All Chapters of Crimson Love: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Day had settled over Zelios.The fortress, usually alive with the voices of returning patrols, had grown quiet. Electric lights lining the stone corridors cast a steady white glow, replacing the light that lingered beyond the walls. Outside, the ruins belonged once again to no one Inside, Zelios returned to its disciplined rhythm.Hunters cleaned their weapons. Doctors filed patrol reports. Engineers inspected damaged equipment. Everything appeared ordinary. Only a handful of people knew it wasn't.Commander Aldren stood beside the wide window of his office, overlooking the central courtyard. Below, trainees resumed their morning drills as if nothing had happened.Nothing looked different. Yet everything had changed. He remained silent for a long time before speaking."...Has she been through the medical examination?"Dr. Elias, seated across the room with several reports spread before him, nodded. "Everything was completed according to protocol.""And?"Elias sighed. "Her blood react

The corridor outside Sera's room was unusually quiet. Most of the hunters had already retired after the long patrol. Only the faint hum of the electric lights accompanied her footsteps as she made her way down the familiar hallway. The events of the evening replayed endlessly in her mind.Nysera. A queen. More vampires. An entire kingdom hidden beyond the ruins.And somehow. All of them seemed connected to her. She let out a slow breath as she reached her door.Enough. One problem at a time. Sliding the key into the lock, she pushed the door open."..."A figure sat comfortably in the chair beside her desk. Sera instinctively reached for the dagger at her waist before stopping herself."...Jonas?"He looked up from the notebook he had been absentmindedly flipping through."Took you long enough."She blinked. "For a second..." She let out a small sigh. "I thought someone broke into my room."Jonas leaned back in the chair, folding his arms. "Well..." His expression carried an exaggerat

Night settled over Zelios like a familiar cloak. The outer gates opened shortly after sunset, and one patrol after another disappeared into the ruins. It was routine. At least, it looked routine.Three teams moved through the broken streets, keeping enough distance between them to cover a wide section of the ruins without losing communication. Their weapons were checked twice before departure. Pagers were secured. Silver ammunition was distributed among the veterans.Sera walked near the front of her team beside Jonas. She had barely spoken since leaving Zelios. Not because she was tired. Because she was thinking.Nysera.The name had been sitting inside her mind ever since Aldren and Elias had finally told her the truth. A vampire queen. A vampire who had willingly embraced immortality. A vampire who now knew about her. And, apparently, wanted her alive.Sera's fingers tightened around the strap of her weapon.Jonas noticed. "You've been doing that for five minutes.""Doing what?""T

Nathan waited until the corridor had gone silent. Not quiet. Silent. There was a difference. Quiet meant there were still people nearby boots scraping against stone, distant voices, the occasional metallic groan of some ancient structure settling beneath the earth.Silence meant there was nothing. No movement. No breath. No watcher. That was what Nathan needed. He stood beneath the remains of an old maintenance passage, his hood pulled low over his face. A thin stream of water ran along the center of the floor, reflecting the weak electric light from a broken panel overhead. He glanced behind him. Nothing. Then ahead. Nothing. Nathan touched the wall. Three times. Pause. Two times. Pause. Once. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then came the answer. One knock. From somewhere behind the stone. Nathan's expression hardened. He pressed his palm against a section of cracked concrete. The wall shifted. Not much. Just enough. A narrow opening appeared between two slabs. Nathan slipped

The patrol had settled into an uneasy rhythm. For nearly two hours, the three Helios teams had moved through the ruins without encountering anything significant.That was unusual. The ruins were never truly quiet. There was always something. A distant howl. The scrape of claws against concrete. The movement of wilds through abandoned buildings. Sometimes the faint cry of something that had once been human. Tonight, however, the silence seemed deliberate.Sera noticed it first. She slowed her steps. Jonas, walking beside her, immediately noticed."What?""Nothing.""You stopped.""I know.""Then why?"Sera looked toward the buildings ahead. "Too quiet."Jonas studied the street. The rest of their team slowed behind them. Kael stood several steps away, his hands resting casually near his weapon. He looked completely relaxed. Almost suspiciously relaxed.Jonas glanced at him. "You're not bothered?"Kael shrugged. "I've learned that worrying doesn't make the ruins safer."Sera gave him a