I almost hesitated, but the hunger inside me was no longer something I could control.
It felt alive, like a beast clawing through my veins, screaming for survival. My eyes burned crimson, my fangs elongating with a sharp ache as instinct took over.
Before I could stop myself, I lunged forward through the bars and sank my teeth into the soft, warm flesh of Seraphina's neck.
She gasped, her body tensing, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she held onto me tightly, her arms wrapping around my frail shoulders as if she was trying to steady both of us.
I could feel her struggling to endure the pain, soft, trembling sounds slipping past her lips, small, controlled hums that broke something deep inside me.
Tears slid down my face as I drank, desperate and ashamed. I didn't want to hurt her. Not her. She didn't deserve this.
But somehow… she understood.
Her fingers moved gently through my tangled hair, soothing me even as her pulse raced beneath my lips.
When I finally pulled away, we both leaned against the cold bars, gasping for air. Her face had gone pale, but there was no anger in her eyes only a quiet, aching compassion that made fresh tears roll down my cheeks.
Slowly, I felt my strength returning, my body coming back to life, while she remained still for a moment longer, recovering at her own pace.
After a while, she reached through the bars and cupped my face with both hands, her touch so gentle it nearly undid me.
"I'll get you out of here by morning," she whispered softly. "I swear it."
I stared at her longer than I should have, searching her eyes for something I couldn't quite understand. Her kindness felt out of place in this house, almost unreal.
When she finally stood, she regained her composure with quiet grace. She adjusted her brunette hair, letting it fall neatly over the fresh bite mark on her neck, hiding the evidence of what had just happened as if it meant nothing.
Then she turned and walked away into the night, leaving me there in silence.
A small, fragile smile touched my cracked lips as I licked away the last traces of her blood.
For the first time in days, something faint stirred inside me.
Hope.
Weak, uncertain but there.
*****
By morning, heavy footsteps approached, and Father appeared at the entrance of the cell, his face hard and unreadable.
"Get out," he said coldly, tossing the keys carelessly inside.
They landed somewhere in the grass, and I dropped immediately, my hands shaking as I searched through the dirt until my fingers finally closed around the cold metal.
I unlocked the door and stepped out, lowering my head.
"Thank you, Father…"
"I didn't do this for you, Ivy," he snapped. "This lasts only as long as Seraphina's visit. While she's here, we act like a perfect family. The moment she leaves, everything goes back to normal. Do you understand?"
I nodded quickly, my bare feet trembling against the cold ground, my body still weak from the days I had spent locked away.
I turned and ran as fast as my unsteady legs could carry me toward the mansion, stumbling more than once because I hadn't properly used them in days.
Each fall sent sharp pain through my body, but it was nothing compared to the ache tightening in my chest.
I was almost gone when the words slipped out.
Impulsive and uncontrolled as usual.
My feet stopped on their own.
Before I could think better of it, I had already turned back to face him.
"If you claimed my mother was your only true love, then why do you really hate me this much?" I yelled amidst tears.
The question hung in the air, heavy and dangerous.
I braced myself immediately, expecting the impact, the kind of slap that would split my lip and send me crashing to the ground. But it didn't come.
Instead, Father grabbed my arm roughly, yanking me back. His hand rose high, ready to strike.
I squeezed my eyes shut, my entire body tensing as I silently cursed myself for speaking. For pushing. For forgetting my place.
But the blow never came.
Seconds passed, still nothing.
When I finally forced one eye open, I saw it.
Hesitation.
The powerful vampire lord of the Velistra bloodline stood there, his hand still raised, his gaze fixed on me, but something was different.
His hand trembled slightly in the morning light.
For a brief, fragile moment, something flickered across his face.
Something almost like… pain.
Then it vanished.
He lowered his hand slowly and released me, letting me drop back to the ground without a word.
"Just go," he said quietly, his voice low… strained in a way I had never heard before.
A shiver ran through me.
I didn't move.
"Go. Now!" he snapped suddenly, the familiar rage crashing back into place.
That was all it took.
I turned and ran, my weakened legs barely holding me up as I rushed toward the mansion.
*****
When I stepped inside, I saw her.
Seraphina sat at the long dining table, eating with calm, effortless grace.
When her eyes lifted and met mine, she paused.
Slowly, she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, revealing nothing, hiding everything.
For a brief second, something flickered across her face.
Then she looked away.
No smile.
No words.
Just silence.
I turned and rushed to my room, collapsing onto the floor as silent sobs shook my body.
After a while, I forced myself up and stood in front of the mirror. I knew I shouldn't look—but I did.
The reflection staring back at me didn't feel like mine.
My skin was pale, almost ghostlike, stretched over a body that had lost too much weight.
Healing wounds marked my arms and neck, raw and uneven.
But it was my eyes that made my breath catch.
One still bloodshot.
A harsh reminder of the nights I had fed on myself just to survive.
My hands flew to my mouth as I sank down, a broken sob escaping me.
This was too much.
Way too much.
"If Darius hadn't taken that video…" I whispered shakily, "I wouldn't be in this mess. This is all his fault…"
I dragged myself into the shower, letting the hot water sting against my wounds as it washed away the dirt and dried blood.
When I finally made it back to my bed, exhaustion pulled at me, but my thoughts refused to rest.
If Anthony was here, father would not lay a finger on me.
A bitter scoff left my lips.
I remembered the rare days when Father came home tired and didn't yell, and how I had clung to those moments, convincing myself he might just soften, and he loves me.
But now?
After everything?
There was no doubt left.
He hated me.
And the truth was…
I hated him too.
If he could die from poison, I knew his blood would already be on my hands.
But he couldn't.
And that was the cruelest part.
Slowly, my thoughts drifted again.
To her.
To Seraphina.
"Thank you," I whispered into the quiet room, a faint, fragile smile forming on my lips.
"You kept your promise."