Chapter 62: Chapter 63: Aren’t you a pureblood vampire?
It was just like my dream.
Four men.
And one woman.
But this time, the men were Sentinels... The elite, masked guardians of the academy, and the woman was positioned on all fours between them, completely surrendered to the moment.
I froze instantly behind the thick cluster of ancient trees, my breath catching painfully somewhere deep in my throat as raw shock rooted me to the damp forest floor.
The silver moonlight filtered through the dense canopy in fragmented beams, illuminating stolen glimpses: dark Sentinel uniforms and cloaks discarded carelessly across the mossy ground like forgotten armor, flashes of pale, sweat-slicked skin, shifting shadows, and entangled limbs moving in a synchronized, primal rhythm.
Wow.
The unfiltered thought slipped through my mind before I could censor it. I genuinely hadn’t known Sentinels were capable of enjoying themselves this... enthusiastically. Or at all, really.
Sentinels had always seemed more machine than human to me. Cold. Emotionless. Their faces perpetually hidden behind those eerie, expressionless masks, their voices flat and mechanical, their movements precise and lethal like living weapons forged for one purpose only.
They glided through the academy halls like silent specters, radiating an aura of detached menace that discouraged any attempt at casual conversation. Seeing them like this... masks removed, control shattered, bodies glistening under moonlight as they lost themselves in raw pleasure, felt strangely surreal. Almost profane.
Their identities were usually kept secret, so I had never bothered trying to memorize any of them. Most looked terrifying enough without attaching names and histories to the nightmares. But the woman...
Now her face I desperately wanted to see. Mostly because my curiosity had become a death wish I couldn’t seem to shake, no matter how many times it nearly got me killed.
I pressed closer against the rough bark of the tree trunk, arms folded tightly over my chest as if that could steady my racing heart, and peered harder through the shifting shadows.
Please, Goddess, don’t let it somehow be me again....
After the fevered nightmare my subconscious had already inflicted on me tonight, I absolutely could not handle another horrifying coincidence involving mysterious forest activities and multiple men. Especially not Sentinels.
A small, shameful spark of excitement flickered in my chest at the discovery of someone else’s secret. Not that I planned to weaponize it... but still. A little forbidden gossip never truly hurt anyone.
Probably.
Hopefully.
No matter how disturbingly vivid my earlier dream had felt, the scene unfolding before me now was terrifyingly, undeniably real.... Every sound carried on the cool night breeze with crystal clarity: the slick, rhythmic shift of bodies moving together, heavy masculine breathing, low guttural groans torn from deep chests, and the woman’s unrestrained moans that rose and fell without shame.
Oh Mother Goddess.
She wasn’t even trying to be quiet. If anything, she sounded utterly lost in ecstasy, completely unbothered by the very real possibility that someone might stumble upon them this deep within the academy’s ancient forest.
Which, unfortunately for all of us...
Had already happened.
I remained deathly still, almost painfully focused, rising onto my tiptoes like a complete idiot, a nosy, sleep-deprived, curiosity-driven idiot who apparently survived on poor decisions and bad timing. My pulse hammered so loudly in my ears I feared they might hear it.
Then, as though the Goddess had finally decided to indulge my reckless curiosity for once in my chaotic life, the woman turned her head slightly, eyes half-lidded with pleasure, and looked directly toward the shadows where I hid.
My eyes widened in pure disbelief.
"Irene?" I breathed out, the name barely a whisper.
Shock crashed through me with such force that my brain short-circuited for several long seconds.
Irene.
Of all the people in this entire academy... it had to be Irene.
The same Irene who walked around with perpetual judgment etched into her features, constantly criticizing everyone around her as if she had personally been appointed Arbiter of all moral standards. The same Irene who seemed to swallow bitterness and superiority for breakfast every single morning. And now here she was... deep in the forbidden forest, on all fours with four Sentinels, looking like the very opposite of the prim, professional, uptight image she projected during daylight hours.
Honestly? I was stunned into silence.
And somehow, against all logic and self-preservation, deeply entertained.
She continued moving, utterly unaware of my presence, too consumed by the overwhelming sensations surrounding her to notice the intruder in the trees. Even while facing my general direction, her eyes remained glassy and unfocused, lost in whatever pleasure-drenched realm she currently inhabited. Her moans spilled freely into the night air, raw and unfiltered.
I blinked slowly, trying to process the scene.
Are Arbiters and Sentinels even allowed to be this... entangled?
The question floated through my mind unbidden. This definitely felt like blatant rule-breaking behavior that could get everyone involved in serious trouble.
Not that I particularly cared about academy regulations right now.
Actually... a very petty, vindictive little part of me felt strangely satisfied. Miss Perfect had secrets after all. Deep, filthy, extremely compromising secrets. Interesting.
Deciding I had already witnessed far more than enough to mentally scar myself for several lifetimes, I slowly began to turn away, intending to retreat as quietly as possible before anyone realized they had an audience.
But the universe, as always, had other plans.
It had never been particularly fond of me.
The exact moment I stepped backward, my boot came down squarely on a thick, hidden branch buried beneath a carpet of fallen leaves.
CRACK.
The sound shattered the night like a thunderclap, echoing sharply through the previously intimate silence of the forest.
Every movement behind me ceased instantly.
Complete, heavy silence fell.
Then...
"Who’s there?" one of the Sentinels demanded, his voice sharp and laced with lethal authority.
Panic detonated inside my chest like wildfire.
Run.
My body reacted before my mind could catch up. I spun around and bolted through the trees, heart slamming violently against my ribs as pure survival instinct took the wheel. Branches whipped against my arms and robe, leaves crunched beneath my frantic footsteps, and my breath came in ragged, terrified gasps.
I barely made it more than a few desperate strides before a dark figure materialized directly in front of me with impossible speed.
I skidded to a halt so abruptly I nearly tumbled backward, arms windmilling for balance.
My stomach plummeted straight through the forest floor.
It was Irene.
Still completely, gloriously unclothed, her skin flushed and marked from the encounter, moonlight painting her in silver and shadow.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice ice-cold and dripping with menace.
Before I could form a single coherent syllable, the four Sentinels... Now covered appeared around us in a blur of motion, surrounding me from every direction with terrifying efficiency. Their presence pressed in like a physical wall, tall, powerful, and radiating barely contained threat.
Oh... Wonderful.
Now I was trapped in the middle of the dark forest at night, surrounded by angry, secretive people who clearly did not appreciate being discovered in such a compromising position.
"I... I was just out for some fresh air," I stammered quickly, trying desperately to keep my voice steady even as my knees threatened to buckle. "I couldn’t sleep after... everything that happened today."
Irene’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, her expression hardening further.
"How were you able to see us?"
Because I have perfectly functioning eyes, I thought bitterly.
Thankfully, for once, I managed to bite my tongue.
"I didn’t see anything," I lied, perhaps a little too quickly. "I walked too far from the dormitories, realized it was a stupid idea, and was heading straight back. That’s all."
"No," Irene said slowly, her voice dropping into something darker, more venomous. "I cast a concealment spell around us. You weren’t supposed to see anything, Nyx."
I blinked at her, momentarily forgetting my fear in the face of sheer confusion.
"Wait... aren’t you a pureblood vampire?" I asked before my brain could stop my mouth. "How are you casting spells?"
The second the words left my lips, I wanted to hurl myself into the nearest lake and never resurface.
Seriously, Nyx? Now? This is the moment your curiosity decides to shine brightest?
"Answer my question," Irene snapped, stepping closer with predatory grace. "How did you see us?"
Something cold and oily twisted painfully in the pit of my stomach. A very bad feeling. The kind that screamed imminent danger.
"I already told you," I replied carefully, hands raised in a placating gesture. "I didn’t see anything. Can I please just go back to the dorm now? I swear I didn’t..."
One of the Sentinels behind me spoke, his tone flat and chillingly casual. "Let’s just kill her here."
My blood turned to ice in my veins.
Wait.... What?
Another Sentinel hesitated for half a second. "A Purger can’t simply disappear inside academy grounds without triggering an investigation."
Investigation?... Death?
My heart nearly stopped altogether. Were these people genuinely discussing, murdering me right now, as if I weren’t standing two feet away listening to every word?
"Only a dead soul keeps secrets," Irene murmured quietly, almost philosophically.
Real fear, raw, primal, stomach-hollowing fear, slammed into me then. The kind that made the world narrow to a pinpoint and stole the air from your lungs.
Before I could react or beg or even scream...
Irene moved.
Blindingly fast.
One moment she stood several feet away.
The next, her hand was wrapped vise-tight around my throat, lifting me clean off the ground with terrifying vampire strength.
My feet kicked helplessly beneath me as white-hot panic exploded through every nerve in my body. I clawed frantically at her wrist, nails digging into cold skin, struggling for even a single thread of air while black spots bloomed and danced across my vision.
"I-I didn’t see anything..." I choked out, the words barely audible, broken gasps.
If lying could save my life, then I saw absolutely nothing. Nothing at all.
My lungs burned as though filled with molten lava. The forest spun wildly around me. Consciousness began to slip away like sand through desperate fingers.
Then, suddenly....
A sharp, commanding voice sliced through the suffocating darkness like a blade.
"Let her go."
