The metallic stench of blood still clung to Elena's nose, refusing to leave even as the forest wind rushed past her face. She was trembling when Damien stooped, one strong arm sliding beneath her knees, the other curling around her back, lifting her as though she weighed nothing.
Before Elena could steady her breath, a sound erupted behind them—low, guttural and vibrating through the night. A growl. Not like any beast she had ever heard during the hunt. This sound was primal, hollow, tinged with a madness that made her skin crawl everywhere.
Damien's body stiffened, every muscle coiled as he turned his head sharply.
Standing just a few yards away, half-shadowed under the towering trees, was the thing that had nearly killed her moments ago.
It wasn't like the vampires she had seen in court—refined and polished yet terrifying in their grace. This was an otherworldly version even of their own kind, stripped of nobility. Its body was twisted with bones jutting in odd angles beneath stretched gray flesh. Its lips peeled back into a grin too wide for its face, exposing fangs that were stained with a deep crimson, longer and sharper than any she'd seen. Blood dribbled freely down its chin, spattering onto its chest where patches of skin had been ripped raw. Its eyes—two glowing orbs of molten red—were unfocused, rolling with feral hunger as they locked onto her.
Elena's stomach lurched. Her hands clawed desperately at Damien's cloak.
The rogue vampire took one jerky step forward, its face crooked like a broken puppet, but its speed was unnatural, twitching forward in bursts that blurred its shape.
Damien's jaw clenched. "Damn it."
With a violent push from his legs, Damien leapt into the air, holding Elena tightly to his chest. The ground disappeared beneath them as he landed on a thick branch high above causing a loose rain of moss and bark. Before she could even register the height, he crouched and launched again, weaving from one tree to the next like a predator of the night.
Elena clung to him till her knuckles hurt, her heart slamming against her ribs. Each leap was so powerful it left her stomach behind, she felt the wind tearing at her hair and whipping it across her face. She wanted to scream but forced herself silent, too terrified to distract him for a second. Instead, sh clasped her hands over her mouth, silently praying to not be dropped.
Behind them came more sounds, each terrifying than the last in hot pursuit of them. She risked one glance over Damien's shoulder and her blood froze.
Apparently, the killer vampire was not alone.
From the forest floor, shadows moved. More twisted shapes emerged, crawling out of the darkness as though the earth itself had birthed them. Hunched figures with long limbs and bodies convulsing with spasms of hunger raced wildly towards them as though they were debtors. Their low growls and sickening crackles filled the air, echoing through the trees like mad laughter. Some bounded on all fours, others dragged themselves upright, but all had the same red, dripping fangs and glowing, distant eyes.
And they were many. Dozen and dozens in their packs all with one target; them.
Elena's breath caught, choking in her throat. "Your—your highness" she stammered.
"I see them," he growled, not sparing her a glance but focussing his gaze straight ahead. His voice was rough, threaded with urgency yet she couldn't blame him. They could actually die!.
The forest seemed endless, each leap taking them deeper, yet the packs gained ground, scurrying up trunks, leaping after them. One slammed into a branch just below, snapping the wood with its weight as it missed them by inches. Another clawed its way up a tree beside them, shrieking as it hurled itself toward Elena.
Damien twisted mid-air, one hand releasing her long enough to unsheathe a dagger from his belt. With a precise throw, the silver blade lodged into the rogue's skull, dropping it instantly before Damien caught another branch with his free hand and propelled them forward again.
Elena's tears stung her eyes. The sounds, they were closing in from all directions. Their insane laughter bounced between the trees, drowning out her own pounding heartbeat.
"Why are they—" she gasped.
"Quiet!" Damien barked. His hold on her tightened as his crimson eyes glared furiously from their lids, scanning ahead.
The trees began to thin slightly, revealing a jagged rise of stone covered in moss. Damien landed heavily at its base, crouched, then bounded up the cliff face with monstrous strength. His boots crushed into cracks of stone as he scaled upward. With one last surge, he pulled them into the mouth of a narrow cave, half-hidden by overgrowth and moss.
He set her down none too gently, his hand gripping her shoulders. His gaze burned into hers, intense and devoid of any warmth.
"Stay here," he ordered in a dangerous voice barely above a whisper. "Do not speak. Do not move. Do not leave this cave unless I come for you. Do you understand me?"
Elena's lips trembled, her mind whirling. "W-What's happening? What are they?"
"Not now," he snapped, eyes flaring. "Stay silent if you want to live."
She could only nod, shaking. Her body was frozen with terror, yet his command made her even more afraid of what was chasing them. Damien's gaze lingered one more second, as if to make sure she understood how dire their situation was. Then, without another word, he spun on his heel and leapt out of the cave.
It was already evening and the sun had long lost its shine. Night was approaching fast and darkness swallowed him whole.
Elena collapsed onto the rough stone floor, her body quivering from both fear and cold. She pressed her hands against her mouth to stifle the sobs threatening to escape. Every nerve in her screamed at her to run, to follow him, but fear glued her in place.
Outside, the forest erupted with distant sounds.
The first sound was a guttural snarl, followed by a screech so loud it made the cave walls vibrate. Then came the clash—the wet thud of impact, the crack of bones snapping and the rip of flesh. Damien's voice roared, deep and monstrous, so unlike the calm, collected prince she knew at the palace. He was fighting with abandon like a lone predator amidst predators.
Elena shut her eyes tight, but the sounds painted their own nightmare. The rogue vampires howled in unison, their claws scraping against stone and bark and their bodies slamming into the earth. She could hear Damien tearing through them, each strike accompanied by a splatter or the sickening crack of a skull.
Her tears streamed freely now. She pressed her back against the cave wall, curling into herself while trembling uncontrollably. 'What have I gotten myself into?' she moaned softly as the tears poured down her cheeks. No one ever told her she would be in a life or death situation with vampires!
As she continued to feel sorry for herself, a soft sound echoed from behind the cave.
Crunch.
Her eyes flew open immediately.
The sound was close. Too close.
Her breath caught as she turned her head toward the cave entrance. A shadow loomed there, larger than life. Something was pressing against the mossy curtain as if forcing its way in.
It was a one of those vampire creatures but this one was much more different. It was taller and bulkier with its skin stretched thin over bulging veins that pulsed with a black-red glow. Its jaw hung crookedly, drool and blood spilling over its blackened chest. Its fangs which seemed longer than her forearm and sharpened into razors gleamed wet in the pale light. Its eyes locked onto her immediately, glowing like molten coals.
Elena's blood turned to ice and her heart stopped beating.
She slapped both hands over her mouth, stifling the scream clawing at her throat. Her whole body shook violently as she crouched lower, pressing herself against the wall, trying to disappear into the stone.
The creature's breath rattled, each exhale a wheeze of decay. It stepped closer, clawing its hands along the cave floor with a scraping sound that drilled into her skull. Each step brought it nearer, and nearer, until she could see the cracked lines along its gums and the twitch of its nostrils as it tried to sniff out her scent.
Her heart thundered so loudly she was certain it could hear it.
Tears blurred her vision, dripping down her cheeks. She wanted to run, but her legs refused to move. She wanted to scream, but her throat closed tight.
The creature's head tilted, its mouth parting wider, wider, until it stretched grotesquely open, a distorted grin aimed directly at her. Then its head turned a full three sixty degrees before turning fully to face her with its blood red eyes.
It lunged forward with sickening force.
Before it could reach hear, a dull crack echoed in the silence.
The creature's body jerked violently. For one horrible second, Elena couldn't understand what had happened. She thought her body had been broken limp as she couldn't even feel her own hands. Then she saw its head tumbling away from its shoulders, rolling across the cave floor. The body collapsed in a heavy, twitching heap right beside her.
Blood sprayed the stone cave, splattering across the entrance and her capelet.
She couldn't hold it anymore and finally released the scream she had been holding.
Elena scrambled backward until her spine hit the far wall, sobs ripping from her chest and her breath going up in heaves as she pressed her hands to her face. Her vision swam with the image of the creature lying just a few steps away from her. Her lungs burned and every part of her cried out for escape.
In confusion and dilemma, Elena sought to get out but fear had already paralysed her to the ground. Feeling hopeless, she almost gave out when she saw it.
A soft glow seeped into the cave mouth, unlike the moonlight outside. It was brighter, steadier even tinged with silver.
Elena's sobs faltered as she looked up at it from the end of the cave. Slowly yet trembling, she lowered her hands from her face.
Standing at the mouth of the cave and completely framed by the pale glow, was a figure she was oddly familiar with.
Hair white as snow cascaded over her shoulders in silken waves with eyes the color of storm light, ancient and sorrowful gracing her snow like face. Her pale skin glowed faintly with the light she exuded as though bathed in moonlight itself.
She knew her. The woman from the masquerade.
The vision that had haunted her dreams. The reason why she was in this mess in the first place.
Elena's lips parted as she tried to find her voice. "…You." was all she could utter. The creature in front of her was so ethereal and unreal that she thought she was seeing things again.
The silver-haired woman stepped forward, the light following her into the cave as though it obeyed her presence. Her expression was grave, shadowed by worry yet holding a calm edge to it. She extended a hand toward Elena once again, just as she had before.
"Princess," the woman spoke, her voice soft yet carrying the weight of a dignified god. "Your enemies have found you sooner than I feared."