Chapter 171

I nodded and wiped away the tears with the folded sleeve of the shirt I’d borrowed.

My emotions were still raw after I’d glimpsed the horror of that portion of my past. My body felt cold, and my heart raced a mile a second. But I forced myself to stay in the present. I wouldn’t allow myself to get lost in the past.

I’d escaped. I was a survivor, and I’d remain so, with my strength, cunning, deception, and determination.

I shrugged Shade’s claw from my shoulder so I could focus.

My gaze homed in on the horde of vampires, searching for the one my former tormentors called the Vampire God. He was like a godly being, so he should have survived, right, even with fireballs raining down on him? He’d drawn all the fire to him so I could make it out.

Now that I’d seen that part of my memory, a sharp feeling of guilt and shame punctured me. I should have looked for him or tried to help, but that might have made me a liability. And under the circumstances, filled with icy panic, I just couldn’t stand staying in that place of horror a nanosecond longer.

When I didn’t find that vampire amid the horde, an unreasonable ache bloomed in my chest. The world called vampires unholy creatures, but that one giant, gorgeous, and formidable vampire had saved me that day and given me an opening to escape the horror of my life.

The silver-haired, dark-eyed lead vampire nodded curtly at Alpha Heir, who was fuming.

 “What’s your business ambushing us, bloodsucker?” Sideburns snarled in his warrior form. “If you want a war now, it’ll happen.”

The lead vampire sneered. I’d regarded him as beautiful, but after I’d had that glimpse of the memory of the Vampire God, I’d say the current vampire couldn’t hold a lick of flame to his god.

“Alpha Heir, I meant no disrespect,” the vampire said in a silky voice. “The final war between our species will eventually happen, but if it’s your desire to avoid a bloodbath today, I’m willing to do the same. We outnumber you more than two to one, and Lord Lucian believes you might have taken something that belongs to him.”

“Did you just call me a thief?” Sideburns snarled.

“Well, every party has been hunting a girl whom the Seer said has come,” the lead vampire said. “My informant saw you intercept a parchment that the Seer delivered to my lord. When we reached the location, the building had been leveled. My source said that you and your force had visited there around the same time.”

My heart skipped a beat, then pounded in my ears. This horde of vampires was a second group of hunters. Was Lord Lucian the one who had come for me in that demolished lab building? Maybe I should sneak out, grab a vampire, and get some answers. However, I wasn’t sure I could overpower a vampire. If I failed, I could put myself in a worse situation by handing my ass to the enemies.