Free Web NovelThe car sped down an almost empty highway, with the city lights falling farther and farther behind.
Outside, the landscape had turned dark and wide, trees passing like shadows beyond the tinted windows.
Inside the vehicle, the atmosphere was silent.
Too silent.
Matt held a black book on his lap that was really more of a report bound with unnecessary elegance, with gold lettering on the cover and thick pages that smelled like expensive ink.
On the first page, there was a note written in perfect handwriting.
[To my dear daughter.]
Matt had been staring at that phrase for almost a full minute before turning the page.
'Bitch,' he thought.
Even so, he kept reading.
Because, unfortunately, the contents were important.
The queen had prepared a detailed summary of the situation inside the Castle.
And, as always, if the queen bothered explaining something in detail, it meant the problem was huge.
Matt turned another page with a frown.
The report talked about the clans.
About the ancient houses that had sworn loyalty to the queen.
About the vampiric families that maintained the balance within the territory.
'What a pain. Politics,' Matt thought, feeling a headache coming on.
The main problem seemed to be one clan in particular.
The Vhalden Clan.
Matt didn’t remember dealing with them much, though that didn’t mean a lot.
According to the report, the Vhalden had begun gaining influence over other minor clans.
At first, through trade.
Then through favors.
And finally…
Through sorcery.
Matt narrowed his eyes and turned the page.
The queen explained that the Vhalden Clan had discovered a strange new use for ancient sorcery.
One that allowed them to reinforce vampiric bodies, alter blood oaths, and, in some cases, break bonds of loyalty imposed by lineage.
Matt went still.
That wasn’t just anything.
Vampires could be many things.
Arrogant.
Cruel.
Ridiculous.
Way too fond of thrones.
But their blood rules were one of the few things that kept everything in order.
If a clan could manipulate that…
'Then they can turn allies into enemies without anyone noticing,' Matt thought.
Matt kept reading.
The situation was worse than it looked.
Much worse.
The report estimated that, if the Vhalden continued gathering strength at the same pace, in a few months they would have enough political, military, and magical power to attack the queen directly.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Her.
Her direct descendants.
And any existence linked to her blood.
Matt’s eyes passed over that last part, and he swallowed.
'Great.'
Matt tightened his fingers around the edge of the report.
'So they don’t just want to kill the queen. They’re including me in the family package.'
Matt closed his eyes for a moment.
He didn’t want to have anything to do with that family.
Or that blood.
Or that queen.
Or that insufferable girl sitting beside him.
But apparently, vampiric biology, magic, and clan politics did not respect his personal wishes.
Matt opened his eyes and continued reading.
There were names of possible traitors.
Too many traitors.
Matt brought a hand to his forehead.
'This is too much work.'
The queen hadn’t called him for a conversation.
She had called him because she needed him to fix a disaster.
Again.
And that irritated him almost as much as the uniform he was still wearing.
Matt turned another page.
Then he noticed it.
A faint smell at first, but it gradually became clearer.
Then impossible to ignore.
Matt frowned.
'What is that?'
He slowly lowered the report and looked beside him.
The white-haired girl had taken off her shoes.
Matt blinked.
She was sitting there calmly, as if she were in her bedroom and not inside a luxury car with a driver.
One of her black shoes was lying on the floor of the vehicle, and the other was hanging from the tip of her foot.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
No.
The worst part was that she was taking off her stockings.
Matt stared at her in silence.
She slid a white stocking down her leg with complete calm.
Matt kept staring.
The stocking fell onto the seat.
Then she started on the other one.
Matt slowly closed the report.
"What are you doing?"
The girl looked up at him.
"I’m taking off my stockings."
"I can see that."
"Then why are you asking?"
Matt looked at her tiredly.
"Because I’m trying to understand whether you’re a vampire princess or a small child who can’t sit properly like a decent person."
The girl let out a small laugh.
Then, without even a hint of shame, she leaned her back against the car door and lifted both feet onto the seat.
Her feet ended up dangerously close to Matt’s legs.
Too close.
The smell too.
"As a princess," she said with a calm smile, "my comfort takes priority."
Matt looked at her.
Then he looked at her feet.
Then he looked back at her.
"Your comfort just violated several international treaties."
She tilted her head.
"What are you talking about?"
"That."
Matt pushed her feet down with the report.
"I can’t stand that smell."
The girl lowered her feet, but her smile widened.
"Is your sense of smell that sensitive?"
"I have a nose."
"It didn’t bother you before."
"Before, you shared my body, so technically the problem was yours too."
"That makes no sense."
"Neither do your feet."
The girl laughed again.
Matt opened the report once more, trying to regain his concentration.
But it was hard.
Very hard.
Not just because of the smell.
Because of her too.
Because of her presence.
Matt turned a page with more force than necessary.
"I’m starting to understand more and more why the queen needs my help," he muttered.
The girl looked at him.
"What did you say?"
Matt didn’t look up from the report.
"You’re an airhead."
The girl’s smile faded a little.
Matt continued reading like nothing had happened.
"A complete, empty-headed idiot who can’t solve anything."
The silence inside the car changed.
The driver kept his eyes on the road.
Very much on the road.
As if pretending he didn’t exist was his only survival strategy.
The white-haired girl looked at Matt with narrowed eyes.
"I wasn’t going to handle all that dirty work..." she said, her voice colder, "while you were playing house with those humans."
Matt slowly raised his gaze from the report.
"Playing house?"
"Yes."
Matt looked at her for a few seconds.
Then he let out a low laugh.
It wasn’t a funny laugh.
It was worse.
"Wow."
The girl frowned.
"What?" ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"I’m surprised."
"By what?"
"By how stupid and childish your replies are."
The girl’s red eyes glowed faintly.
Matt closed the report on his lap.
"Seriously," he continued. "You fed for years on my memories, my emotions, my personality, and everything that made me a functionally miserable person. And somehow, you still turned out like this."
The girl pressed her lips together. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Matt shook his head, disappointed.
"What a waste."
"Excuse me?"
"I’m disappointed."
The girl watched him in silence.
Her expression slowly changed.
The mockery disappeared.
So did the annoyance.
"I’m the one who’s disappointed," she said.
Matt held her gaze.
She lowered her voice a little.
"I didn’t expect that, even knowing you’re immortal now, you would choose to waste your time with people who are going to die before you."
Matt felt something stop inside him.
The girl continued.
"Those humans you call family… that girl from the café… all of them are going to disappear. In a few years, a few decades, there will be nothing left of them."
Matt clenched his jaw.
"Shut up."
"And you’ll still be here."
"I told you to shut up."
"Dragging yourself behind old memories like that will make you human again."
Matt set the report aside.
His fingers slowly closed.
The girl looked at him without fear.
"Are you going to hit me?"
Matt did not answer.
His arm moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
But before he could touch her…
CRASH!
The window beside him exploded.
Glass shot into the car.
The cold air from the highway entered like a knife slash.
And something passed before his eyes.
Something black.
Thin.
Fast.
An arrow.
It was heading straight for his head.
Matt didn’t think.
His body reacted before he did.
TAC!
His hand caught the arrow inches from his face.
The impact shook his entire arm.
His muscles tensed.
Shards of glass fell over his uniform, over the seat, over the open report.
For one second, nobody spoke.
Matt looked at the arrow caught between his fingers.
The tip was covered in engraved symbols.
Small dark lines ran across the metal, pulsing like black veins.
'Don’t tell me that bitch is here too.'
