Chapter 54

A sudden gust of wind swept past me, and I felt the splatter of something warm and thick against my face. My eyes fluttered open, locking with the lifeless stare of the blonde vampire. A heartbeat later, his head detached from his body, tumbling to the floor as the rest of him crumpled like a broken marionette. My hand trembled as I lifted it to wipe my face, realizing with a sickening jolt that the sticky substance was his blood.

The air was pierced by brief, agonized screams from the other two vampires before an eerie silence fell. I was too drained to process the carnage or why I was still alive. The searing pain in my body dulled my thoughts, pulling me into a haze. My eyes closed again, unable to resist the pull of exhaustion.

"Thalassa! Thalassa, open your eyes!" Hadrian’s voice broke through the fog, but I couldn’t be sure if it was real or a desperate figment of my fading mind.

A weak smile tugged at my lips, though my eyes stayed shut. Other voices murmured around me, distant and inconsequential. The only voice that mattered was Hadrian’s.

"Thalassa! Look at me, Thalassa!" His tone carried a raw edge of fear.

Summoning every last ounce of will, I opened my eyes. Hadrian stood before me, drenched in blood—none of it his. Relief washed over me like a fleeting tide. "Thank God," I whispered, grateful he was safe.

"Thalassa, don’t fall asleep! You can’t sleep now!" he shouted, his hands gripping my shoulders with urgency.

"I’m… so tired," I murmured, my voice barely audible.

"Stay with me!" His shout shattered the fragile quiet as he shook me, jolting me away from the dark abyss.

Without another word, he scooped me into his arms. My body, weak and unresponsive, hung limply as he sped through the night. The world blurred around me until the harsh brightness of a room assaulted my vision. I lay on a medical bed, the once-white sheets now soaked red with my blood. A needle pierced my arm, feeding an unknown substance into my veins.

The pain had dulled, but not enough to ease my confusion. I spotted Hadrian by my side, speaking to someone I recognized—Dr. Caspian Blackwell.

"You know she’ll die otherwise," Caspian said curtly, his voice cold and matter-of-fact.

"Find another way," Hadrian snapped. "If word gets out, it could destroy everything. This timing is too critical."

"Don’t feed me that nonsense! You’ve done it before, and there’s no alternative. She’ll die!" Caspian shot back, his voice rising.

Hadrian’s jaw tightened. "And what if it affects her?" he growled.

"It didn’t last time, did it?" Caspian’s smirk was sharp as a blade.

"Fuck!" Hadrian snarled before grabbing a scalpel and slashing his arm open. Blood oozed from the wound, dark and viscous.

"Don’t…" I mumbled, my voice a ghost of its usual self.

Caspian glanced at me, startled that I was conscious. "He’s doing this for you," he said softly. "Don’t worry—you’ll be fine."

My body refused to respond, and my mind struggled to comprehend his words. My thoughts scattered as something cold pressed against my lips.

"Thalassa, drink this," Caspian ordered.

My eyes focused on the glass he held, filled with a dark red liquid. I parted my lips slightly, allowing the thick, metallic-tasting fluid to flow in. It was blood—Hadrian’s blood. I drank more than half the glass before Caspian pulled it away.

"That’s enough. Your body is starting to regenerate," he said, a mixture of relief and satisfaction on his face.

Suddenly, the searing pain began to ebb, replaced by a burning sensation as if my wounds were being stitched together with fire. Tears slid down my face, but I couldn’t scream.

"You can sleep now, Thalassa," Caspian said gently. "You’ll feel better when you wake."

Obediently, I let the darkness take me.

When I woke, the faint drip of an IV greeted me. The room was dim, its curtains drawn tightly shut. My body felt strange—not painful, just numb. Testing my limbs, I moved them cautiously, a faint soreness greeting me. A small, almost disbelieving smile crossed my lips.

Memories of the archives surged back, sharp and vivid. I remembered the blood, the pain, the brink of death. With hesitation, I lifted the sheet covering me, revealing gauze bandages soaked with dried blood. My wounds… they should have been unbearable. Yet, I felt nothing.

"How do you feel?" Hadrian’s voice startled me.

I turned to see him sitting silently by my bed, his expression etched with worry. The faint light made his features harder to discern, but the weight of his concern was unmistakable.

"I feel… better," I whispered, tears pooling in my eyes. "Thank you."

"You have nothing to thank me for," he said gruffly.

"But I do. You saved me again. I owe you my life," I said, my voice trembling.

His expression hardened. "Yes, you do," he said coldly. "You belong to me now. Don’t forget that." With that, he stormed out, leaving me stunned.

Hadrian’s words replayed in my mind, sharp and biting. I didn’t understand his anger, but the memory of drinking his blood resurfaced. My wounds had vanished without a trace.

"What the hell?" I muttered, touching the smooth skin of my ankle where injuries had once been.

"It’s impressive, isn’t it?" Caspian’s voice interrupted as he entered, flicking on the light.

The brightness stung my eyes, but I adjusted quickly.

"Was it the blood?" I asked, my voice filled with equal parts awe and dread. "Hadrian’s blood?"

Caspian nodded. "Yes. And you’re lucky he allowed it. Vampires giving blood to humans is… complicated."

"What’s the punishment for breaking that law?" I asked cautiously.

Caspian’s gaze turned somber. "Death—for both the vampire and the human."