---- CELINE Islipped into the dining hall and sat in a discreet corner, pulling down my hood under the cover of darkness and ordering my mealI was starving.


    Around me, the loud chatter of drunken men filled the room,ughter booming as barmaids with their breasts nearly spilling out served drinks, getting groped left and right.


    I didn''t like this ce.


    Id spend the night and leave at dawn.


    "Hey, they say the Lycan King is on the move.


    His men are advancing through the southern border.


    "You think we''ll be ruled by Aldric Thorne now?" "T doubt it.


    The sorcerers need to beat the vampires to take control of the castle.


    Whoever controls the castle controls the Realm..." "But what about the curse? It activated after the Vampire King died, and now no one can enter the pce..


    Bits and pieces of conversation floated around me, fragments of information I had been collecting.


    Icouldnt care less about the internal struggle for power in this Realm, but I was heading south to meet Beof.


    That night, I arranged my straw mattress on the old wooden floor.


    Thad chosen the second floor of the stable, where tools were stored.


    From there, I could look down at the horse stalls and keep an eye on the entrance.


    ---- I wasnt going to sleep with both eyes closedI had learned the hard way that danger lurked everywhere.


    And as expected, my instincts were right.


    That night, whispers in the dark woke me.


    Crawling silently, I peeked over the edge of the tform, my vampire eyes spotting a group of about seven men in the shadows.


    "Shes gotta be around here.


    Have you checked all the stalls?" It was the same guy who had offered me money to spend the night with him.


    "Yeah, are you sure she came this way?" "Ben, she better be worth it, or were gonna fuck you instead tonight." "Very funny, idiot.


    If shes not here, there''s only one ce left," I shrank back as seven pairs of eyes turned simultaneously toward the upper tform.


    Thad to escape.


    I couldn''t take them all on at once.


    Jumping to my feet, I grabbed my hood and sprinted toward a small window at the back.


    I''d jump from the second floor and lose them in the forest.


    "Quick! Shes escaping!" their shouts echoed behind me, but I focused only on unlocking thetch, pushing up the ss, and slipping my legs through to leap out the back of the stable.


    My legsnded gracefully on the grassthis was the advantage of wearing pants instead of a dress.


    I sprang to my feet and the chase began.


    It was still early dawn, and the forest was close.


    I darted into the darkness, using my small lead to my advantage, but soon enough, they were hot on my trail.