Chapter 21: The Price of Audacity 

The silence in the infirmary after the departure of the Noctaria Lords was heavier than the stone walls themselves. Seraphine, still unconscious, rested fitfully in the bed Gabriel had occupied, under Greta's hesitant care and the worried glances of Lira, who undulated nervously in her tank. Gabriel, meanwhile, had been moved to another bed, his aching body protesting the recent assault by Lord Valerius, adding to the injuries from the night before.

When Seraphine finally woke hours later, the reunion was as glacial as expected. The shock of her father's rejection and the shame of fainting (especially into Gabriel's arms) had thrown her defenses back up, now thornier than ever.

"What are you still doing here, vermin?!" was the first thing she hissed upon seeing Gabriel awake, watching her. She immediately averted her gaze, face flushing furiously. "Thought you'd have crawled into some hole by now! And... and don't you dare mention what happened! Nothing happened!"

"Right. Nothing happened," Gabriel replied, his voice tired, rubbing his aching jaw where her father had hit him. "Except your father disowned you, you fainted, and, oh yeah, apparently we're boyfriend and girlfriend now. Other than that, a normal day at the academy."

"Shut your filthy mouth, human!" Seraphine practically screamed, throwing a pillow at him (which he barely managed to block with his good arm). "That was... a bluff! A strategy! To... to annoy my father! It meant nothing! You're still just my annoying mutt, that's all!"

Despite the vehement denial, the way she avoided his gaze and the blush lingering on her cheeks told another story. The tension between them was a taut string, vibrating with embarrassment, anger, and unresolved electricity.

Eventually, they were released from the infirmary, more due to Seraphine's insistence (refusing to appear weak any longer) than either of their full recoveries. The walk through the familiar corridors of the Arcane Academy was a new form of torture.

Whispers followed them like sticky shadows.

"That's him... the human..."

"The Noctaria... dating a player?"

"Impossible! I heard the Lord disowned her in the infirmary!"

"He got hit by Lord Valerius?"

"What a scandal..."

"Poor thing... or serves her right?"

Seraphine tried to march with her head held high, her bat-like nose still slightly upturned in defiance, but Gabriel could see the slight tremor in her hands and the way her ruby eyes darted nervously, catching every glance, every murmur. She'd let out a low growl at anyone who dared stare for more than a second, which only drew more furtive attention.

Gabriel, for his part, felt every stare like a needle. He hated being the center of attention, especially as the "human who corrupted the noble vampire." The embarrassment was almost as bad as the physical pain that made him limp noticeably. He wanted to crawl into the nearest hole, but also felt a pang of concern for Seraphine. That facade of indifference was about to crumble.

In a wider corridor near the library, the premonition came true. Vladvaldo Incorpus emerged from around a corner, nearly colliding with them. The stuffy vampire smiled, a glint of pure hatred in his crimson eyes as he saw Gabriel.

"Well, well... the couple of the hour." Vlad's voice was pure venom disguised as silk. He ignored Seraphine, focusing on Gabriel. "Enjoy your fifteen minutes of fame, player. They won't last long." He deliberately bumped Gabriel's good shoulder as he passed, a quick contact, but loaded with menace.

Seraphine hissed, ready to retaliate, but Vlad was already moving away, disappearing into the crowd with a smug grin. The threat, however, lingered in the air.

The tension only worsened. Irritable and humiliated, Seraphine ended up dismissing Gabriel with her usual tact near the dormitory wing.

"I need... to think. Alone!" She growled, not looking at him. "Get out of my sight, vermin! And don't follow me! Your presence irritates me!"

Gabriel sighed. Arguing would be pointless and painful. "Right. Try not to get disowned by anyone else today," he muttered, more to himself than to her, turning to head towards his own (and now shared, he remembered with an internal groan) room. He needed to lie down, process, maybe just... black out for a few hours.

He didn't know it, but Seraphine's irritated order had sealed his fate that night. As soon as he turned down a more isolated corridor, lined with gargoyle statues that seemed to watch him with empty stone eyes and frayed tapestries depicting forgotten battles, he felt a chill run down his spine. A feeling of being watched, a sudden coldness in the academy's night air. Too late.

Four figures emerged from the deep shadows cast by the gothic arches, blocking his path. The faint, flickering light of the magical torches on the walls cast sinister highlights on their faces. Vladvaldo, the affected smile replaced by a scowl of pure hatred. Ulric Lobislambiel, the werewolf, arms crossed, a low growl vibrating in his chest, sharp claws slightly extended, his thick tail lashing the air behind him. Lysandra Taelfico, the elf, standing with cold rigidity, her elven staff made of twisted wood and adorned with a pale blue crystal glowing softly with a frigid light. And Lilith, the succubus, leaning casually against a pillar, an enigmatic smile on her red lips.

"Look what the stray cat dragged in... or rather, what the vampire dropped," Vlad's voice dripped with contempt. He took a step forward, the expensive fabric of his clothes brushing silently against the stone.

"Got beat up by her daddy, and now you're gonna get it from us, 'player'," Ulric growled, cracking his knuckles with a dry sound that echoed in the corridor. His yellow eyes gleamed in the gloom with savage anticipation.

Gabriel backed away instinctively, his injured leg protesting painfully. His heart began to pound against his ribs. He was cornered. Injured. And terribly outnumbered. "What do you want?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice steady, though a tremor ran through his body.

Lilith pushed off from the pillar, gliding towards him with a fluid, dangerous grace. She completely ignored the other three, stopping just steps away from Gabriel, her sweet, exotic perfume cutting through the damp stone smell of the corridor.

"Gabriel?" Her voice was a seductive whisper, but her violet eyes held a calculating gleam. "What are you doing here alone? Shouldn't you be resting? You look terrible... let me help." She reached out a hand, her long, pale fingers almost brushing his good arm.

Before Gabriel could react, Vlad acted, grabbing Lilith's wrist with possessive force. "Stay away from him, succubus!" he hissed, his face contorted with evident anger and jealousy. "Don't pretend you care. We know you just want to annoy the Noctaria... and me! Think I haven't noticed your interest in this vermin?"

Lilith yanked her arm away with a swift movement, her eyes flashing violet. "Jealous, Vlad? How pathetic." She laughed, a low, dangerous sound. "Maybe I just have good taste in... potential. Unlike you, who prefers clinging to musty titles." Her gaze met Gabriel's for a fleeting instant, a silent promise or a veiled threat.

"Can you two stop the melodrama?" Lysandra interrupted, her voice cold and sharp as ice. She raised her staff, the tip glowing more intensely. "We have business to attend to. Can we get this over with? His presence contaminates the air with his disordered mana."

"The elf's right," Ulric agreed, taking a menacing step forward. "Time for your lesson, 'player'."

Vlad smiled cruelly, anger still burning in his eyes, but now focused on Gabriel. "This is for humiliating me, you human trash!"

The attack was simultaneous and brutal. Vlad and Ulric advanced like a wave of fury. Ulric, using his lupine speed, closed the distance first, his fist coated in nearly invisible kinetic energy slamming into Gabriel's stomach like a battering ram. The air whooshed out of Gabriel's lungs with a pained, choked sound, and he doubled over, vision darkening from the impact. Before he could even try to recover, Vlad delivered a vicious, calculated side kick directly to his already injured leg.

Gabriel cried out, searing agony radiating from his thigh like liquid fire, sending him collapsing to his knees on the cold stone floor. Tears of pure physical pain sprang to his eyes.

"Immobilize!" Lysandra's voice echoed, cold and precise. With a fluid gesture of her staff, she shaped the ambient mana. Chains of emerald-green energy, as solid as cold metal, erupted from the floor stones and wrapped around Gabriel's arms and legs, pinning him in place. The energy pulsed with a cold that seeped into his bones, causing involuntary muscle spasms. He tried to pull free, but the chains tightened relentlessly with each attempt.

"Trash! Filthy player who dares touch a Noctaria! Dares attack me, a Werewolf!" Ulric snarled, claws now fully extended and slashing the air as he delivered a savage kick to Gabriel's ribs. The sound of something cracking – a wet, sickening crunch of breaking bone – echoed in the corridor, followed by another sharp, desperate cry of pain from Gabriel. He coughed violently, tasting the hot, metallic tang of blood in his mouth.

Vlad bent down, grabbing Gabriel's hair forcefully, yanking his head back brutally and forcing him to look up. The vampire's cold breath, carrying a faint scent of damp earth and old blood, washed over Gabriel's face. "This is for humiliating me. For making her—" he spat the word with venom, glancing furiously at Lilith "—look at you. Your existence is an offense!"

"Be still, anomaly," Lysandra murmured, stepping closer, her icy blue eyes fixed not on Gabriel's suffering, but on the subtle aura she perceived around him, staff aimed. "I knew it… There's something resonating within you… an incorrect mana signature… a quantum fluctuation that shouldn't exist… I need to understand how such an inferior being can cause so much interference… Mirror of Pain!"

The command was whispered, but the effect was devastating. A new wave of excruciating, electrical agony surged through Gabriel, as if all his previous injuries – the broken arm, the punctured leg, the bruised face from Valerius's slap – were ripped open anew and inflamed with arcane acid. He gasped, vision darkening at the edges, consciousness threatening to abandon him.

Vlad and Ulric continued the attack mercilessly, turning Gabriel's bound body into a punching bag. Kicks that sank into his torso, punches that cracked against bone, the muffled thud of flesh being struck repeatedly. Gabriel heard another sickening crack as Ulric landed a particularly hard blow to his chest. Ribs. Definitely more broken ribs. The iron taste of blood filled his mouth as he struggled to breathe.

Lilith watched, now leaning away from the wall, one arm crossed beneath her ample bosom, the other distractedly stroking one of her curved black horns. Her expression was unreadable. There was a gleam in her eyes, perhaps sadistic excitement, perhaps cold calculation, perhaps even a hint of conflict. Her red lips were pressed into a thin line.

"Think you're tough, human?" Vlad spat, his face twisted into a mask of hatred and cruel satisfaction. He grabbed Gabriel's hair again, forcing him to meet his gaze, cold breath smelling of anticipated victory. "You're nothing! A worm who crawled where he didn't belong!"

"Trash! Filthy player who thinks he can have what belongs to the nobility! Especially my ex!" Ulric added, preparing for another kick, aiming for Gabriel's head.

It was then that Lilith intervened, stepping forward quickly, her voice surprisingly firm.

"That's enough, boys," she said, the tone light, but with an undercurrent of steel. "You'll end up killing the poor thing before the fun starts. And he's no use to me dead."

Vlad shot her a furious look. "Stay out of this, succubus! You think I care if he lives or dies?"

Lilith smiled, a smile that didn't reach her violet eyes. "Maybe not. But I do. He still has... uses. Besides," she added, a wicked gleam in her eye directed at Vlad, "it would be a shame to ruin such an... expressive... face before I've had a chance to... play a little."

The veiled suggestion made Vlad hesitate, anger warring with wounded pride and perhaps a lingering shred of desire for Lilith. He released Gabriel's hair, who slumped back onto the stone floor with a low, pained groan.

"Maybe you're right, succubus," Vlad conceded finally, aiming a cruel smirk at Gabriel. He crouched beside the nearly unconscious human, his face inches from Gabriel's. "Tell me, vermin... how does it feel knowing your precious Seraphine is a disgrace? Disowned by her own father? Humiliated in front of everyone? All because of you? She must hate you now... a deep, eternal hatred."

The mention of Seraphine, the image of her crying in the infirmary, the cruelty of Vlad's words... Physical pain mingled with a wave of impotent rage and despair in Gabriel. He wanted to scream, fight, protect her name, even if she called him vermin.

"She's... ten times... more noble... than you'll... ever be!" Gabriel managed to spit the words out between painful gasps, the taste of blood strong on his tongue.

Vlad laughed, a dry, unpleasant sound that grated on Gabriel's ears. "Nobility? That impure, cursed bitch doesn't know the meaning of the word! Lucky for her my uncles took pity and didn't expel her outright! But don't worry, vermin. Soon she'll forget all about you. And maybe I'll console her myself... after I get rid of you. She'll learn her place."

He raised his fist for a final blow, dark, crackling energy typical of vampiric blood magic beginning to gather in his fingers, promising pain and obliteration. Ulric growled in savage anticipation. Lysandra watched, impassive, the crystal on her staff pulsing rhythmically. Lilith looked away for an instant, almost imperceptibly, perhaps a line had been crossed even for her.

This is the end... Gabriel thought, darkness starting to swallow his vision. Seraphine... sorry...