DEADALUS author of AETHERBORN

VAMPIRE LORD - CHAPTER 5

Alistair gasped as he came to, jerking upright like he'd surfaced from drowning.

For a moment, he just sat there, breathing hard.

No pain.

His chest wasn’t torn open. His fingers weren’t slick with blood. No hollow cavity where his heart used to be.

He touched his shirt, perfectly smooth.

No rip. No wound. Not even bloodstains.

He blinked. Slowly. Then checked the window.

HP: 104 / 104 
 Status: Stable

Still alive.

Technically.

A flicker of hope rose up in him befor...

CHAPTER 181

The room was a hive of barely contained tension. Uncle stood at the edge of the wide, open window, his thick fingers clasping the sill as he peered out over the city. The governing building, perched atop the tallest hill in Alvar, gave an unobstructed view of the chaos below. Smoke coiled into the evening sky from distant fires, and the din of fighting carried faintly to their ears even from this height.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed up the spiral staircase before the messenger appeared at the threshold, his face pale an...

CHAPTER 180

The governing building, once the pristine heart of Alvar's bureaucracy, had transformed into a bustling nexus of survival. The grand halls were crowded with Thornfield soldiers resting on benches or sprawled on the marble floors, their armor dented and bloodied. Makeshift stations had been set up along the walls, where medics tended to the wounded, their tools gleaming under the flickering torchlight. 

Supply crates were stacked haphazardly in every corner, their contents spilling out as soldiers grabbed what they needed, a...

CHAPTER 179

The square was a storm of chaos and death.

The cries of the wounded, the relentless clash of metal, and the guttural roars of soldiers locked in combat swirled into a deafening cacophony. Bodies moved like waves in a boiling sea, black-clad Ravencourts clashing with Thornfield greens, their struggle painting the cobblestones with blood. Aether flared in bursts of light and shadow, illuminating fleeting moments of terror and triumph.

Thorne stood on the edge of the maelstrom, his glowing eyes wide. The governing building lo...

CHAPTER 178

Thorne’s gaze settled on Arletta, her clipboard held loosely in her hand, a shadow of fatigue crossing her usually composed face.

“He’s waiting for me?” Thorne asked, his voice sharper than he intended.

The woman nodded, her grip tightening on the clipboard in her hands. “Yes. He left earlier for the governing building. From there, he can oversee the battle and direct the fight more efficiently.” Her gaze lingered on his battered form. “He instructed me to send you there as soon as you returned.”

Thor...

CHAPTER 177

Thorne perched on the rooftop, his glowing eyes fixed on the chaos below. The sun dipped low on the horizon, casting the city in hues of orange and red. Smoke curled up from the Braddock estate, blending with the fading light as if the building itself bled into the evening sky.

He didn’t move, didn’t flinch, as the scene unfolded. Servants scrambled desperately to douse the flames, buckets of water seeming laughably small against the roaring fire. He watched their frantic movements, their shouts blending into the cacophony o...

VAMPIRE LORD - CHAPTER 4

Alistair lounged in the armchair, doing his best impression of a man who hadn’t just signed his soul away.

Across from him sat the Blood Mistress.

She didn’t move. Didn’t blink.
Just watched.

The crimson motes drifting behind her pulsed faintly, swirling into strange, broken shapes, wings, crowns, claws, all made from the raw stuff of magic and madness.

Alistair resisted the urge to squirm.

Instead, he chuckled.

A short, dry sound.

Not out of bravery.

Out of pure, helpless abs...

CHAPTER 176

Thorne’s mind raced as he watched the battle unfold below. The Ravencourt soldiers pressed their advantage, black and silver uniforms clashing violently with the crimson and gold of the Braddock guards. The air was thick with the metallic tang of blood and the acrid scent of smoke, but despite their ferocity, the Ravencourts hadn’t yet overwhelmed the estate’s defenders.

Thorne’s glowing eyes flicked toward a cluster of guards rallying near the estate’s main entrance. Amidst their shouted orders and frantic movements, ...

CHAPTER 175

The crow.

The symbol at the bottom of the parchment was unmistakable, its crude lines etched with precision that somehow radiated malice. The faint glow of aether surrounding it made his skin crawl, the energy resonating with something powerful and unnerving.

His mind flashed back to the crow painted in purple on the wall earlier, the wet paint still vivid in his memory.

He’s everywhere, Thorne thought, his grip on the parchment tightening. How deep does his influence go?

Lord Rook watched him nervously, his ...

CHAPTER 174

The room darkened as Thorne melded into the shadows, his body vanishing from sight as if he were never there. He shifted slightly, repositioning himself against the wall, but the limited shadows left him with fewer options than he liked.

The woman’s narrowed eyes swept the room, her grip on her curved swords tightening as she moved with deliberate steps.

“Coward,” she hissed, her voice low and venomous.

Thorne took a slow, silent breath, expanding his Veil Sense to gauge her movements. Her core blazed in his pe...

CHAPTER 173

Thorne leapt from the edge of a crumbling rooftop, his coat flaring behind him as he grabbed hold of a taut clothesline stretched between the buildings. His gloved hands gripped the line tightly as he zipped across the gap, the faint creak of the wire lost beneath the muffled sounds of the distant city.

Uncle’s words still echoed in his mind. “Always the obedient little assassin.”

Thorne’s lips curled into a faint smirk. Obedient? Not for much longer.

His boots hit the next rooftop with practiced ease, rollin...

CHAPTER 172

Uncle’s thoughtful expression lingered as the silence stretched on, heavy and oppressive. He stood unmoving for a long moment, his piercing gaze fixed somewhere in the distance as though lost in his own calculations. Finally, with a deliberate motion, he went around the desk and lowered himself into his chair.

Reaching into the folds of his coat, Uncle retrieved the small summoning stone. The ripple of aether that accompanied its activation was subtle but unmistakable, and Thorne felt the faint pull of its magic. Moments later...

VAMPIRE LORD- CHAPTER 3

The room shifted.

One second it was just the three of them, Alistair, his father, and Fergus. And the next, the shadows peeled open like wet paper.

A figure stepped out.

Cloaked in crimson from head to toe, she moved like fog. Even her hands were covered, gloved in the same blood-red fabric. No visible weapons. No smell. No heartbeat.

Alistair’s instincts screamed.

Alistair’s head whipped toward the source, fangs already pricking at his gums. His pupils thinned. So did Fergus’s. His father’s hand ...

CHAPTER 171

The heavy door clicked shut behind the last of the guild leaders, sealing the room in a tense, suffocating quiet. Uncle stood motionless by the desk, his fingers tapping the edge with a deliberate rhythm, like a ticking clock counting down to an inevitable explosion.

Thorne didn’t rush to speak. Instead, he straightened his posture and adjusted his cloak, letting a faint, confident smile tug at his lips. Every movement was precise, calculated, his Mask of Deceit and Acting skills molding him into a figure of ...

CHAPER 170

Thorne walked alongside Arletta, his steps measured as they passed through the dimly lit halls of Uncle’s mansion. The faint echoes of distant activity reached his ears, guards patrolling, murmured voices from other rooms, but here, near the heart of the estate, everything felt unnaturally still.

“How is he?” Thorne asked, his voice low.

Arletta didn’t glance at him. “Furious.”

Thorne exhaled sharply through his nose, feigning casualness. “At me?”

“At you,” Arletta replied evenly, “at me, ...

CHAPTER 169

Thorne crouched at the edge of the rooftop, his glowing eyes reflecting the orange flames consuming what remained of the Thornfield estate. The mansion, once an imposing symbol of wealth and power, now lay in ruins.

The columns that had once stood proudly now splintered and crumbled inwards, crashing to the earth in clouds of dust and debris. Gleaming white marble, polished to a mirror sheen just days ago, was cracked and scorched black by the roaring fires that tore through the walls.

The fire roared louder, hungrily cons...

CHAPTER 168

The noble quarter was a war zone.

What had once been the pristine heart of Alvar, its wide streets lined with stately mansions, manicured gardens, and glittering fountains was now a battlefield. Fires raged unchecked, thick black smoke curling into the sky as Ravencourt soldiers stormed through the quarter with ruthless efficiency.

Thorne ducked into the shadow of a crumbling archway, his glowing eyes narrowing as he surveyed the scene ahead.

The streets of the noble quarter were a sea of swords and armor.

Blac...

CHAPTER 167

Thorne’s eyes snapped open, his senses screaming danger before his conscious mind caught up. The darkness of the attic pressed in around him, broken only by the faint light creeping through the window’s edges.

His ears picked up the sounds first, distant and horrible.

Swords clashing. Heavy impacts. Wood splintering.

And then, unmistakably, screams.

He bolted upright, his breath shallow as adrenaline surged through him.

Beside him, Selene stirred, groaning softly. “Thorne?” she murmured, her voice...

VAMPIRE LORD - CHAPTER 2

Alistair stood alone on the rooftop.

Wind tugged at his hair, cold and sharp. His thoughts weren’t much clearer.

He’d just been told he was chosen. A champion. For the Blood Mistress, no less, a Goddess whispered about in fear, the kind you didn’t pray to unless you had no other options.

He’d never even said her name out loud.

Blood was her domain, sure. Made sense for a vampire. But she was also the patron of hunger, power-hungry warlords, desperate nobles, those willing to do anything for more. He was...

CHAPTER 166

The remainder of the party was a test of Thorne’s patience, each passing moment tugging at his already frayed nerves. The events of the night weighed heavily on him, but the nobles around him were blissfully unaware.

Questions came at him from all sides, polite inquiries masked as veiled attempts to extract information, subtle jabs disguised as humor. But Thorne’s social skills rose to the challenge, his carefully honed facade projecting an image of calm confidence. He projected a dignified and carefree image, his tone calm,...

CHAPTER 165

Thorne stood frozen, his breaths shallow and uneven as his mind raced. The crow etched into his hand pulsed faintly, its light soft but steady, a reminder of the man’s parting words. A chill had settled deep into his bones, unshaken even by the warmth of his blood pounding through him.

Move, he told himself, but his body refused to obey.

Instead, his Veil Sense surged outward, more expansive than ever before. He reached deeper, stretching the limits of his ability, driven by equal parts desperation and anger.

Cores...

CHAPTER 164

Thorne’s focus had been so consumed by the oppressive aura of the mysterious man that he almost didn’t notice the shift beside him. The wrongness hit him like a delayed wave, sending a chill skittering down his spine.

Eliza had gone completely still.

He turned, his heightened senses on high alert, and froze. The sharp glint of daggers in her hands caught the faint shafts of light piercing through the room. Her knuckles were white against the grips, her arms steady. Too steady.

“Eliza?” he said cautiously, his...