Damned by Him

Chapter 71: Hunt.

The death of Jamie should have settled the matter.

At least, that was what Xandros had expected.

The spy was dead. Silas had lost his eyes in the field. Whatever investigation had begun around the strange girl from the village would slow considerably now that one of its most useful participants had vanished. By all reasonable standards, the problem had been dealt with.

Yet as Xandros moved through the forest beneath the silver glow of the moon, he found himself increasingly irritated by the fact that his thoughts refused to leave the matter alone.

The path beneath his feet remained familiar. Ancient trees stretched toward the heavens while cold night air drifted through the branches overhead. The forest should have felt peaceful. Instead, his attention remained fixed on a single trail.

A scent, faint and delicate.

Almost impossible for a human to notice yet unmistakable to him.

His jaw tightened slightly.

It was ridiculous.

He had met countless people throughout his life. Most vanished from his memory within days. Some within hours. There was no reason this particular girl should be any different.

And yet she was.

The realization irritated him enough that he deliberately attempted to think about something else.

Unfortunately, the effort failed.

The scent continued winding through the forest, drawing him forward whether he admitted it or not. Rain. Wildflowers. Fresh grass. Beneath it all lingered the unmistakable trace of the green-eyed girl. The same girl who somehow managed to argue with him despite possessing absolutely no reason to do so. The same girl who had stared directly into his eyes without a trace of fear.

Most humans feared vampires.

Some feared them irrationally.

Others feared them appropriately.

Saline had simply looked annoyed.

The memory made him snort quietly unaware that she didn’t know so well about his kind...and all she knew was that a Vampire had fangs, long nails and res eyes.

Then his steps slowed.

Immediately.

The scent had vanished.

Not weakened or faded.

Vanished. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

A slight frown appeared on his face as he lifted his gaze toward the cave standing ahead. The entrance appeared completely ordinary. Weathered stone framed the opening while shadows stretched deep into the mountain beyond. Nothing about it seemed unusual. Nothing about it should have been capable of swallowing a scent entirely.

Yet that was precisely what had happened.

For several moments Xandros remained motionless, studying the entrance. Then, without hesitation, he stepped inside.

Darkness greeted him immediately but he himself was darkness.

The tunnel stretched deeper into the mountain, cold air brushing against his skin as his footsteps echoed softly through the cave. He continued forward until the passage eventually narrowed and ended against solid stone.

A dead end.

Nothing more.

No hidden doors.

No secondary passages.

No evidence that anyone had entered recently.

Xandros stared at the wall before him.

Then frowned.

The scent should have continued.

Instead it ended here.

The entire situation felt wrong.

His instincts rarely misled him, particularly when tracking something. Yet every indication suggested the impossible. The girl’s scent had led him directly into the cave and then simply ceased to exist.

As though the world itself had erased it.

The thought remained lingering in his mind when a faint sound reached his ears.

Immediately, Xandros turned.

His expression sharpened.

Someone was approaching.

Without a second thought, he moved.

The motion was fluid enough to appear effortless. One moment he stood within the cave. The next, he had vanished into the darkness outside. Seconds later he rested among the branches of a towering tree overlooking the entrance, concealed entirely by shadows.

Then he waited.

Patience had never been his strongest quality.

Fortunately, hunting had taught him enough of it to remain still when necessary.

Several minutes passed before a figure finally emerged from the forest.

Xandros’s eyes narrowed.

The newcomer was tall and carried himself with the confidence of a trained warrior. His hair fell neatly behind his shoulders while elegant features gave him an appearance unlike any human Xandros had ever encountered.

Yet it wasn’t the man’s appearance that drew his attention.

It was his ears.

Long and refined.

Unmistakably inhuman.

For the first time that evening, genuine surprise crossed Xandros’s face.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

The stranger approached the cave entrance before lowering himself toward the ground. His sharp eyes swept across the surrounding area with practiced efficiency until they eventually settled upon something hidden among the grass.

A flower.

Silver petals shimmered beneath the moonlight.

The stranger carefully lifted it.

And the moment he did, Xandros straightened slightly within the tree.

The wind shifted.

The scent reached him instantly.

Not one scent.

Several.

Yet among them, one stood out immediately.

Her.

The flower carried traces of multiple individuals, but the green-eyed girl lingered strongest upon its petals.

Xandros’s gaze fixed upon the bloom.

Whatever this stranger was investigating, it involved her.

That much became obvious.

Below, the long ear warrior studied the flower with growing concern. Kaelion turned the stem slowly between his fingers, his expression becoming increasingly complicated with each passing second.

The flower did not belong within the kingdom.

He knew that.

The Queen knew that.

Which left only one possible conclusion.

The girls had somehow crossed the barrier.

A quiet sigh escaped him.

Relief arrived first.

They had returned safely.

That mattered more than anything else. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Yet relief quickly gave way to concern.

Because Queen Calista would not react well to this discovery.

Not at all.

Kaelion had served her for many years. He understood her fears better than most. The Queen’s caution regarding outsiders had never been born from simple prejudice. It came from older wounds. Older conflicts. History that still lingered like scars upon the kingdom itself.

If she learned the girls had wandered beyond the borders...

The consequences would be severe.

Restrictions.

Guards.

Lectures.

Perhaps even punishments.

Kaelion rubbed a hand across his face.

For the first time since beginning the investigation, he found himself wishing he had discovered nothing.

Slowly, he examined the surrounding area once more. The broken stem confirmed his suspicions. The girls had found the flower outside the kingdom and brought it home.

Which meant they had escaped.

And somehow returned.

A feat that should have been impossible.

His gaze drifted toward the cave.

Then toward the flower.

Eventually, he made his decision.

The Queen deserved honesty.

She always would.

Yet Saline’s bright smile unexpectedly surfaced within his thoughts.

Followed immediately by Lilian’s.

Another sigh escaped him.

Just this once.

Only this once.

He would pretend the investigation had led nowhere.

With that decision made, Kaelion turned and walked toward the cave entrance.

From above, Xandros watched carefully.

The warrior disappeared into the darkness.

Seconds passed.

Then a minute.

Then another.

Nothing happened, nobody emerged.

No footsteps returned.

The cave remained silent.

Eventually, Xandros dropped from the tree.

His landing produced no sound.

He approached the entrance once more before stepping inside.

The passage remained exactly as he remembered.

Cold, silent and empty.

The dead end still waited at the far side.

Yet the silver-haired stranger had vanished.

Completely.

Xandros stared at the stone wall.

Then laughed softly.

The sound carried little amusement.

"So that’s how it is."

A hidden path.

Ancient magic.

Perhaps even an entirely concealed realm.

The realization explained far more than it should have.

Including why the scent vanished.

Including why the stranger disappeared.

And perhaps most importantly...

Including why the girl could not be found.

Eventually he exited the cave once more and lifted his gaze toward the stars overhead.

Moonlight illuminated the clearing while the forest swayed gently around him.

For several moments he remained standing there.

Thinking, calculating and wondering.

Then a faint smile appeared.

"I suppose I’ll have to wait until you come out."

The words escaped quietly.

Barely louder than the wind itself.

For the briefest moment, his eyes shifted.

Grey disappeared beneath a clash of darker colors. Red and black seemed to battle within his gaze before eventually fading once more.

Then he turned.

And began the journey home.

By the time Xandros crossed the magical barrier surrounding the vampire capital, dawn was still hours away. The city remained awake as always, crimson lanterns illuminating elegant streets beneath the night sky.

He had taken only a few steps before noticing a familiar figure waiting nearby.

Adrian leaned against one of the stone pillars bordering the entrance.

His arms were folded.

His expression suggested he had been standing there for quite some time.

Xandros raised an eyebrow.

Adrian raised one back.

Neither spoke immediately.

Finally, Adrian sighed.

"I knew you were going to do something."

"That’s a very broad accusation."

"It wasn’t meant to be specific."

Xandros continued walking.

Adrian fell into step beside him.

Unexpectedly.

"What are you doing here?" Xandros asked.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I asked first."

"You disappeared after promising nothing terrible would happen at least this night."

"I never promised that."

"Exactly."

Xandros smirked.

Adrian looked deeply unimpressed.

For several moments they walked in comfortable silence before Xandros glanced sideways.

"Have you decided to live here now?"

"What?"

"The entrance."

Xandros gestured vaguely behind them.

"You seem attached to it."

Adrian stared.

"I was waiting for you."

"Suspicious."

"You vanished into the middle of the night."

"Understandable."

Adrian looked toward the heavens as though searching for patience.

"What can I say?" Xandros shrugged. "You’re the one standing around in the dark waiting for people. Perhaps you’re the bat."

Adrian closed his eyes.

Slowly.

Then continued walking.

Beside him, Xandros laughed.

The sound echoed softly through the sleeping city.

Meanwhile, completely unaware of the spy who had died, the obsessed vampire who had followed her trail, the warrior who had hidden her secret, and the hidden tensions slowly gathering around her existence, Saline slept peacefully within the safety of the kingdom.

Curled beneath warm blankets, she hugged a pillow tightly against her chest and remained blissfully ignorant of the chaos unfolding beyond her room.

The silver flower rested nearby.

Moonlight spilled through the window.

And somewhere in the darkness, fate quietly continued moving its pieces into place.