All Chapters of TRAPPED IN THE DARK CASTLE: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

OLIVER’S POVThe moment Amy’s blood touched my tongue, something violent tore through my chest like lightning splitting stone. It wasn’t hunger, and it wasn’t instinct. It wasn’t even the familiar satisfaction vampires felt when consuming human blood. This was different—too hot, too sharp, too bright, and too overwhelming to resemble anything I had ever experienced before. Every part of my body reacted with a force that felt almost unbearable, as if an ancient power had been thrown into my veins without warning.My back arched involuntarily. My lungs convulsed. My vision burst with white flashes that blocked out the courtyard, the sentinels, the cold air, everything except the taste of her blood. The spell slammed into me at the same time, fighting desperately to maintain its hold, tightening around my skull with crushing pressure. Pain collided with pain, and my body shook uncontrollably.Amy collapsed forward, and I caught her without thinking. I pulled her against me, my arms locki

AMY’S POVEverything around me spun in uneven circles as Oliver carried me through the corridors, and I had to grip his shirt tightly just to stay aware of where I was. The castle lights blurred into streaks that mixed with shadow and stone, and every sound felt distant, as if I were hearing it from underwater. My arm throbbed with a dull, pulsing heat, and the warm blood that soaked my sleeve made my fingers numb. My thoughts scattered unpredictably, slipping out of order every time I tried to focus.Oliver’s voice reached me like a deep vibration rather than clear words. “Stay awake, Amy. Just stay awake until we reach the infirmary.”I wanted to tell him I was trying, but my mouth didn’t form anything coherent. My head rested against his shoulder, and his grip around me was firm and protective, almost desperate. His heartbeat hammered too fast for a vampire, as if his body was still adjusting to the pure blood burning through him.The castle corridors seemed different now—brighter,

OLIVER’S POVSean’s retreat did not calm the castle for long. The silence that followed felt stiff and unnatural, the kind that spoke of danger waiting right outside the threshold. I stayed near Amy for several minutes, watching her chest rise and fall, grounding myself in her breathing. Her face had regained a small trace of color, but the healer warned me she would need hours to stabilize. Gina stood guard at the door, alert and tense, while the rest of the clan worked to regroup the stronger members who had survived both Bernatta and Sean’s initial attack.But even with all the movement around us, my instincts kept whispering one thing:Sean wasn’t done.Pure blood pulsed heavily inside my veins, stronger now that my mind was fully clear. It amplified every scent, sound, and vibration in the castle. And every instinct warned me he would return soon—angrier, more reckless, and more dangerous because I had humiliated him.It didn’t take long.The ground trembled lightly first, too su

AMY’S POVOliver didn’t move from in front of me, and his presence felt like a solid wall of heat pressing against my skin. I stayed as close as I could without losing balance, my legs still trembling from the blood loss. The balcony beneath us vibrated with every clash of magic, and the air tasted sharp, heavy, and metallic. Something inside me—something tied to the pure blood—reacted to the pressure around us, humming beneath my ribs like a second heartbeat.Bernatta hovered in the air with her witch form fully exposed, her limbs elongated by streaks of dark magic, her eyes glowing blue so intensely the hall looked tinted with frost. She stared down at me with blatant possessiveness, ignoring Oliver entirely for several long seconds.“Give her to me,” Bernatta said coldly.Oliver didn’t answer.Her voice sharpened. “Give. Her. To. Me.”Oliver’s hand tightened around my waist. “You won’t touch her again.”Bernatta’s smile stretched unnaturally. “You truly think you can keep her from

OLIVER’S POVThe hall remained silent long after Bernatta’s ashes disappeared. The dust settled slowly across the broken floor, and the air felt unnaturally still, as if the castle itself was too exhausted to breathe. I held Amy tightly against my chest, her body limp, her breathing faint but steady. Her pulse brushed softly against my fingers—a rhythm weak, but alive.Alive was enough.Gina approached carefully across the rubble, her boots crunching over shattered stone. Her eyes widened when she saw the remains of Bernatta scattered in fading trails across the ground.“She’s really gone,” Gina whispered.“Yes,” I said, adjusting my hold on Amy. “Permanently.”Gina looked at the dagger still clenched in Amy’s hand, the blade stained with darkened crimson and flecks of ash. She exhaled shakily. “She did it.”“She did,” I said, staring at the small streak of blood drying along Amy’s wrist. “At great cost.”“We have to get her to the healer,” Gina insisted.“I know.”But I didn’t move