All Chapters of Blood Beneath the Cypress Knees: Chapter 31 - Chapter 38

For a long moment, Silas stared at her hand as though it were a lifeline. Then, with a sharp breath, he took it and stood.Chaos through the halls.Adonis led the way, his borrowed body moving with unnerving grace as their hidden army flooded out of cells and chambers, striking at Luna’s loyalists. The air was thick with blood and ash.“Let them purge her rot,” Adelaide murmured, her golden eyes alight. “This fortress belongs to no one now.”Adonis didn’t smile, but there was a flicker of approval in his gaze. “Not yet. But soon, it will belong to the free.”Outside the FortressAs they emerged into the swampy night, the sounds of battle still roared behind them.Silas glanced back once, his expression unreadable. “I can feel her absence. It’s… deafening.”Adonis clapped him gently on the back. “Absence is only the space for something new to grow.”Adelaide gave Silas a look that was almost proud. “You survived her. That’s more than most can say.”The trio vanished into the humid dark

The night air was thick with the scent of moss and something sharper…fear. Odessa crouched low at the tree line, her golden eyes catching faint reflections of moonlight.Beside her, Marais tied back her golden curls, flashing a grin that didn’t quite reach her eyes.Simone stood slightly apart, fingers brushing the gold locket that rested against her chest—a tiny keepsake from a time long before fangs and darkness.“They’re close,” Simone whispered, her voice low but steady. “I smell iron… and rot.”“Rot?” Marais arched a brow. Odessa nodded grimly. “Men like them always smell that way. They’ve been spilling blood long before they even knew vampires existed.”Back at the mansion, Junie stood at the window, hands protectively cradling her belly. She hated feeling so helpless. “They’re doing this for you,” Adelaide murmured, stepping up behind her. “Let them hunt. You’ll need the strength soon.” Junie’s emerald eyes glinted faintly in the moonlight. “I hate that it has to be this way.

The clearing still carried the faint scent of sage and cypress smoke. Where Marais’s bier had burned now lay only blackened ash, scattered petals, and melted candles.Silas knelt in the center, his carved ashwood staff resting across his knees. His fingers traced the damp earth as he murmured soft, ancient prayers—hoping Marais’s soul had found peace.Behind him, Jonah stood rigid, arms crossed tightly over his chest. His face was pale, streaked with tears that refused to dry. “She’d be proud of you,” Silas said gently, without turning.Jonah’s voice cracked as the words left him. “She should’ve lived to see all this. She should be here.”Silas glanced over his shoulder, his golden eyes solemn.“Then make her sacrifice matter. Let me teach you—help you become the witch, and the man, she believed in.” Jonah hesitated, jaw trembling. Then he nodded sharply, his voice hard. “Teach me. I want to make them pay.”Farther from the others, Adonis sat silent on the mansion steps. His golden eye

“Keep moving!” Lucien shouted above the din. “We can’t let her pin us down!”Claude staggered as a blast of emerald fire seared his shoulder, the acrid smell of burning flesh filling the air. He gritted his teeth and kept fighting, his blade dripping blood that steamed as it hit the cold night air.Rio felt the sting of magic too—a curse brushing his mind like icy fingers. His vision blurred, his limbs momentarily heavy. He growled and forced the fog away. His bloodline wouldn’t let him falter.But Vera’s defenses were monstrous.Roots lashed out like living serpents, dragging screaming bodies beneath the surface of the swamp. Human militia fired rifles wildly as shadows struck them down from above. Witches shrieked curses in old tongues before Odessa silenced them with her claws. For every creature they felled, two more seemed to rise.“Damn witch,” Odessa hissed, her golden eyes scanning the trees. “She’s bleeding us dry before we even reach her.”Rio stumbled as his boot caught o