Chapter 180: 180-The assassination
Evelyn had faced hunters, vampires, and creatures that would make ordinary humans lose their minds yet standing before Princess Varitreya, she found herself struggling to breathe.
The pressure in the room was suffocating. The whiteblood aura was next level intimidating.
She had heard stories about the power possessed by members of the royal bloodline, but experiencing it firsthand was an entirely different matter. It pressed against her skin like an invisible weight, making every instinct scream at her to lower her head and submit.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford to submit, not when Maisa’s life was at stake.
"I’m sorry, Your Highness," Evelyn said carefully, lowering her gaze. "I didn’t come here to insult you. I only wished to speak with you about something important."
Varitreya scoffed. "Something important? And the school decided the best person to deliver this supposedly important message was a human feeder?"
Her eyes swept over Evelyn’s face with open disdain. She was already upset as it stood and now, the archive just had to send a human to her.
"Who sent you?"
"The Blood Archives, Your Highness."
"Then go back and tell them that I have no interest in their little games."
"Princess..."
"Have I not made myself clear?" Varitreya cut in sharply. She refused to hear her out.
The princess’s aura surged again. Evelyn’s knees nearly buckled under the pressure.
Beside Varitreya, Addessa’s expression grew complicated. She had known the princess long enough to recognize when her temper was about to become a problem, and this was one of those moments.
"Vari," she murmured, rubbing the princess’s shoulder. "Perhaps you should hear her out before sending her away."
Varitreya turned a sharp look on her. "You’re taking her side?"
"I’m taking the side of common sense," Addessa argued.
"Then your common sense is failing you."
Addessa sighed understanding that since Varitreya was already upset, the chances of her hearing the human out was close to none.
Evelyn watched their exchange, her fingers tightening around the feeder pass hanging from her neck.
She hadn’t expected such heavy resistance. She had known that approaching a royal vampire would not be easy, especially while disguised as a human feeder but she hadn’t anticipated wasting so much time. Every second mattered.
The Siseli family had an ancient compass capable of locating the True Heart. The Everhearts were already preparing to search for the Flower of Fate and somewhere in the middle of all this, Maisa was walking around the academy, unaware that her very existence could become the reason an entire species was hunted to extinction.
Evelyn couldn’t leave without delivering her warning. "Your Highness, please," she tried again. "This concerns Maisa Loven."
The effect of that name was immediate as Varitreya stopped moving and Addessa’s hand fell away from the princess’s shoulder.
For a brief moment, the room became so quiet that Evelyn could hear the faint rustle of fabric as Varitreya slowly turned toward her.
"What did you just say?"
Evelyn swallowed. From experience, she could tell that Maisa’s name was an object of so much hostility in the princess. It made her wonder what Maisa had done to deserve such feelings directed at her.
"Maisa Loven?" The princess’s expression darkened. "That girl again."
She rose from her seat so abruptly that it scraped against the floor. "Unbelievable! Is there nowhere I can escape that name?"
Addessa’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Why are you asking about Maisa?" she demanded, turning toward Evelyn. "What does she have to do with you?"
Evelyn hesitated before answering the questions Addessa raised. She couldn’t tell them everything. Not yet.
She didn’t know how much they knew about the Flower of Fate, and she certainly couldn’t reveal Maisa’s connection to it without understanding where their loyalties lay but she needed them to listen.
"There’s something you need to know about her. Something dangerous is happening, and if she isn’t warned in time..."
A faint sound interrupted her.
Click.
It was so soft that none of them paid it any attention. A shadow shifted behind the tall curtains near the window.
Evelyn continued speaking. "The Everhearts are preparing to..."
She stopped mid-sentense as something cold touched the back of her neck. Her eyes widened amd before she could turn around, a hand clamped over her mouth.
A sharp object pierced her side. Pain exploded through her body and Evelyn’s breath caught against the attacker’s palm.
Her fingers flew to the wound, but the damage had already been done. The attacker leaned close to her ear. "Some warnings are better left undelivered," a female voice whispered.
Evelyn tried to struggle, she tried to scream but the strength was draining from her body too quickly.
Across the room, Varitreya and Addessa were still facing each other, their attention caught in the middle of their argument and neither noticed the figure standing behind Evely or noticed the dark liquid soaking through her clothes and they certainly hadn’t heard the last desperate breath that escaped her lips.
The attacker withdrew the blade. Evelyn’s knees gave way, her body crumpled to the floor. Only then did the sound of her fall reach the two vampires.
Addessa spun around. "What..."
She stopped as her eyes landed on the body lay motionless near the wall and for a second neither vampire moved an inch.
Addessa rushed forward. "Hey!" She called and rushed forward before she knelt beside Evelyn and turned her over.
Blood stained the woman’s clothes. Her eyes were open, but there was no recognition, fear or pleading in them.
Addessa pressed two fingers against Evelyn’s neck. Her expression changed after she checked and didn’t find a pulse.
"She’s dead," she declared.
Varitreya stared at the body. The anger in her eyes faded slightly. "What happened?"
Addessa looked around sharply. "Someone was here."
The princess’s eyes flashed red. "Who?" She asked, she had a feeling that there was a conspiracy going on. First, she didn’t hear footsteps and when the feeder was attacked, she hadn’t smelled the blood which was extremely unnerving.
"I don’t know."
Addessa rose slowly, her senses searching the room for the faintest trace of another presence. There was nothing around the room. No lingering aura, no scent and no footsteps retreating down the corridor.
Whoever had killed the woman knew how to move without leaving a trace. Varitreya’s expression hardened. "Call the guards. Lock down the tower."
Addessa didn’t move immediately. Her gaze had fallen to Evelyn’s hand. Even in death, the woman had been clutching something. A small piece of paper.
Addessa carefully pulled it free. There were only a few words written on it. ’Find Maisa. Warn her before they do.’
Addessa’s face went still. Varitreya leaned over her shoulder. "What does it mean?" She asked.
Addessa read the words again and then she looked at the dead woman. "I don’t know."
But she knew one thing; whoever Evelyn was, she hadn’t come to the tower merely to deliver a message.
She had come because someone was in danger and someone had killed her to ensure that the warning never reached its destination.
Neither princess nor blackblood knew that the dead woman had been Maisa’s aunt and neither of them knew what she had discovered about the Flower of Fate. What more was that, somewhere beyond the academy walls, the pieces of a much larger game were already moving in place.
The assassin was gone, the warning had died with Evelyn and Maisa remained in the dark.