All Chapters of Blood Beneath the Cypress Knees: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

A few nights later...The night air hung heavy, thick with humidity and anticipation. Crickets chirped nervously in the distance—as if even they sensed what was coming.Rio sat on the balcony of the safehouse, golden eyes catching the faint candlelight from inside. Below, rebel vampires moved like restless shadows—sharpening blades, stacking crates of stolen Council weapons, murmuring his name. Valentine. A prayer. A curse.Junie’s soft footsteps approached. She slid into the chair beside him, her golden-red hair spilling over her shoulder in loose waves.“Claude’s right,” she murmured. “They’re looking to you now.”“I’m not ready.” His voice was low, almost a growl.Junie’s hand found his, fingers threading through his.“No one ever is. But you’re not alone.”Her green eyes held his, and for a moment, the swamp, the war, the Council—all of it faded. She leaned closer, lips brushing his jaw.“You saved me, Rio. Now save them too.”The door creaked behind them. Claude sauntered out, dr

The pain was constant.Days—weeks?—blurred together in the underground bunker as Rio drifted in and out of fevered dreams. Flashes of fire. Junie’s tear-streaked face. Cassian’s corpse plummeting into darkness.And through it all, a voice pulled him back.“Wake up, boy. You ain’t done yet.”Lucien Valentine was a brutal tutor.The first time Rio stood, his knees buckled. Lucien caught him—not gently, but with a shove that slammed him against the cold stone wall.“You bleed like a pup,” Lucien growled. “Think that’ll scare an Elder?”Rio’s golden eyes flared with anger.“I don’t need your lectures.”Lucien’s laugh was low and dark.“You need more than lectures, garçon. You need to become what they fear.”Each day Lucien pushed him harder.Rio’s hands bled from striking stone. His fangs tore through raw meat like a beast’s as Lucien forced him to feed.“Your blood’s different,” Lucien said one night, eyes piercing like daggers. “You feel it, don’t you? The visions? The voices?”Rio hesi

The next night.The night air in the camp was thick with the smell of sweat and steel.Junie stood in the center of the training circle, breath ragged, her fingers gripping the short blade Odessa had pressed into her hands at dusk.“Again,” Odessa barked, her Cajun drawl sharp as steel.Junie lunged, her bare feet digging into the damp earth. The blade sliced forward—faster this time, more controlled.Odessa’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of approval flashing.“ Better. But you’re still hesitatin’. Stop thinkin’, girl. Move like a predator—not a child playin’ with knives.”From the shadows, Rio watched with arms folded across his chest. His golden eyes tracked every move she made.She was no longer the trembling girl he’d cradled in the bunker. This was someone dangerous.And it stirred something in him—pride… and a flicker of fear.“She learns fast,” he murmured.Beside him, Lucien’s low voice rumbled.“Too fast.”Rio turned to him, frowning. “What do you mean?”Lucien didn’t answer immedi

The next night by the fire outside stood Rio, Lucien, Claude, and Thomas.“I’m heading out to gather more recruits. We’ll need as many as we can get and I know some ol’ soldiers that owe me debts. So I’m off to collect,” Thomas said.“Be safe, brother!” Lucien said with a heavy voice.“Always!” Thomas picked up his bag and disappeared into the darkness.A little while later.The underground chamber off to the side of the camp was silent, except for the drip of water echoing off stone. Rio sat on the edge of the old altar, shirt clinging to his skin with sweat and blood. His golden eyes burned dimly, exhausted from Lucien’s brutal training.A shadow stirred at the doorway.“Rio.”It was Odessa.He didn’t look at her.“What do you want?”She stepped into the faint candlelight, her dark skin luminous against the cold stone. There was no trace of her usual steel. Her posture was loose, almost uncertain.“We need to talk.”“I’m busy,” Rio said flatly.“This isn’t about training.”Her voic

The underground stronghold was dying.Stone walls cracked and splintered under the heat. Smoke and blood thickened the air, the acrid scent choking even for the dead. Above, faint tremors shook loose ancient dust as the rebellion raged on the surface.But down here, in the heart of the labyrinthine tunnels, two vampires remained. Rio Valentine and Cassian.Cassian’s glowing eyes glared from across the narrow corridor, his tailored coat hanging in tatters.Blood matted his hair, dripping onto the stone floor. “You’re nothing but a mistake,” he hissed, pacing like a caged beast. “The council should have snuffed you out the night you turned.”Rio’s golden eyes glowed faintly in the dark. His breathing was heavy but steady. His shirt hung in shreds, deep gashes already knitting themselves shut. “You tried,” he said coldly. “Now it’s my turn.”Cassian moved first, a blur in the dim tunnel light. His claws raked across Rio’s chest, sending him skidding back against the rough stone wall.Bu