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Home / Romance / The Art Of Dying / Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

All Chapters of The Art Of Dying : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

82 Chapters

CHAPTER 21

MIA'S POVDawn in Dracula's Castle wasn't like dawn anywhere else. The sky didn't lighten. The darkness just became... less oppressive. Like someone had turned up the dimmer switch from pitch black to merely gloomy.I woke to find Axel already gone. A note on the pillow said: Training with Jugo. Don't die. - ARomantic.I got dressed in the clothes that had been laid out; black pants, a fitted shirt, and boots that actually fit. Someone had been paying attention.There was a knock at the door."Come in," I called.Erina entered, also dressed for training. "Ready for day one?""No. But let's do it anyway."She laughed. "That's the spirit. Come on. Dracula's waiting in the courtyard."We walked through the castle in silence. The place looked different in the semi-daylight. Less menacing, more... ancient. Like a museum that happened to be full of vampires.The courtyard was massive, easily the size of a football field. Stone walls surrounded it, and in the center stood Dracula. He wasn'

CHAPTER 22

AXEL'S POV "Do you really think we can win? Against the administrators? Against the entire system?" Brady askedHonest answer? I didn't know. The odds were terrible. We were eight deadies against an organization that had controlled the afterlife for millennia.But I looked around the table. At Mia, who could literally rewrite reality. At Erina, who commanded shadow fiends. At the twins, who'd survived twenty rounds. At Brady and Marcus, who were learning. At Bree, who had more strength than she knew."Yes," I said. "I think we can win. Because we have something the administrators don't.""What's that?""Each other. They're powerful, but they're alone. They don't trust anyone. Don't care about anyone. We do. And that makes us stronger.""That's really cheesy," Brady said."Doesn't make it less true."Mia took my hand under the table, squeezing it. I squeezed back.Before anyone could say more, the castle shook. Not violently, but enough to rattle the plates on the table."What was th

CHAPTER 23

MIA'S POVThe red lights weren't lights at all. They were eyes.Thousands upon thousands of glowing red eyes, staring at us from the darkness beyond the bus. Each one belonging to something that wanted us dead."Holy shit," Brady whispered.The screen descended, showing rules in that familiar blood-red text:THE CRIMSON HUNT RULES:1. You are the prey. Survive until dawn.2. The Hunters cannot be killed, only delayed.3. Safe zones exist but are temporary. Use them wisely.4. If a Hunter marks you, run. Marked prey cannot hide.5. Dawn is in twelve hours. Good luck."Twelve hours," Walter said flatly. "We have to survive twelve hours of being hunted.""By things that can't be killed," Willow added.The intercom crackled. "Welcome to The Crimson Hunt! Our most challenging world yet! Specially designed for our favorite troublemakers!" The cheerful voice took on a darker edge. "The Hunters have been tracking deadies for millennia. They've never failed. You'll be their first failure... o

CHAPTER 24

AXEL'S POVThe Hunters came at us like a wave of teeth and claws and those terrible red eyes.Erina released her shadow fiends first. Twenty of them materialized from her pendant, swarming the front line of Hunters. The creatures collided in a mass of darkness and screams."NOW!" I shouted.Willow and Walter moved in perfect synchronization, decades of fighting together evident in every strike. They targeted the Hunters' joints, knees, elbows, necks. Not killing blows, but crippling ones.The Hunters regenerated, but it took time. Seconds. And seconds were all we needed.I drove my flaming dagger into a Hunter's chest. It screeched and fell back. Another took its place immediately. I slashed across its face, blinding it temporarily.Bree was magnificent. Her telekinesis had grown stronger during training. She grabbed three Hunters simultaneously and slammed them into the tunnel walls. Then she reached for the ceiling."Everyone back!" she screamed.We retreated as she pulled. The tunn

CHAPTER 25

MIA'S POVThe medical supplies on the bus were better than anything I'd seen before. The bandages seemed to seal wounds almost instantly. The healing salves made bruises fade in minutes. Even Marcus's deep back wounds were closing up, though he'd be scarred."Whoever designed these supplies actually wants us to survive," Brady observed, wrapping his ribs."Or they want us healthy for the next round of torture," Walter countered. He was helping Willow with her shoulder wound. The gash was deep, but the salve was already working.I was treating my own cuts when I noticed Bree sitting alone at the back of the bus. She hadn't touched any of the medical supplies, even though I'd seen her take hits during the fight."Bree?" I called. "You okay?""Fine," she said without looking at me.I walked over, carrying bandages and salve. "You're bleeding.""It's nothing.""It's not nothing. Let me help."She finally looked up. Her eyes were red, like she'd been crying or trying not to. "Why are you

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 26AXEL'S POVI woke to a sound that didn't belong.It was faint and mechanical, like distant machinery grinding beneath the floor. Mia was still asleep, her head resting on my chest and her breathing slow and even. I didn't want to move and didn't want to disturb her, but that sound kept pulling at my attention.Then I saw the clock. 12:47 AM.Shit. Past midnight.I was supposed to be in my own room. That was the rule, and the lounge enforced its rules with those shadow things that dragged people into walls. I'd seen it happen before, heard the screams.I carefully lifted Mia's head from my chest and slid out from under her. She mumbled something in her sleep but didn't wake. I grabbed my clothes and dressed quickly, my dagger already in hand out of habit.The hallway outside was wrong the moment I stepped into it.The lights were dimmer than they should be, casting everything in this sickly yellow glow. The air felt thicker and colder, like I'd walked into a refrigerator. And

CHAPTER 27

MIA'S POVThe private conference room felt too small, like the walls were closing in. Bree stood by the window with her back to me, her shoulders tense and her hands clenched into fists."Bree," I said quietly. "Please. Just tell me what the administrator was talking about."She didn't turn around. "He was lying. That's what they do. They twist things and make them sound worse than they are.""Then help me understand. What is he twisting?"She was quiet for so long I thought she might not answer. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper."I died in an ambulance crash. I was running from someone who wanted me dead, a corrupt cop named Eli who I'd been stupid enough to date. When I found out what he really was and what he'd done, he pulled a gun on me. So I ran. I took an ambulance and I fled, and I was driving so fast and so scared that I wasn't paying attention to the road." She took a shaky breath. "And I hit someone. A pedestrian who ran into the street. I don't

CHAPTER 28

MIA'S POVThe second day of training was harder than the first.My body ached in places I didn't know could ache, and my power felt raw and overused, like a muscle that had been stretched too far. But I pushed through it because stopping wasn't an option. Not when we had less than twenty-four hours before the administrators made their move.I was in the gardens practicing precision cuts, trying to erase smaller and smaller objects without touching them physically. A pebble. A leaf. A single blade of grass. Each one required me to find its core thread and sever it cleanly."You're getting better," Erina said, watching from nearby. She was taking a break from her own training, her shadow fiends hovering around her like dark pets."Better isn't good enough. I need to be perfect." I focused on another pebble and cut its thread. It vanished instantly. "Dracula said I use my power like a bomb. I need to use it like a scalpel.""You're being too hard on yourself.""Am I? Because the adminis

CHAPTER 29

MIA'S POVThe lounge was too quiet.We stood in the main hall, all eight of us armed and ready, waiting for the bus that was supposed to arrive at dawn. But dawn had come and gone, and there was no bus. No cheerful voice announcing our next destination. Just silence that pressed down on us like a physical weight."Maybe they're not coming," Brady said hopefully. "Maybe they decided to leave us alone.""They're coming," Axel said. His eyes were fixed on the entrance, his dagger already burning with flame. "They're just making us wait. Making us nervous."He was right about the nervous part. My hands were shaking even though I tried to keep them still. I could feel my power humming beneath my skin, restless and wild, responding to my anxiety. Every time I got scared, it got harder to control."Breathe," Erina said softly beside me. She placed a hand on my shoulder and I felt some of the tension ease. "Fear is natural. Use it. Don't let it use you."I nodded and focused on my breathing l

CHAPTER 30

AXEL'S POVI woke to the smell of blood .My body ached everywhere, like I'd been thrown through a wall. Which, if I remembered correctly, I had been. Twice. The administrator's attack had been brutal, and we'd barely escaped with our lives.I opened my eyes slowly. Stone ceiling. Candlelight flickering. The familiar gothic architecture of Dracula's Castle.We'd made it.I sat up, wincing as pain shot through my ribs. The room was large, filled with beds where the rest of the team lay. Some were stirring. Others were still unconscious.Erina was sitting up, checking her pendant. Walter and Willow were huddled together, whispering. Brady was groaning, holding his head. Marcus looked like he'd been through a meat grinder but was breathing.And Mia.Mia was in the bed beside mine, completely still. Her skin was pale, almost translucent. Dark circles ringed her eyes. She looked like she was barely clinging to existence."Mia?" I moved to her side, ignoring the screaming protest from my bo

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