Chapter 6

Darkness. Endless darkness.

I didn't know if it had been two days or three.

In this freezing dungeon, I was like a dying zombie, my breaths laced with ice shards.

Finally, on the evening of the third day, the door opened.

A guard brought in a steaming plate of premium human food and threw it on the icy floor.

I had no hands.

My wrist bones had been completely crushed to powder by Julian's shadow magic.

But I had to survive. Cassian was coming to pick me up tonight.

Like a dying beast, I dropped to my knees, crawled on the freezing ground, and pressed my mouth to the edge of the plate, wolfing down the warm food.

Humiliating?

No. As long as I could escape this hell, dignity meant nothing.

When the plate was empty, I saw a perfumed parchment slip pressed underneath.

It was Giselle's cursive handwriting:

[Sister, Julian and I forge our Eternal Blood Pact tonight. At the altar.]

I looked at the line and couldn't even bother to sneer.

I pressed the note down with my elbow, letting it soak in the cold leftovers.

I didn't care at all about this ridiculous ceremony.

Soon after, chaotic footsteps echoed outside.

Two elite guards charged in roughly. They grabbed my arms like dragging a corpse.

The violent pulling on my broken wrists made my vision go black, nearly making me pass out from the pain.

They dragged my weak body all the way to the shadowed balcony of the castle's grand hall.

The center of the hall was brilliantly lit.

Giselle, looking rosy and showing zero signs of post-miscarriage weakness, walked over.

Wearing an extravagant gown, she looked down at me slumped on the floor. Suddenly, she crouched down and whispered in my ear.

"Sister, seeing you so miserable, let me tell you a secret." Giselle giggled.

"The baby I lost that day wasn't Julian's at all."

"I got pregnant with someone else's child in Europe and implanted a fake blood crystal. Rather than giving birth and having Julian find out, it was better to use your hands to kill it." She looked at me smugly. "You see, Julian didn't doubt me at all. He even ruined you with his own hands for that bastard."

My pupils contracted sharply. Then, an indescribable sense of relief washed over me.

I wasn't angry. I just felt Julian was a complete fool.

I was even thankful for that deep freeze, sparing my child from being born into this family of lies.

The castle bell tolled. The ceremony officially began.

Through the balcony railing, I saw Julian sitting on his high throne.

He wasn't looking at Giselle. He was holding a glass of pure blood, drinking it with a hollow, melancholy look in his eyes.

I knew he was mourning the heir that never belonged to him.

He broke his heart over a bastard, but murdered his true flesh and blood.

The biggest joke in the world.

Halfway through the ceremony, the High Priest raised the holy chalice filled with their blended blood, ready to declare the vows.

Suddenly, the low roar of an engine shattered the dead silence of the night sky.

A pitch-black stealth jet hovered ominously over the castle without warning.

The next second, the cabin door flew open.

A torrential rain of red crystals and ancient silver coins poured down!

Priceless pure blood crystals, mixed with ancient 'Blood Pact Buyout' silver coins, smashed onto the marble floor with crisp, mocking clatters.

In the old laws, this was the ultimate insult: a public buyout of a discarded mate.

The crowd went into an uproar. The pureblood nobles stared in horror at this provocation falling from the sky.

"My Lord!" Marcus rushed forward in a panic. "It's Prince Cassian of Europe! This is... his congratulatory gift!"

"Crash!"

Julian crushed his wine glass to powder!

Crimson blood mixed with glass shards pierced his palm.

He shot up, his crimson eyes blazing with raw, murderous fury.

"The sky-wards! Raise them now! Blast that jet out of the sky!" Julian's roar was pure fury.

But he miscalculated one thing.

The jet didn't bother with the lawn. It made an impossibly agile dive, landing perfectly on the clock tower's high platform.

The hatch opened. Cassian, in his black trench coat, leapt out.

He strode toward me and immediately saw me collapsed on the floor, my hands twisted and dangling.

The smile vanished from Cassian's eyes. They erupted into black pits of cold, violent fury.

Without a single word, he took off his warm trench coat, wrapped it tightly around my freezing body, and picked me up bridal-style, extremely careful to avoid my shattered wrists.

"I'm sorry I'm late." His hoarse voice suppressed extreme rage.

I leaned against his chest, smelling his comforting cold scent, and gritted my teeth. "Cassian, as long as I live, I will repay this debt."

The jet ascended rapidly.

I leaned back in the comfortable aviation seat, looking down.

Through the amplified magic array, the High Priest's solemn voice echoed: "Lord Julian, are you willing to share immortal blood with Giselle, and forge the eternal..."

Below, Julian didn't answer. He was staring dead at the direction our jet was flying.

The same hand that had so casually signed our pact away now clenched into a white-knuckled fist.

I withdrew my gaze and never looked at that man again.

The moonlight was cold and clear. I was heading toward freedom.

As for the rotting mess below, it was all in the past.