Chapter 21 The Trap
RAVEN'S POV
It wasn't possible.
Vampires didn't just vanish into nothing.
I stood in the clearing where Derek's dark energy had led me, searching for any sign of the group I'd been tracking for two days. Blood. Tracks. The lingering scent of death.
But there was nothing.
Just trees. Fallen leaves. And the faint pulse of dark energy that had drawn me here in the first place, radiating from the earth like a dying heartbeat.
Derek had been here. Recently. I could feel the echo of his presence, the rage that had burned in him during our fight at House Noir.
But now? Gone. Completely erased.
Either Derek had grown far more powerful than I'd believed possible, or someone else had intervened. Covered his tracks with magic I didn't recognize.
Neither option was comforting.
I crouched, pressing my palm against the ground. The dark energy pulsed once beneath my touch, then faded to nothing.
"You seem to be looking for something."
I spun, hand already reaching for the blade hidden in my coat.
A young man sat on a fallen log perhaps twenty paces away. Early twenties. Dark hair. Expensive traveling clothes that marked him as nobility despite the mud on his boots.
How long had he been there? I hadn't sensed him. Hadn't heard him approach.
That alone made him dangerous.
"Who are you?" I kept my voice flat, emotionless.
"Gilbert." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Son and heir of Duke Corvus, House Thelma. One of the Five Founding Houses." He stood, brushing dirt from his coat with deliberate slowness. "And you're Raven. The last Vampire Lord. It's quite an honor to meet you in person."
An honor. Right.
My hand didn't leave my blade. "What do you want?"
"To offer you an alliance." He came closer, hands visible. Non-threatening. But he didn't look scared either. "I need you to do something for me. Although it would benefit both of us."
"I don't do favors for people," I said. "So if you'll excuse me, I have a lot to do."
I turned to leave.
"It will pique your interest," Gilbert said, and something in his tone made me pause. "I promise."
I moved. One moment I was turning away, the next my hand was around his throat, lifting him slightly off his feet.
His eyes widened, but to his credit, he didn't struggle.
"You need to listen to me," he choked out. "I'm here to help you."
"Help me?" I tightened my grip slightly. "How do you know where I am? Isn't that suspicious? You just happened to be in these woods?"
"Not coincidence," Gilbert gasped. "I've been looking for you—"
I released him. He stumbled back, coughing and rubbing his throat.
"Talk," I said. "And don't waste my time, you won't get a second chance."
Gilbert took a moment to catch his breath, then straightened. The fear in his eyes was gone.
"I want you to kill my father," he said bluntly.
I raised an eyebrow. "Your father. Duke Corvus."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he's planning something. And he'll do everything in his power to bring Duke Noir down. To destroy House Noir completely."
Silver's father.
"Any proof or evidence?" I demanded.
Gilbert produced a folded letter from his coat. His hands were still shaking slightly from my earlier grip. "This. Duke Noir's request for reinforcement. Sent two weeks ago through official shadow channels."
I took it. Scanned the contents quickly.
Official seal. Proper codes. A legitimate request for military backup on a dangerous demon-elimination mission.
"Your father intercepted this," I said.
"This and several others like it." Gilbert's voice turned bitter. "Duke Noir went on a mission ordered by the King. He requested reinforcements, but they were never sent. Now we don't know anything about him—missing, possibly dead."
"And when they find his body—or don't—" I finished for him.
"They'll blame him for everything. The demon summoning. The massacre. They'll make it look like he was trying to cover his own crimes."
I looked at the letter again. The evidence was clear: someone had sabotaged his mission.
"Why show me this?" I asked. "Why not take it to the King yourself?"
"Because my father would have me killed before I reached the throne room." Gilbert's voice was flat. "He has spies everywhere. The moment I moved against him, I'd be dead. But you—you're a vampire lord. Dangerous."
"But I need to know your true intentions."
"I save my house from destruction. If my father's treason comes to light without someone exposing it first, House Thelma falls with him." I become the hero who chose justice over family. I inherit without the taint of my father's crimes."
At least he was honest about his selfishness.
"Please," Gilbert added quietly. "When this is over, make sure history remembers me as the hero who exposed him. That's all I ask."
I tucked the letter into my coat. "I need to go. Silver—"
"Silver has been poisoned," Gilbert said, his expression turning grim. "I'm sorry."
No.
The capital was miles away, but distance meant nothing to me.
Silver.
I'd wasted two days chasing Derek while she—
No. Don't think about it. Just move.
The city walls appeared. I blurred past guards who shouted but couldn't stop me. Through streets. Over rooftops. Up palace walls that should have been unclimbable.
Her chambers. I knew where they were from my previous stay.
Her window was locked. I broke it.
Glass shattered. I landed inside, already searching the room.
Empty.
No sign of her.
Just furniture and silence and the faint scent of lavender she always wore.
Where was she?
The door opened behind me.
"Lord Raven."
The voice was smooth. Cultured. Familiar somehow, though I'd never heard it before.
I turned.
An older man stood in the doorway, flanked by six armed guards. Silver-haired. Sharp eyes. The kind of face that belonged to someone who'd spent decades in politics and shadows.
Gilbert's father.
"How convenient," Corvus said pleasantly, "to find you breaking into Lady Silver's chambers. Especially considering she was poisoned yesterday night and is currently fighting for her life in the healer's wing."
My blood went cold.
"Where is she?" I demanded.
"Lord Raven, what are you doing in her chambers?" Corvus's eyebrow rose. "Unless you really did—"
"You're accusing me—"
"I'm stating facts, Lord Raven." Corvus's voice was calm. You broke into her room"
Damn. I hadn't seen this coming. If I fought back, they'd take Gilbert's letter as proof of conspiracy. If I surrendered, I'd be locked away while Silver died.
This whole thing was a trap. And I'd walked right into it.
"Since we caught trespassing." Corvus's smile widened. "Guards—arrest him. For the attempted murder of Lady Silver Noir."
The guards moved forward, weapons drawn.
I could fight. Could probably kill half of them before they brought me down.
But that would only prove Corvus right. Confirm I was dangerous. Guilty.
The guards surrounded me, blades pointed at my chest.
"Surrender peacefully," Corvus said, "and we'll make this civilized. Resist, and we'll assume guilt."
Then I saw it—a shadow moving on the wall. Moving wrong.
That magic. It looks like—
A hand grabbed me from the darkness and yanked me backward.
Into the shadow itself.
Into nothing.