Chapter 4

The last time I "disappeared," it was during a hunting gathering hosted by one of the pureblood families.

Vivienne had suggested we take a walk together, just the two of us. "Let's get to know each other properly," she said with that gentle smile.

Once we were deep in the woods, far from the others, she shoved me into the Darkmist Bog.

Every vampire knew the bog was harmless to their kind but toxic to humans.

The mist alone could knock a person unconscious in minutes.

Damien had mentioned at dinner once that I couldn't even handle basic exposure to the wilds — and I'd seen the way Vivienne's eyes lit up when he said it.

The poisonous fog flooded my lungs. I couldn't breathe, couldn't see. My legs sank into the muck as the world spun.

Somehow, I dragged myself out. I don't know how long it took. My leg was injured, my clothes ruined, my body shaking.

When I finally limped back to the gathering spot, everyone was gone. They had packed up and left without me.

It took me hours to make it home alone.

Damien was waiting, furious. "Where did you go? Vivienne said you wandered off on your own. Can you ever stop causing problems?"

I couldn't defend myself. Anything I said would just be another lie in his ears.

Behind him, Vivienne stood with a small, secret smile.

Clara came to help me that night. She cleaned the cuts on my leg and wrapped the swelling gently. "He does care about you," she said quietly. "He just can't see straight when Vivienne is around."

But I knew better. Next to a pureblood aristocrat like Vivienne, a human like me would never be worth his concern.

If I were still alive, I'd be preparing his blood tonic right now — the special blend I'd learned to mix for his blood thirst episodes, delivered to the Enforcer's Hall during his long shifts.

But this time I couldn't show up with an apology the way he expected.

Because I was already dead.

The analysis team came back with results. The crumpled paper from my throat was an apprenticeship application — a registration to study under a vampire blood compounder.

Silas, the vampire who tortured and killed me, had shoved it down my throat with a sneer. "Learning to brew blood tonics for your husband? He'd probably only drink what Vivienne makes him anyway."

"What is this?" Damien frowned at the document.

Marcus checked the records. "It's an apprenticeship application. A human applied to study blood compounding — specifically, formulas for treating blood thirst conditions."

Damien took a team to find the compounder. The old vampire was startled to see enforcer insignias at his door.

He cross-referenced the registration and nodded. "A human woman came to see me a few days ago. Said her vampire husband suffered from chronic blood thirst. She wanted to learn how to prepare tonics suited to his constitution."

"She never showed up for her first lesson, though. I tried to reach her afterward, but got no response."

He pulled out his course notes. "She chose the blood thirst specialization. Very few students ever pick that track — it's too obscure for most."

Damien took the notes. Something shifted in his expression. "Do you have any memory crystals from that day?"

The compounder retrieved a small crystal and activated it. The image of that day's visitor materialized in the air.

Everyone in the room went silent.

Damien stared at the projection. His jaw tightened.

"That looks like... Lena."

The compounder brightened. "Yes — Lena. That was the name on her application."