Kieran looked at me with a coldness I'd never seen before. "Get out."

His voice was frighteningly low.

"I'll leave on my own. You don't need to tell me to."

I brushed glass shards from my hands. My palm was cut, but I couldn't feel the pain.

Before walking out the door, I turned to look at Kieran. He was on his knees, trying to gather the dark red liquid soaking into the carpet in his hands.

That was Seraphina's blood.

To him, it was sacred.

To me, it was just a reminder of my humiliation.

Brushing the mess off the floor, I walked out of the secret room without looking back.

When I returned to my rooms, my luggage was already in the hallway.

Several servants were carrying in white lilies—Seraphina's favorite flower.

Seraphina stood at the doorway, wearing that black and gold cloak that used to be mine. She was petite, and the oversized cloak made her look a little awkward.

"Sister," she said timidly, twisting the hem of her dress. "Kieran said I have a serious blood disorder and need to stay in the Moon Tower to recover, where the moonlight is strongest. I'm sorry about this…"

"Don't call me Sister," I sneered. "We're not related. Besides, this tower was left to me by my mother. By what right do you move in?"

"It's Nocturne family property now," my father, Magnus, stepped out from the shadows.

He said calmly, "Lord Kieran visited me this morning and asked for it. I agreed. I've also adopted Seraphina as my daughter. Aurora, she's younger than you. As an older sister, you should be more generous."

"So you're giving my mother's room to a half-breed?"

"Watch your tongue!" Magnus raised his hand as if to strike me.

I dodged.

Looking at his cold expression, I was deeply disappointed.

Everyone was like this. As long as Seraphina was involved, I was the one who had to back down.

"I've made up my mind, Father. Since you already have a daughter and clearly don't consider me one anymore, we'll do things by bloodline rules."

I bit my finger and flicked a drop of blood into the air.

"I, Aurora, hereby declare that I sever all blood pacts with the Thorne family. From this day forward, I am an independent individual, no longer under your protection or control."

A crisp sound, like a snapped bowstring, echoed in the air.

Magnus's face changed drastically. He clutched his chest and stumbled back two steps. "You're crazy! Without the family's protection, you won't last three days out there! The demon hunters will tear you apart!"

"That's my problem."

I turned and left, taking only my black card.

It was my first step of revenge.

This card was linked to the Nocturne family's liquid assets.

Kieran had given me unlimited overdraft as a gesture of generosity, a payment for the blood perfumes I provided.

He probably thought I'd never use it, or wouldn't dare to.

I'll make him regret it.

For the next two hours, I swept through the underground black market like a hurricane.

"I want that two-hundred-year-old Siren's Tear."

"Pack all the Dragon's Blood Grass."

"And that Mithril Alchemy Station, I'll take it too."

Swipe. Swipe. Swipe.

Each transaction was astronomical.

My phone buzzed non-stop with deduction notifications from the bank.

I bought enough rare alchemy materials to assemble a small army.

Just as I was about to bid on the final item—a top-grade ruby—the cashier looked at me awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Your card has been frozen."

So fast?

I glanced at my phone.

Kieran had finally reacted.

"It seems the Nocturne family isn't as rich as legend has it," I said with a mocking smile, turning and walking out of the black market.

The moment I stepped out the door, a chill shot up my spine.

It was late at night now, and the streets were empty.

But I could hear faint mechanical noises—the sound of demon hunters cocking their crossbows.

My access was frozen, which meant I'd lost the protection of the family's territorial barrier.

My location had been exposed.

The next second, a silver bolt whizzed past my cheek, embedding itself in the brick wall beside me with a hiss.

"Target acquired! It's a pureblood!"

Three demon hunters in tactical gear leaped from the rooftop, their silver swords glinting with deadly light.

Damn it.

I was good at making perfumes, not close combat.

I took a step back, trying to pull a newly bought poison mist bottle from my bag, but my movements were too slow.

One of the demon hunters had already charged at me, his silver sword aimed straight for my heart.

"Die, vampire!"

I closed my eyes, waiting for the searing pain of death.

But the pain didn't come.

The world around me suddenly fell silent.

I opened my eyes.

And found myself standing in a pitch-black void.

The demon hunters were frozen, as if time had stopped, maintaining their charging stances in the darkness.

That was the "Shadow Domain."

A power only the highest-ranking vampire lords could wield.

A long, pale hand reached out from the darkness and wrapped around my waist.

That familiar scent, of cedar and blood, enveloped me.

"Had enough, Aurora?"

Kieran's voice sounded in my ear, filled with suppressed anger.

The next second, the world spun.

When we landed again, I wasn't in the dingy alley anymore, but in the penthouse suite overlooking the city center of Manhattan.

Kieran's most private sanctuary.

He released me and looked at me coldly, his eyes complex.

"You'd rather die by the hands of demon hunters than bow to me?"

"Bowing to you feels almost as bad as dying, Kieran," I said.

I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, forcing a composed look.

My heart was still pounding, not just from the near-death experience, but because he had saved me again, damn it. This whole hero-saves-damsel act just made me feel more humiliated.

Kieran tugged at his tie, annoyance flashing across his face.

"Your card depleted five years of the family's liquid assets. Had I not intervened, the elders would have already marked you for death."

"That's my payment for services rendered," I said, walking to the floor-to-ceiling window to watch the traffic below. "After five years serving a bastard like you, that's what I'm worth."

"Bastard?" Kieran narrowed his eyes, teleporting in front of me. He trapped me between him and the glass. "For five years, I gave you immense status, everything you could have ever wanted. And just because I took care of your life-saver, you're acting this hysterical?"

"Took care of?" I let out a laugh that bordered on tears. "You put her in my room, draped your cloak over her, and even got angry at me over a drop of her blood. Kieran, don't try to sell me on this 'benefactor' story. The way you look at her, it's like you found a treasure you thought was lost forever."

Kieran fell silent.

He didn't deny it.

The air around us grew suddenly still. His silence stung more than any words could have.

"Where will you sleep?" he suddenly changed the subject. "The master bedroom is off-limits this time…"

"The guest room," I cut him off. "If there's no guest room, I'll sleep on the sofa. Or in the dungeon, whichever suits you."

"Don't be difficult. Seraphina is weak. She needs the blood pool in the master bedroom to recover. It's the most energetically potent spot on the entire estate," Kieran's voice was matter-of-fact as he laid out the arrangements. "You'll sleep in the guest room."

I scoffed.

If there was a place for her to stay, why did she need to snatch my Moon Tower?

I had always thought Kieran's logic was strictly cold and pragmatic.

But when it came to someone he cherished, he lost all reason, wanting only to give her the best of everything.

"Fine," I conceded, not arguing further.

The next evening, the estate hosted a small "welcome back" dinner.

Officially, it was to celebrate Seraphina's recovery. In reality, it was Kieran's maneuver to get his New York inner circle to accept her.

I had no intention of attending, but Kieran threatened to throw away all the alchemical materials I'd purchased if I didn't.

Considering some of those materials had been delivered to the estate by default, I relented.

I descended the stairs in a simple black evening gown.

Jazz music flowed through the hall.

Seraphina sat at the center of the sofa, wearing the white silk gown Kieran had originally custom-made for me.

The dress was a little long on her, but as she gathered the hem, she looked almost fragilely beautiful.

Several vampire nobles surrounded her, showering her with praise.

"Lord Kieran is so thoughtful towards you."

Ignoring the chatter, I headed to the bar, wanting a glass of blood.

Suddenly, a peculiar scent wafted to me.

It was vanilla, iron, and a certain intoxicating sweetness.

The Saint Blood.

It was a blood type so rare, whispered to exist in only one in a million souls.

A century ago, Kieran risked everything to save her. He’d turned her, binding them with half his essence, and even used forbidden magic to guarantee she got their family's last Saint Blood Grass.

From that moment on, Seraphina's blood became a treasure, a source of deadly allure for vampires and a wellspring of incredible healing.

No wonder Kieran was so captivated by her.

It wasn't just gratitude for saving his life; she was also a prime source of "food" and "medicine."

I turned, and there was Kieran, behind the bar, shaking a cocktail shaker himself.

He was mixing a "Crimson Velvet."

It was an incredibly complex cocktail, requiring precise temperature and ratio control.

In the past, I had begged him countless times, and he had only made it once for me, on our anniversary.

But now, he poured the liquid into a stemmed glass and walked directly toward me.

I instinctively reached out to take it.

But Kieran didn't even glance at me. He walked past me toward Seraphina on the sofa.

"Try it, specially made for you," his voice was so gentle it could drip.

My hand froze in mid-air, feeling utterly foolish.

Seraphina took the glass, took a shy sip, then cast a triumphant glance my way.

There was no trace of timidity in her eyes now, only the smugness of a victor.

In the center of the hall, the crowd began to stir for a game of "Eternal Vow." It was an ancient vampire game where enchanted cards posed questions. You had to tell the truth, or be consumed by the flames of the vow.

Kieran was ushered to the center.

Seraphina drew a card and read the question aloud: "If a silver sword were to stab at you right now, and you could only save one person, who would it be? Your blood-bound mate Aurora, or... me?"

The entire room fell silent.

This was a no-win situation.

Everyone knew that while Kieran and I weren't officially married, we had a binding blood pact.

Kieran sat in his leather chair, fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

His gaze flickered between Seraphina and me.

I held my breath.

Even with a one-in-a-million chance, I hoped he would lie, just to preserve my dignity.

Even a lie would have been better.

Three seconds later, Kieran spoke.

"Seraphina."

Since it was the truth, the magic flames did not punish him. Instead, due to his honesty, the flames bloomed in the air, forming the shape of a red rose.

"Because she has no way to protect herself," he added, as if explaining it to me.

But in that moment, his explanation didn't matter.

I felt as if my heart had been brutally crushed by an icy hand.

My face burned with humiliation.

Watching Seraphina melt into Kieran's arms, I couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

I turned and fled to the terrace.

I couldn't cry here.

Absolutely not.

The cold wind sliced across the terrace like a knife, and I brushed a tear from the corner of my eye.

Cheers erupted from the hall behind me.

Another game, I surmised. Kieran, without a second thought, chose Seraphina again.

"This is your fate, Aurora," I told myself. "Even if you gave him your heart, it wouldn't be as precious to him as that porcelain doll, with all her 'royal blood'."

I pulled myself together, ready to go back inside, when suddenly, the air shimmered.

Years of ingrained caution made me freeze.

A man in a servant's uniform darted from the shadows, a jet-black dagger clutched in his hand.

My eyes widened.

It was a demon hunter's blade, coated in enchanted poison.

"Die, vampire!"

He was coming for me.

I dodged awkwardly, the dagger slicing my arm. My clothes ripped, and blood gushed out instantly.

The searing pain made me gasp.

"Kieran!"

The name just slipped out.

For the past five years, whenever I was in danger, he was always the first one to arrive.

The doors at the end of the hall flew open.

Kieran burst out, moving like a black streak of lightning.

He'd heard my cry.

My heart leaped.

He still cared about me…

"Ah!"

At the same time, a delicate shriek echoed.

Seraphina was right behind him, stumbling as if she'd tripped on a rug and tumbling toward the stairs.

From that distance, she would have barely scraped herself if she fell.

But facing me was death, dagger in hand.

In that split second, Kieran stopped his charge toward me.

He spun around, catching Seraphina as she "fell," holding her protectively.

Time seemed to stop.

I watched Kieran's concerned gaze as he checked Seraphina's ankle. All the while, the assassin, grinning, raised his dagger again, aiming for my throat.

My heart shattered.

Despair turned into a strange, wild strength.

I didn't try to dodge again. Instead, I grabbed a pure silver candelabra from a nearby table.

The silver seared my palm, sending up acrid smoke.

But I needed this pain. This pain made me feel alive.

With all my might, I swung the heavy candelabra at the assassin's head.

He hadn't expected me to grab silver barehanded and stumbled back.

The next second, the manor guards finally arrived, pinning the assassin to the ground.

I leaned against the wall, my hand a bloody mess, blood dripping from my fingertips onto the expensive rug.

Kieran finally looked up and saw me, covered in blood. His pupils contracted sharply.

"Aurora…" He started to move toward me.

"Don't," I croaked.

Seraphina, trembling in his arms, whimpered, "Oh, Aurora, you're bleeding so much. But I suppose it's okay since your blood isn't as precious as mine, right?"

Tears of innocence streamed down her face, but her words dripped with pure cruelty.

"Oh, and," she added, as if remembering something delightful, "I found a ruby necklace in your vanity. It looked so old-fashioned, I thought it would suit my cat much better, so I put it around his neck. I'm sure you don't mind?"

The last thread of my sanity snapped.

It was the Blood Moon ruby necklace my mother had given me. My last connection to her.

Ignoring the vampire doctor tending to my wound, I lunged for the fruit platter and grabbed a silver fruit knife.

"Aurora, stop!" Kieran's voice boomed.

Too late.

I stood before Seraphina.

She hadn't expected me to actually do it and stared with wide, frightened eyes.

I wasn't going to kill her. That would be too easy.

My hand moved like a flash, and I plunged the knife deep into her wrist – the wrist that flowed with that so-called "noble blood."

"This is what you get for touching my mother's things!"

Blood splattered.

Seraphina let out a piercing scream.