Chapter 153 Alternate Universe?
Kira's POV
I blinked hard and looked around again, my eyes adjusting to the sudden shift in everything around me.
There was no more endless black. No more bottomless pit swallowing the light.
Instead, I was standing in a wide, well-lit corridor lined with simple wooden doors and buzzing lights.
Servants hurried past us…some carrying trays of late-night snacks, others folding linens, a few whispering quietly as they went about their night routines.
The air smelled like fresh bread, wood polish, and faint lavender soap. Normal. Ordinary. Exactly like the servant quarters should smell.
My mouth fell open a little. What the hell just happened?
I looked around again, heart still racing from the chase that apparently never existed which means I could be losing my mind.
“What just happened?” I muttered under my breath. “Am I dreaming? Wasn’t I just in some messed-up tunnel, hearing a voice calling out to me?”
Why am I here? How am I here? Wasn't I just surrounded by a maze corridor like a scene straight out of a horror series?
The vampire princess tilted her head, watching me with those sharp, unblinking eyes. “Are you alright, Abby? You look paler than I do…and that’s saying something. Did you see a ghost or something?”
I was still too shocked and confused to answer right away.
My brain felt like it was short-circuiting. One second I was running through darkness, screaming at shadows, feeling icy breath on my neck.
The next second, I was here…literally in the middle of a busy corridor, surrounded by busy servants who didn’t even glance twice at us. None of it made sense.
“Have we…been here all along?” I asked her, my voice quieter than I wanted. “When you touched my shoulder earlier…was I standing here?”
She nodded slowly, that same curious little smile playing on her lips.
“Yes. I saw you standing here, staring blankly at the wall for a good minute. I called your name a few times, but you didn’t respond. So I came closer and tapped your shoulder.”
She shrugged one elegant shoulder like nothing has ever spooked her before. “You spun around like you’d been electrocuted and I swear that was the cutest thing ever,” she added with a giddy little excitement that had me questioning if I was still stuck in that nightmare.
I rubbed my forehead, trying to piece it together. Then what was all that earlier? The looping hallways, the voice saying “come find me,” the figure brushing past me, the howl? Had I imagined the whole thing? Or had the palace actually messed with my head?
Am I losing my mind?
None of this makes sense. Or maybe I'm just hungry? Maybe that's why I'm hallucinating?
Just then, rapid footsteps echoed from the other end of the corridor.
Victoria burst into view, breathless and wide-eyed. “Princess!” she called, relief flooding her face as she rushed toward me.
The moment she spotted the vampire princess standing beside me, she slid smoothly between us, positioning herself like a shield.
“Are you alright? What happened? Why are you here?”
The vampire princess let out a dramatic little pout, crossing her arms. “Now I’m offended. Are you suggesting I could harm the princess of your realm on my second day here? We’re practically family, aren’t we?”
Victoria didn’t back down, her stance protective and firm. “With all due respect, your highness, I don’t just trust you because you’re on Prince Levi’s side. My job is to keep her safe. Even from herself.”
I heard the vampire princess start to say something else but I cut her off by placing a hand on Victoria’s arm, feeling suddenly dizzy and drained.
“Victoria… I’m dizzy. Can you just show me the way back to my room? Please.”
She nodded quickly, still eyeing the vampire princess warily. I turned briefly to the other woman and gave a small, polite bow. “Thank you… for checking on me.”
The princess only looked at me curiously for a long moment, then nodded once. No smile this time. Just that calculating gaze that made my skin prickle.
Victoria wrapped an arm around my shoulders, steadying me as we started walking down the corridor together, leaving the vampire princess behind. The servants parted for us without a word, heads dipping in quiet respect.
“What happened back there, your highness?” Victoria asked softly once we were a good distance away. “You scared us half to death.”
“Funny story, yeah? I don’t even have any idea,” I admitted, leaning into her support a little. “Something strange happened. One minute I was trying to find Liana, the next everything got… weird. Really weird.”
Victoria’s grip tightened. “The king was losing his mind. We couldn’t find your scent anywhere in the palace for a while. It was like you’d vanished into thin air. Especially after the new revelation about the so-called Morgana…”
She trailed off, shaking her head. “Which part did you wander into without any guard? How was that even possible? You were literally in the palace. Why couldn't we track you with your scent?”
This confirms that I wasn't hallucinating! It did happen! All those scary stuff…they did happen.
What should I tell her? How do I explain what happened without sounding like a lunatic?
I stayed silent, my mind spinning. Inside my head, Leah and I were already trading thoughts fast and furious.
‘Alternate universe type shit? I suggested to her. ‘Like I stepped into some kind of pocket dimension or realm?’
Leah’s voice came back serious, almost grim. ‘There was something deeper going on, Kira. I felt it too. We need to find out if a place like that actually exists in this palace. A tunnel, a hidden section…something that calls out. Somewhere that hides people's scent. Maybe it’s tied to the symbol on your arm. Maybe it’s calling specifically for us.’
I swallowed hard. "Uh…whatever is calling out to us should stop. I am not interested. That was scary as hell.”
Leah pushed gently. ‘You should ask Victoria if there’s any place like that here. Hidden corridors, old sealed sections, anything unusual.’
I opened my mouth to do exactly that…when a powerful, furious presence hit me like a wave.
Adrian’s scent slammed into my senses first…pine, smoke, and pure alpha rage. He was close. And he was mad as hell.
His heavy footsteps echoed ahead, growing louder with every second.
I could already picture his face…jaw tight, eyes blazing gold, that dangerous energy rolling off him in waves.
Victoria tensed beside me, her arm still around my shoulders, but she didn’t say a word. She knew what was coming.
I braced myself, heart picking up speed again for an entirely different reason now.
The strange tunnel, the voice, the vampire princess, the sudden return to normal…all of it faded to the background as Adrian rounded the corner, his gaze locking onto me like a predator who’d finally found his lost prey.
And he did not look happy.