Chapter 25 Retrieval

Chapter 25 Retrieval

For a second, Terlos just stared at him, his mouth working silently as the light left his eyes. Then, his knees buckled, and he collapsed into the dirt like a puppet with its strings cut.

Seeing their leader fall, the remaining men broke. They scrambled away, tripping over their own feet in a desperate rush for the treeline.

They didn't get far. The shadows were already moving to meet them.

Nightshade vanished—reappearing in front of each of them one by one, expression blank and merciless, cutting them down until silence returned to the ruins.

Watching him, Lori smiled faintly before slipping into unconsciousness.

He finally understood that Nightshade wasn’t the kind of person he thought he was.

As Tsukia’s eyes slowly opened and her vision was blurry, she saw blood everywhere. And, Nightshade standing in the center of it all.

“What happened?” she murmured weakly.

“I’ll explain later,” Jasmia sobbed, rushing to hug her.

Nightshade walked back toward them, crimson aura fading as his strength gave out. He dropped to his knees.

Tsukia caught him before he fell, pulling his blood-soaked body into her arms.

“I’ll kill… any man… who dares touch you,” he whispered against her shoulder before going limp.

Tsukia looked at the bodies, then at Lori, then at the crying Jasmia.

“Seriously… what the hell happened here?”

Jasmia finally explained everything that had transpired in the lair while the others were unconscious. At the same time, she began healing both Nightshade and Lori, ensuring a fast recovery as they prepared to finally leave the site of their long, grueling battle.

“Really? You awakened your potential?” Tsukia asked, her voice bright with genuine, sisterly pride as Jasmia helped her to her feet.

Nightshade didn’t join the celebration. Instead, he walked over to the lifeless body of Terlos, his expression a mask of cold indifference as he pried the Mortalaroth from the dead man’s fingers.

He weighed the relic in his hand—the very thing that had nearly cost them their lives.

“How do we get out of here?” Jasmia asked, her eyes darting toward the dark corridors.

“The Association doesn’t leave their hounds without a leash,” Nightshade said, pulling a secondary stone from his pocket. He placed it on the grime-streaked floor.

“Return.”

A pillar of light erupted, swallowing the four of them whole.

The air shifted instantly.

They reappeared in the reception room. Climate-controlled air and the faint scent of old paper replaced the sulfur and rot of the lair.

Chief Sheira stood by the desk, arms crossed, her eyes like flint as she watched them materialize. The receptionist stepped forward, expression unreadable, and took the relics from Nightshade.

With a flick of her wrist, a heavy suitcase materialized as their payment.

But as Sheira stepped toward Tsukia, hand already lifting for another “scan,” Nightshade moved.

He stepped directly into her path, blocking her view.

“We’re going now,” he said.

His voice wasn’t just cold—it was a warning.

Sheira didn’t argue. She simply watched them leave, her gaze lingering on the back of Tsukia’s head with a quiet, calculating intensity. She knew they were hiding something in Tsukia’s sleeve.

Tsukia’s POV

The walk back to the basement felt like a blur of self-reflection. My wrist still carried the phantom burn of black veins crawling under my skin.

The fever had taught me something brutal—my body was a vessel, and right now, that vessel was too small for the power I carried.

I need to get stronger, I thought, gripping my arm. Not just for me… but so they don’t have to bleed for me again.

“Are you okay?” Nightshade asked, his eyes narrowing as he noticed my hand.

“I’m fine,” I replied, though the lie felt thin even to me.

We finally reached the basement. The moment the door clicked shut, the “team” collapsed.

The rival fire-boy, the vampire-boy, and the awakened supporter were suddenly just four exhausted, starving teenagers—including me.

“I’m starving. Let’s order everything on the menu,” Jasmia suggested, already reaching for the phone.

While we waited for the food, Nightshade retreated into the kitchen. The soft sound of a coffee grinder filled the silence for a moment before Lori finally spoke.

“I’m still amazed by what you did, Jasmia,” Lori said, his eyes shining.

“I wish I’d seen it,” I added with a small smile.

“It was like… the air just became lighter,” Lori continued, gesturing vaguely.

“My flames felt like they could melt the sun.”

“By the way,” Jasmia leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“Nightshade… he’s strange, right? I saw him. He made a dagger out of his own blood. That’s not normal magic.”

“What if we just ask him?” Lori suggested.

At that exact moment, Nightshade walked back in, holding a cup of black coffee. He stopped immediately, sensing the weight of our stares.

“What exactly are you, Nightshade?” Jasmia asked bluntly.

He took a slow sip.

“I’m a hybrid. Half-human, half-vampire.”

The pieces clicked into place. His tactical thinking came from his human side—but that terrifying, visceral control over blood… that was something else entirely.

“So how do you… you know… eat?” Lori asked, curiosity slipping through before he could stop it. “How do you handle blood cravings?”

Nightshade’s lips curled into a small, teasing smirk.

“The first person I see, I’ll just bite them. But for you guys? I’d ask nicely first.”

“HUH?” we all blurted in unison.

A strange flicker hit my chest. A memory flashed—the girl he bit in the Dragon’s Lair. I quickly pushed it away, annoyed at myself for even caring.

“I’m joking,” he added, though his eyes stayed serious. “I have tablets to suppress the urge. But I’m out of them. I’d have to go back to Vamra Kova to get more.”

He paused, taking another sip.

“But I don’t plan on ever seeing that place again.”

Vamra Kova.

The name alone made the room feel colder. The Nation of Vampires—land of legends and nightmares, a place wrapped in eternal twilight.

A knock echoed from the door, breaking the tension.

“Coming!” Jasmia called, her voice bright again as she rushed to collect the food.

As evening deepened, the invisible walls between us finally began to crack.

We gathered around the steaming food, the air filled with spice and the rare sound of shared laughter. In that golden circle of lamplight, something warm settled over the room—something like unity.

Watching them, I felt a sudden, sharp surge of protectiveness tighten in my chest. Against everything, against all odds… I had found a family in the most unlikely place.

“I need to wash up,” I said, standing.

I went to the bathroom and turned on the faucet, letting cold water run over my hands.

I looked into the mirror, expecting my usual reflection.

But as I stared into my eyes, something surfaced.

A fragment of a memory… or maybe a dream from when I was unconscious.

It wasn’t the lair, it was a place I had never been to. And a face I should not have known.