Chapter 2

Kieran looked at me with a coldness I'd never seen before. "Get out."

His voice was frighteningly low.

"I'll leave on my own. You don't need to tell me to."

I brushed glass shards from my hands. My palm was cut, but I couldn't feel the pain.

Before walking out the door, I turned to look at Kieran. He was on his knees, trying to gather the dark red liquid soaking into the carpet in his hands.

That was Seraphina's blood.

To him, it was sacred.

To me, it was just a reminder of my humiliation.

Brushing the mess off the floor, I walked out of the secret room without looking back.

When I returned to my rooms, my luggage was already in the hallway.

Several servants were carrying in white lilies—Seraphina's favorite flower.

Seraphina stood at the doorway, wearing that black and gold cloak that used to be mine. She was petite, and the oversized cloak made her look a little awkward.

"Sister," she said timidly, twisting the hem of her dress. "Kieran said I have a serious blood disorder and need to stay in the Moon Tower to recover, where the moonlight is strongest. I'm sorry about this…"

"Don't call me Sister," I sneered. "We're not related. Besides, this tower was left to me by my mother. By what right do you move in?"

"It's Nocturne family property now," my father, Magnus, stepped out from the shadows.

He said calmly, "Lord Kieran visited me this morning and asked for it. I agreed. I've also adopted Seraphina as my daughter. Aurora, she's younger than you. As an older sister, you should be more generous."

"So you're giving my mother's room to a half-breed?"

"Watch your tongue!" Magnus raised his hand as if to strike me.

I dodged.

Looking at his cold expression, I was deeply disappointed.

Everyone was like this. As long as Seraphina was involved, I was the one who had to back down.

"I've made up my mind, Father. Since you already have a daughter and clearly don't consider me one anymore, we'll do things by bloodline rules."

I bit my finger and flicked a drop of blood into the air.

"I, Aurora, hereby declare that I sever all blood pacts with the Thorne family. From this day forward, I am an independent individual, no longer under your protection or control."

A crisp sound, like a snapped bowstring, echoed in the air.

Magnus's face changed drastically. He clutched his chest and stumbled back two steps. "You're crazy! Without the family's protection, you won't last three days out there! The demon hunters will tear you apart!"

"That's my problem."

I turned and left, taking only my black card.

It was my first step of revenge.

This card was linked to the Nocturne family's liquid assets.

Kieran had given me unlimited overdraft as a gesture of generosity, a payment for the blood perfumes I provided.

He probably thought I'd never use it, or wouldn't dare to.

I'll make him regret it.

For the next two hours, I swept through the underground black market like a hurricane.

"I want that two-hundred-year-old Siren's Tear."

"Pack all the Dragon's Blood Grass."

"And that Mithril Alchemy Station, I'll take it too."

Swipe. Swipe. Swipe.

Each transaction was astronomical.

My phone buzzed non-stop with deduction notifications from the bank.

I bought enough rare alchemy materials to assemble a small army.

Just as I was about to bid on the final item—a top-grade ruby—the cashier looked at me awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Your card has been frozen."

So fast?

I glanced at my phone.

Kieran had finally reacted.

"It seems the Nocturne family isn't as rich as legend has it," I said with a mocking smile, turning and walking out of the black market.

The moment I stepped out the door, a chill shot up my spine.

It was late at night now, and the streets were empty.

But I could hear faint mechanical noises—the sound of demon hunters cocking their crossbows.

My access was frozen, which meant I'd lost the protection of the family's territorial barrier.

My location had been exposed.

The next second, a silver bolt whizzed past my cheek, embedding itself in the brick wall beside me with a hiss.

"Target acquired! It's a pureblood!"

Three demon hunters in tactical gear leaped from the rooftop, their silver swords glinting with deadly light.

Damn it.

I was good at making perfumes, not close combat.

I took a step back, trying to pull a newly bought poison mist bottle from my bag, but my movements were too slow.

One of the demon hunters had already charged at me, his silver sword aimed straight for my heart.

"Die, vampire!"

I closed my eyes, waiting for the searing pain of death.

But the pain didn't come.

The world around me suddenly fell silent.

I opened my eyes.

And found myself standing in a pitch-black void.

The demon hunters were frozen, as if time had stopped, maintaining their charging stances in the darkness.

That was the "Shadow Domain."

A power only the highest-ranking vampire lords could wield.

A long, pale hand reached out from the darkness and wrapped around my waist.

That familiar scent, of cedar and blood, enveloped me.

"Had enough, Aurora?"

Kieran's voice sounded in my ear, filled with suppressed anger.

The next second, the world spun.

When we landed again, I wasn't in the dingy alley anymore, but in the penthouse suite overlooking the city center of Manhattan.

Kieran's most private sanctuary.

He released me and looked at me coldly, his eyes complex.

"You'd rather die by the hands of demon hunters than bow to me?"