32. 31

31

Serina

T heir breaths were even and deep with sleep when I snuck out of bed and found my phone on the counter in the kitchen. Today was the day. I sent the text message to Sam before I could be convinced otherwise.

Me: Are you ready for one last hunt? Just me and you against the world?

The bubbles appeared instantly.

Sam: Don’t be so dramatic, but yes, I’ve been itching to go on a hunt together again.

Me: Good, meet me at that warehouse. We are going to clean house.

Sam: See you soon. With the running girl emoji.

I set my phone back down on the counter and leaned my weight against it while taking a deep breath. I didn’t have time to waste. But I hoped they understood why I had to finish this and didn’t want them to get involved.

Hell, I hadn’t wanted Sam to get involved, but she wouldn’t stop insisting, and I had a feeling she would have showed up to do the job herself anyways.

I readied on quiet steps before I slipped out of the house while Bastian, Nox, and Thorne slept peacefully without me.

I hoped they would forgive me for this.

The chilled air nipped at my skin as I trudged through the dense undergrowth to the rendezvous point where Sam was waiting for me, her silhouette barely visible against the darkness of the woods.

“Sam,” I called out softly, my breath forming a ghostly mist. “Please tell me you brought the explosives.”

We had talked about them on the phone while we were on our way here. It was her idea to destroy the place, and I didn’t mind going out with a bang.

“Of course,” she whispered back, patting the hefty backpack slung over her shoulder. Her eyes were wide and determined in the moonlight, the kind of look that said she was ready for war.

“Good,” I murmured, an icy resolve settling in my chest. Vampires despised fire. It was one of the few things they truly feared and hated.

The old warehouse loomed ominously before us, its skeletal frame well weathered. Its exterior was adorned with layers of cracked paint, graffiti tags, and most of the windows looked to be painted over, the broken ones boarded up.

Sam and I slipped through the broken gate, the scent of rust and decay clinging to the cool night air.

We edged closer to the abandoned warehouse. Victor lurked within those walls; I could feel it in my gut. His presence was palpable even from where we stood.

He’d taken so much from me. It was time I returned the favor.

“Let’s circle around,” I instructed Sam, keeping my voice low. “The shadows will cover us. We’ll set up the explosives along the perimeter as we go, then move in and set up a few more inside just to be sure we take down the building when this is over.”

Sam nodded, her face set with grim determination. We moved in tandem, slipping from shadow to shadow, placing the explosives as we went. The silence between us was heavy with unspoken thoughts.

I could feel the weight of the stakes pressing in on me, the knowledge that this wasn't just about revenge—it was survival. I didn’t want to die tonight, although I knew it was a possibility, and through the past year it was how I had always envisioned I would meet my end.

But now that I had Bastian, Nox, and Thorne, I wanted to live . Still, this fight had been a long time coming, and I was ready to face it head-on no matter the outcome. Now, it would just hurt more.

“Watchmen,” Sam mouthed, pointing toward a pair of silent figures standing guard by a rusted side entrance. Their eyes glinted with unnatural sharpness in the moonlight, but we were silent, moving undetected.

“We’ll take care of them,” I whispered back, feeling the familiar thrill of the hunt surge through my veins.

I was careful, methodical, as I finished setting up the explosives along the perimeter of the building. Shrouded slightly by the old dumpsters’ shadows, I moved quickly back to where Sam was.

“Remember, aim for the heart,” I reminded Sam, though I knew she was well aware. It was more for myself, a ritual to keep me grounded.

“Always do,” she replied, her voice a mix of sarcasm and solemnity.

We made our way closer to the entrance, the two men distracted with their own conversation, every second stretching taut with anticipation.

I nodded for Sam to prepare so we could strike at the same moment. The guards wouldn’t be expecting us.

We leapt from the side of the building at the same time and shoved the wooden stakes through their backs. I pushed with all my strength to pierce through that beating flesh in his chest until he gasped and fell to the ground. Sam’s watchman did the same.

I grabbed the ankles of one while Sam grabbed the other, and we dragged them into the bushes off to the side of the building. I didn’t see any jewelry on them, so I knew they’d burn when the sun rose.

Inside, I was sure Victor was waiting, unaware of the storm we were bringing to his doorstep. I imagined the look of surprise on his face, the realization that he hadn’t fully broken me—that he never would.

“Ready?” I asked Sam, our eyes locking in silent camaraderie.

“Ready,” she confirmed, gripping her weapon tighter.

We moved, two hunters against the darkness, weaving a deadly path toward retribution.

“Ever think about taking up a quieter hobby?” Sam whispered, her boots silent against the gritty floor. “Like knitting or wine tasting?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” I scoffed, scanning the shadows for movement. “Besides, I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to calm at this point.” At this, she huffed a laugh.

We crept along the corridor, our breaths shallow. Another one of Victor’s men didn't see it coming; one moment he was standing—the next a crumpled heap on the concrete. We stashed him in an old supply closet, his final resting place with the forgotten mops and buckets.

The next Vampire fell just as swiftly, a silent dance between predator and prey ending with the fleshy sound of wood through his heart.

“Four down,” I noted, dragging the limp form into the dark embrace of an empty room. “This is starting to feel like a twisted game of hide-and-seek.”

“Except they’re really bad at seeking.” Sam’s voice held a note of sarcasm, but I caught the tightness around her eyes. This was personal for both of us.

We advanced deeper into the belly of the warehouse, the silence growing heavier with each tentative step. A shiver ran down my spine, not from fear but from anticipation.

The largest room still awaited us, the heart of this forsaken place.

“This feels too easy,” I murmured as we paused at the threshold of the expansive space, my voice barely audible.

She nodded her agreement with oddly wide eyes.

We had come this far, and there was no turning back. Whatever lay ahead, we would face it together, as family, as hunters, as survivors of a world that had shown us little mercy.

“Ready to crash the party?” I asked, my lips curving into a grim smile.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Sam replied, and together we stepped into the lion’s den.

The silence shattered with the abrupt flicker of harsh white lights, blinding after the cloak of darkness we had grown accustomed to. My hand instinctively flew up to shield my eyes, but I quickly squinted through the glare to assess the sudden vulnerability of our position.

Sam and I were no longer hunters moving through the shadows.

We were prey out in the open.

“Welcome, Serina,” a voice, smooth and mocking, cut through the tense air like a blade. Victor, I presumed. He emerged from the far end of the room, flanked by his goons.

There were six of them, seven if you included him.

I gripped my weapon tighter, feeling the weight of the stake in my hand, its familiar handle reassuring against my palm. Sam mirrored my stance, her own stake at the ready.

Our silent communication spoke volumes; we’d fight our way out or die trying.

“Did you really think it would be so easy?” Victor’s lips curled into a cruel smile as he circled us like a shark scenting blood. “You see, I’ve been expecting you.”

“Expecting us?” I spat, struggling to keep my voice steady. “I think you’re just playing with your food.”

“Ah, Serina,” he tutted, wagging a finger as if chiding a child. “Always so spirited. It’s one of the qualities I admire about you. But you don’t see the full picture.”

His taunting gaze held mine, reveling in his supposed superiority. And then he dropped the bombshell that turned my blood to ice.

“Did you know that your boys , Bastian, Thorne, and Nox, have been keeping tabs on you? Long before your father died, they watched you… and your father. They reported to me about your little family vacation that you had the year before last, telling me about all the places you would go together.” Victor’s voice dripped with insidious pleasure.

A jolt of betrayal pierced me sharper than any blow. Not them. The very thought constricted my chest like a vice. They were the reason the vampires knew where we were that day…

The moments I shared with each of them, moments I cherished, places that meant something to me, soured into poison in my veins.

“You’re lying,” I managed, though the certainty in my heart wavered. I didn’t want to believe it, but it made sense. Victor had been controlling them for a time… it wasn’t their fault. They didn’t have a choice.

“Am I?” His smirk widened, feeding off my turmoil. “Consider it… a strategic alliance. They did what they needed to survive. Just as you would.”

“Survive?” I scoffed, rage bubbling up within me, hot and fierce. “You mean they danced on strings for you like puppets? You controlled them! They would never have done the things you have done.”

“Strings can be pulled in many directions,” he said cryptically. “But enough chit-chat. Let's conclude our little story, shall we?” Victor continued. “It worked out perfectly. You see, I’m a patient man, Serina. I’ve wanted to take out the hunters for years, since the very first line started, but I had no way of doing it, not with most monsters wanting to respect the boundaries of humans and monsters…

“Until I realized the power I held. It truly came out of nowhere, or perhaps I had it all along but had never tried it… I started turning people, leading them, having them take out hunters’ family lines slowly to avoid attention…”

His words brought back the memories of hunters' families and friends that had started going missing last year.

“You know how I love to build up the fear, the anticipation. What was it you said, play with my food? ” He grinned, showing me a hint of his fangs. “I was told you had died alongside your father that night by some of my most trusted men. And then, when all those killings started happening shortly after John died, I just felt like something was off .

“And then a little birdy told me I was right. The great Serina Velika was alive and well. And to think, it was my own men who saved her off the side of the road that night. My own men who betrayed me over something as insignificant as love .

He tsked, shaking his head in disdain. “And a mortal, no less… Damn, the story just kept getting better and better.” His lips curled into a sneer.

“What?” the question came out as a whisper more to myself. They were the ones who saved me…

“Oh, they didn’t tell you? Bastian, Thorne, and Nox were the ones who saved you that day. But of course, they reported something very different to me. Unfortunately, they couldn’t save poor ol’ daddy… but alas, it doesn’t matter. Here we are… And unlike them, I will finish you off myself.” He smiled wickedly.

I lifted my chin, defiance etched into every line of my body. If Victor thought revelations of betrayal using his sick ways of control would weaken me, he was sorely mistaken.

The pain was there, yes, but it only stoked the fire of my resolve.

I wouldn’t allow Victor to do this to anyone else. I was here to end this. For my father, for myself, for them.

No more running.

I raised my weapons with my heart thundering in my chest, readying myself to face the grim dance with death.

Victor's words still echoed in my mind.

They had saved me… they had fallen in love with me… and in this moment, I knew just how far I’d be willing to go for them. I loved them, too.

Adrenaline surged through my veins as I readied for a fight, the air thick with overwhelming tension.

“Time to end this,” I sneered, more to myself than to Sam or to his circling vampires. I readied for a battle.

But before I could step forward, a searing pain exploded in my torso, ripping a gasp from my lungs. Looking down in disbelief, I saw the blade—dark and slick with my blood—protruding from my center.

It was the same blade Sam always kept on her hip.

I stumbled, my grip on my weapons faltering as the cold shock of betrayal settled into my bones.

“Sam…?” My voice cracked, barely above a whisper.

Her eyes met mine, wide and tormented. Tears streamed down her cheeks, carving tracks through the grime there.

Sam's lips moved silently, a desperate plea for forgiveness that required no sound to be understood. Her gaze held mine, a silent scream against the strings that had ensnared her will.

“Victor,” I spat his name like a curse, understanding crashing over me with the weight of a thousand stones. “You used her… all along.”

“She really should’ve gotten that tattoo,” Victor crooned, twirling her necklace around his fingers. “Remember that power I mentioned before? It’s not spells or curses… it’s compulsion , love, but not only to mortals like any other Vampire. No, I can compel any being.

“But hey, at least you won’t die alone.” He directed his next words to Sam. “Sam, look at me.”

She tried hard to fight his siren call but couldn’t, her tear-smeared eyes locking with his.

“Push that blade through your chest now,” he said, the command sounding like a siren’s melody that didn’t affect me, only Sam, who bristled at the words.

“No!” I screamed in anguish.

“Serina, I-I can't—I’m so sorry, I’m—I’m—” Sam choked out between sobs, her hands trembling on the hilt of the blade still buried in my flesh. Her eyes were hazy with the compulsion controlling her. “I tried to warn you, Serina, I—”

“Shh, it's okay,” I croaked out, reaching my own shaking hand to touch hers. Nothing about this was okay. Everything was wrong.

With a wrenching sob, Sam pulled the blade free, and my knees buckled beneath me. Pain flared white-hot, a wildfire raging within me, consuming everything in my mind.

But there was something else, too, a fierce determination not to let this be the end for her.

“Sam, look at me!” I pleaded, fighting through the haze of agony.

She did, her eyes haunted, the weight of her next action already crushing her spirit. She positioned the blade against her own chest, prepared to join me in death.

“No, don't you dare!” I growled, summoning the last vestiges of strength I didn't know I possessed.

With an effort that blurred the edges of my vision, I struck—the precise pressure point on her neck. Sam's eyes rolled back as she crumpled, unconscious but alive.

She would live.

The blade clattered to the floor.

BOOM.

As if on cue, the world trembled around us, a low rumble growing into a deafening roar. The explosives. Fire bloomed in the night, hungrily devouring the warehouse as timbers groaned and collapsed.

The Vampires, their senses assaulted by the flames, hissed and scattered like roaches.

I fell into a heap beside Sam, my fingers pressing feebly against the gaping wound in my stomach. Blood pulsed between them, warm and relentless. The blaze cast flickering shadows across our faces.

“Guess we’re not going out quietly after all, Sam,” I whispered, a bitter laugh bubbling up even as the darkness crept in at the edges of my sight.

I had wanted to tell them… to reveal the truth that churned within me like an untamed storm. That despite everything, they had ignited something fierce and beautiful within me. They weren't the monsters I'd been taught to hunt; they were the complicated, broken pieces of a puzzle that somehow made me feel whole.

But confessions, those sweet, painful admissions, would remain locked within me now. The irony wasn't lost on me that in seeking revenge, I had found love—only to lose it all in the space between a heartbeat and a last breath.

“Forgive me,” I whispered to nothing, hoping my words would find them somehow.

The thought of them never knowing the depth of my feelings, never understanding that they had changed me, that was the cruelest cut of all.

The pain was fading now, slipping away into a numbness that promised oblivion. I could hear the distant sound of sirens, the world beyond this fiery tomb reaching out with futile hands. I smiled faintly, the gesture achingly tender.

Whatever afterlife lay ahead of me, I hoped it was kinder than this one.