THE BLOODBOUND: THE ETERNAL CURSE

imson

uled with an iron fist, and the air itself seemed to hum with power. The streets twisted and turned, narrow alleys and towering spi

n't faint

imson Palace loomed before us, a blood-red fortress nestled deep in the heart of Ravenshade. Elias-the vampire prince-resided within its wall

t, tha

ered, my voice cold as the night air

for the task and knew the stakes. Failure here meant our deaths and the chance for Elias's pow

mpt on Elias. No one. And that fact gnawed at the

ient, with dark stone that seemed to absorb the light, as though even the moon feared touching it. Inside, I knew the vampire p

e door, the cold seeping into my skin. "You

eeping through the lower levels to clear a path. Tobias and I would handle the upper floor

g through the cracks in the palace's defenses. Every

panned centuries-he had been alive long enough to learn every trick, every strategy. He wasn't just a vampire prince. He was a

and Tobias's low voice

spered, "somethi

, and for a brief moment, I wondered if Elias had known we were coming all along. I

ach one depicting scenes of violence and bloodshed. The floor was polished marble, glinting dully in the faint light that filtered throu

, and there it wa

ters hesitate. A long, blood-red carpet ran down the center, leading to a raised platform

me to see the figures of six vampires emerging from the shadows. They mo

u," one of them sneered.

k with a swift block. The force of the strike sent a jolt of pain through my

licing through the air with precision. I could feel the adrenaline surging, but even that

was

hadn't even reached the throne yet. I needed to end this-fast. With a quick motion, I decap

d their part of the infiltration but weren't here yet. The reinforcements we needed hadn't ar

I hea

rough the palace. "You've come far,

as the voice of something far older and

stood on end, and I could fe

was tall and impossibly handsome, his face a perfect mask of arrogance and cruel

e said, his voice rich with con

. With a growl, I charged, my d

sending me crashing into the stone wall. The breath was knocked from my lungs, and for a mo

ing me to my feet. "Selene," he muttered,

. We can't retreat.

he watched me struggle to rise. The room seemed to darken ar

e almost a purr. "But I am not like

lick of his wrist,

ound shook beneath us, and I stumbled, barely managing to stay on my fee

amusement. "This is my domain

umble, I realized one terrifying truth: This

contin