the faint shaft of light filtering through the room.
For a brief moment, Saline’s heart leaped.
Mother...?
But as the figure drew closer, hope gave way to horror.
The woman’s features were almost identical to her mother’s, yet something about her was different. Her smile held no warmth....only cruelty.
Goosebumps raced across Saline’s skin.
It wasn’t her mother.
It was her mother’s twin sister.
Her heart pounded violently against her ribs.
Selene stopped a few steps in front of her, amusement dancing in her green eyes as the dim light reflected off them.
"My dear," she said smoothly, "I see you still remember me."
Saline swallowed hard, shifting uncomfortably against the chair after exhausting herself trying to escape.
"What do you want from me?" she asked, her voice trembling despite her attempt to sound brave.
"Want?" Selene chuckled. "You’ve asked the wrong question, dear. The real question is... what do you and your mother owe me?"
"What do we owe you?" Saline asked, unable to hide the disbelief in her voice.
"Oh..." Selene smiled darkly. "A great many things. And I’ll make sure I collect every last one of them. Better yet..." Her smile widened. "I’ll make sure your mother watches from wherever the hell she is."
She dragged over another chair and sat directly opposite Saline.
"Should I tell you how your mother died after you abandoned her and ran for your pathetic little life?"
Saline’s fists clenched behind the chair as she glared at the woman before her.
Selene only seemed to enjoy the reaction.
"Right before her precious magic completely drained her soul," she continued casually, "the vampires took turns feeding on her until there was nothing left."
She burst into cruel laughter, savoring the horror spreading across Saline’s face.
"Stop..." Saline whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "Please... stop this."
She had spent so long trying to bury those memories, convincing herself that leaving had been her only choice. Yet here sat her mother’s murderer, delighting in every painful detail.
"What did my mother ever do to you?" Saline asked weakly.
"You both disgust me."
Selene shrugged as though discussing the weather.
"Your mother stole everything from me. She became the family’s pride simply because she was born with white hair while I was cursed with black. Everyone praised her talent, worshipped her gift, and ignored me."
Her expression twisted with resentment.
"Then you came along."
She stepped closer.
"You inherited the white hair... and the box that was meant to be mine."
Her breathing grew heavier.
"That box should have restored my rightful place. It should have proved that I was stronger... more capable... better than all of them."
Her voice rose into a near scream.
"So much better!"
Without warning, she grabbed a fistful of Saline’s dark hair and yanked hard.
Saline cried out in pain.
"What truly infuriates me," Selene hissed, "is that you forced me to search for you... and then you had the audacity to hide the color of your hair."
She leaned closer until their faces were inches apart.
"But don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re looking your absolute best by the time that loyal maid of your mother’s comes looking for you."
A weak laugh escaped Saline.
"You’re never going to catch her."
Selene smiled.
"And who says I won’t?"
She released Saline’s hair.
"I planned every bit of this. Don’t you think she’ll come searching once she realizes you’ve disappeared? When she does..." She shrugged. "I’ll have her too."
She paused before adding with mocking pity,
"But I suppose you couldn’t have figured that out."
Her smile turned even crueler.
"Then again, you were foolish enough to fall in love with one of the very line of vampires hunting you."
Saline went completely still.
"What... did you just say?"
Selene laughed loudly.
"Figure it out yourself."
Without another word, she turned and walked toward the heavy wooden door.
The door slammed shut behind her, plunging the room back into silence and darkness.
Saline sat frozen.
A vampire...
The man she had cared for...
The man she had trusted...
A vampire.
How did Selene know?
Were they working together?
Had she been deceived from the very beginning?
Question after question flooded her mind until her thoughts became a tangled mess.
Her breathing grew uneven, and the room began to spin around her.
*****
Meanwhile, in the Elven Kingdom, Florence’s anxiety had reached its limit.
She had sent Lilian to fetch the other, yet somehow both girls had vanished without a trace.
Today was her wedding day.
She needed them beside her.
And Saline still hadn’t even gotten dressed.
Ignoring the custom that forbade a bride from wandering around before the ceremony, Florence lifted the hem of her elaborate wedding gown and hurried toward the servants’ quarters.
She checked Saline’s room first.
Empty.
A knot formed in her stomach.
She immediately crossed the hall and pushed open Lilian’s door.
"Lilian!"
Her brows knitted together.
Lilian was lying asleep on the bed.
Florence rushed over and shook her shoulder.
"Lilian! Wake up!"
Lilian stirred with a groan. A sharp headache throbbed behind her eyes, making her wince as she slowly sat upright.
The moment she recognized Florence, confusion filled her face.
"Aunt.. what are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you that," Florence replied impatiently. "Where is Saline?"
"I... I don’t kn—"
Florence cut her off.
"Is this how you were looking for her? The two of you have been acting suspicious all week, and now Saline is missing on the most important day of my life!"
Lilian’s expression instantly changed.
Saline hadn’t returned.
A wave of dread crashed over her.
If anything had happened to Saline, they would both be punished...perhaps even executed.
"I’ll go look for her immediately."
She hurried out of bed, and the two women stepped into the corridor.
Before they could go any farther, a group of palace guards rushed past them in obvious alarm.
Florence quickly stopped a passing maid.
"What is happening?" she demanded.
The maid looked pale.
"Gina is missing."
********
Earlier that day, after Saline had left Xandros’s home, she walked quietly along the forest path, believing he was still lying in bed, too weak to move after taking this medicine.
The moment she disappeared from his sight, Xandros opened his eyes.
There wasn’t a trace of illness left on his face.
He rose effortlessly to his feet, straightened his clothes, and followed her from a distance, careful to remain hidden.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
Watching her had become a habit he couldn’t seem to break.
Soon enough, she reached the concealed entrance to the cave and Xandros paused,as he kept looking at her.
Whether she lived in a hidden kingdom or the middle of nowhere made little difference to him. As long as she kept coming back to him, that was all that mattered.
He waited patiently outside for her to disappear completely beyond the barrier.
Then...
A cloaked figure appeared out of nowhere.
The stranger brushed past Saline for only a brief moment.
In the next instant...
They both vanished.
Xandros’s eyes widened.
"What—"
Without hesitation, he shot forward at terrifying speed, reaching the exact spot where Saline had been standing only a heartbeat earlier.
His hand grasped nothing but empty air.
No scent.
No footsteps.
No magical residue strong enough to follow.
Only silence.
His jaw tightened as fury erupted within him.
"FUCK!"
The roar echoed through the forest, startling birds into flight.
His crimson eyes darkened with murderous intent.
He didn’t need to investigate.
He already knew who was responsible.There is only one person arrogant enough to interfere with his life.
His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.
"Father."
The words escaped through gritted teeth, carrying a promise of bloodshed.
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