Chapter 3

After tormenting me with jar after jar of silver-laced water, Liya finally lost interest and left the bathing chamber.

My taut nerves loosened, and amid the burning and healing of my skin, I slowly lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes again, I was still staring at the pale stone walls of the bathroom.

I had been unconscious here all night. No one cared.

The cold floor had left my entire body stiff, and the silver burns still covered me in patches of grayish-white, healing agonizingly slowly.

I gripped the edge of the bath and pulled myself up. Every inch of flesh felt like it was being torn apart by knives.

Gritting my teeth, I braced myself against the wall and started toward the door. I hadn't even reached it when—

The bathroom door was shoved open.

Liya strode in with a spring in her step. The moment she saw my wretched state, her eyes lit up.

"You're awake? And recovering so quickly—how wonderful."

"In that case," she smiled sweetly, "it's time we head to the laboratory."

"What... laboratory?" My voice came out strained, my throat parched and raw.

"The laboratory for researching your half-blood secrets, of course." She pulled on a pair of gloves with deliberate slowness, then reached out with a smile and pressed her finger into the wound on my shoulder.

Cold sweat instantly broke across my skin. "I... I'm not going."

Liya sighed softly. "You don't actually think you have the right to refuse, do you?"

I was about to speak when the sound of boots on stone came from outside the door.

Oleg stood in the doorway, his expression hard and cold. "As a subordinate, your job is to follow orders."

I stared at him for a long moment, my voice hoarse. "I nearly died from silver poisoning last night."

"Stop making pathetic excuses to avoid orders," he cut me off coldly. "Silver can't kill you."

In that instant, I felt something fragile inside my chest slowly snap.

A small amount of silver couldn't kill me, true. But once it reached a certain quantity, I would die just like anyone else.

I had told him this. But he had forgotten.

He had let Liya douse me with massive amounts of silver.

He hadn't even asked why I had collapsed in the bathroom.

He only cared about one thing—whether I had obeyed Liya's orders.

I curved my lips into a mocking smile. The movement pulled at my wounds, and my vision went black with pain, but I still managed to say coldly, "Fine. I'll follow orders."

"Good girl." Liya smiled and hooked her arm through Oleg's. "Remember, assembly in five minutes. Don't be late."

I didn't even look at her. I forced my body forward and walked out.

I would leave with them, away from the Azure Pack—but I wouldn't be going to any laboratory.

Because I had already decided to leave this place, not to fall here.

By the time I had managed to clean myself up and apply medicine to my wounds, a squad of guards had already gathered in the courtyard.

At their head stood Oleg.

He wore his usual black armor. When he saw me, his gaze swept over me briefly—dwelling on me for less time than he might spare a passing bird.

"I've cleared the route," he said to Liya. "Your laboratory is on the northern ridge, near the old border. I don't feel comfortable letting you go alone."

I finally let out a cold laugh. "So today I'm honored to have the Wolf King's heir personally escort me."

He didn't respond. He looked at me the way one might look at a hound being sent on a task. "You walk in front. Scout the path. Your sense of smell is sharper than theirs."

This time, he didn't even bother saying "I need you."

"As you command, Your Highness."

I clenched my teeth and forced out a sardonic smile, then turned and took my place at the head of the column.

The more I hurt, the clearer my mind became.

I was beginning to understand something: he had never cared whether I was injured. He only cared whether I could still be used.

We hadn't gone far from the main peak when the scent in the air changed noticeably.

The northern ridge bordered the old boundary line—once one of the areas where vampires had been most active.

There was a faint trace of blood-dust on the wind, masked by the smell of cedar. Easy to miss if you weren't familiar with it.

I stopped. "Something's wrong up ahead."

I tilted my head. "There's blood on the mountain wind."

One of the guards scoffed. "This used to be a battlefield. A little lingering blood smell is normal."

"This isn't ordinary blood." I narrowed my eyes and sniffed the air. "This is vampire scent. At least two separate groups have been through here."

Oleg frowned, looking toward the gradually narrowing rock passage. "They've been purging vampires along the border lately. There might have been a skirmish here—"

"Oleg." Liya tugged at his arm, looking up with a smile. "Didn't you say her sense of smell is a bit too sensitive? It's probably just old traces. Let's not get too worked up."

He was silent for a moment, then raised his hand to signal the group forward.

"Stay alert," he said flatly, "but don't overreact."

My knuckles went white, but I said nothing more.

There were some things I no longer bothered to warn him about twice.

The rock passage grew narrower as we went. In the distance, a stone building emerged, built into the mountainside. The crest of the Silver Vein Pack was carved above its entrance—Liya's so-called "laboratory."

The closer we got to that building, the stronger the vampire scent became, mingled with something that chilled me to the bone—a smell I knew intimately.

The smell I had woken to and fallen asleep to every day of my childhood.

I stopped.

"We can't go any further."

"Half-blood, are you being paranoid again?" Liya was impatient. "The laboratory is right there. We're not stopping here."

"Vampires have been here." My voice dropped low. "More than once."

The words had barely left my mouth when a piercing shriek of splitting air exploded from above. A black shadow ricocheted off the cliff face and plunged toward us.