Chapter 496 496

Chapter 496 496
On the balcony next door, Iceblade kept to the shadows, dressed head to toe in black. Across from him, Elena stared him down, her eyes icy and unblinking. For a long moment, neither of them said a word. Then Iceblade finally spoke, his voice low. "If I told you it wasn't me, would you believe me?"
Elena didn't even hesitate. "Was it you?"
They both knew what she meant. The bullet pulled out of Damon had the Blood Oath mark on it. Whoever managed to hurt Damon wasn't just any assassin. And Iceblade was definitely up to the task.
He gave her a tired look. "It wasn't me. Not tonight."
He meant he hadn't been involved in tonight's attack, but he wasn't saying he'd always stay out of it in the future.
Elena narrowed her eyes, her voice firm. "But you knew what they were planning." Iceblade was about to answer when a sudden thump interrupted them. Both he and Elena heard it. In a split second, Iceblade vanished without a trace.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Grace was frozen in shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was Elena really working with the people trying to kill Damon? Who could even get close enough to hurt him? And what was Elena's real connection to these people? What was she after? Was it the same thing Grace wanted?
She leaned in, desperate to hear more, but her foot slipped and hit the door. The sound made her heart stop. Instantly, she clapped a hand over her mouth. As she turned to run back into her room, a shadow flickered on her balcony.
A man in black appeared, moving like a ghost. His face was angelic, but the cold, lethal energy around him made her blood run cold. He felt like death itself.
Grace's voice shook as she raised her hands. “I..... I didn't hear anything. Seriously, I didn't hear a thing!"
Iceblade's lips curled into a small, chilling smile. “Is that so?”
"Yes, yes! I promise, I didn't hear anything!"
He looked amused. "But what if I think you did?"
Grace's fear spiked. The look in his eyes was so cold and dangerous, her legs turned to jelly and she stumbled back. Before she could scream, Iceblade flicked his wrist. A sharp, chemical smell hit her, and everything went black.
After making sure Grace was out, Iceblade slipped back to Elena.
"I gave her something. She won't remember any of this."
Grace wasn't a threat to Elena, but Elena needed to figure out what Grace was really after and who was backing her. For now, Grace was still useful.
"Is Damon part of your mission?" Elena cut right back to the chase, not wasting a second.
Iceblade hesitated, then nodded. "You could say that."
Damon was a target, no point pretending otherwise now that Elena knew.
Elena's eyes went ice-cold as she faced him, like she was staring at a dead man.
Iceblade and Elena had been through hell together. You could call them childhood friends, but they'd always walked different paths. Not quite enemies, not quite friends.
"You've put me on your blacklist, haven't you?" Iceblade let out a bitter laugh.
Elena's face didn't change. “You're the one who wants him dead."
Going after Damon meant going against her.
He met her gaze, hurt flickering in his dark eyes. "How long have you even known him? How long have we known each other?"
"We were never on the same side," Elena said, her voice steady.
Iceblade let out a soft, wounded laugh. "Yeah. People like me only belong in the dark. That's all we're good for."
Elena's voice dropped, almost gentle. "If you're willing to leave Blood Oath, I can help you."
For a second, something sparked in Iceblade's eyes, a glimmer of hope.
But it faded just as quickly, swallowed up by the darkness.