Page 63 of Vampire Blood

A slow, predatory smile curved his lips as his eyes swept the crowd. His gaze landed on me, and I felt it like ice in my veins.

“You,” he said, his voice a low purr that echoed unnaturally. “The descendant.”

I didn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

Zaros bowed deeply beside me, his voice trembling with reverence. “Master Aurelius, we have freed you. I… have freed you. I made this possible.” He bowed even deeper, so low his forehead nearly touched the ground. “Together, we will rule. The world will kneel before us.”

A tense silence stretched, heavy as iron. No one moved. Not the shifters, not the vampires, not the terrified townspeople. My breath caught, every muscle in my body coiled tight, waiting for Aurelius to speak.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he turned to Zaros with slow, deliberate grace. His eyes burned like coals, and there was something in them, something ancient and cruel.

Zaros looked up, expectant. Eager.

It happened so fast, I barely saw it.

Aurelius’s hand shot out, wrapping around Zaros’ throat. The vampire leader’s eyes bulged, a strangled gasp escaping his lips. Aurelius lifted him like he weighed nothing, like he was a toy, something fragile and meaningless.

“No,” Aurelius said, his voice smooth as silk and twice as deadly. “You are nothing.”

And then he threw him.

Zaros hit the stone wall with a sickening crack. Blood sprayed. His body crumpled to the ground, unmoving. Lifeless.

The silence that followed was louder than any scream.

I couldn’t breathe. No one could.

Aurelius turned back to us, as if nothing had happened. His crimson eyes swept over the crowd, measuring, calculating.

“Let this be clear,” he said, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. “There is no ruler but me.”

My heart hammered in my chest. I felt the weight of his words, the finality of them. Whatever hope Zaros had clung to—that he could control this monster—was dead.

Just like him.

Aurelius stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over us like a predator sizing up prey. His presence filled the crypt, pressing against my chest, heavy and suffocating.

I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to stand tall, even as every instinct screamed at me to run. He wasn’t just a vampire. He was something older. Darker. A force that shouldn’t have been woken.

The townspeople shrank back, fear rippling through the crowd. Even the shifters, who moments ago stood proud and menacing, looked uneasy now.

But Aurelius barely seemed to notice them. His attention flickered past them, settling somewhere deeper, like he was looking through us.

“You.” His voice was sharp, slicing through the tension. It took me a heartbeat to realize he was looking at me.

I clenched my fists. “What about me?”

His lips curved, and it wasn’t a smile. It was something cold and hollow. “You’re the one who’s been meddling. Fighting so hard to stop me.”

I didn’t answer. My pulse roared in my ears.

Aurelius tilted his head. “And yet… I can taste it. The fear. You know you can’t win.”

I took a step closer, ignoring the weight of every eye on me. “You don’t know what I can do.”

His expression darkened. “I know enough.”

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