Seamus froze. He'd seen that name before, etched on a card inside Isolde's Labyrinth of Dream. Damien.

Could they really be connected? If the labyrinth had shown him that name, it wasn't an accident. Nothing in Isolde's constructs ever was.

His tangled ties with vampire hunters and vampires weren't even surprising anymore. As a Crimson Nectar, of course, the hunters might have known something about him. But since he was a baby?

He might now already be in Hunter's hands rather than in Velstrath.

'Maybe it was a different person… but still.' The unease settled like lead behind his ribs.

"How did he die? And when?"

Madeline tilted her head, eyes glinting. "Oh? You're interested in that story now?" She said it as though she had been waiting for him to ask.

Seamus said nothing, simply holding her gaze. By now he was forcing himself to keep quiet, practising the skill of not oversharing, of locking facts away even from people who weren't his enemies.

Madeline might have been an ally today, but tomorrow she could hand him over to others for a favour.

"Very well." She flicked her fan open with a snap and stared at the crescent moon.

"Some say he died on his last mission, others that he simply vanished. No one knows for sure, but he hasn't been seen for the last seventeen years."

She let the silence stretch before adding, "Strange, isn't it, that the Vampire Hunter Association never even searched for him? What do you think?"

Seamus narrowed his eyes. Madeline still wore that unreadable expression, as if measuring his reaction.

Seventeen years… that was almost his own age.

His mind ticked off dates automatically — his mother's death, his father's relocation — all in the same window.

'Could his disappearance be tied to my mother's death?'

It was Isolde's dream, after all. Everything inside it whispered some hidden truth or memory he wanted to bury.

Yet right now he had no clear answer, only patterns that refused to stay separate.

'I'll ask David about this…'

Seamus finally spoke. "Yeah. Someone strong enough to beat an S-rank vampire wouldn't just die on a mission, unless someone wanted him gone, either from a hunter faction or one of the covenants. Someone with reach."

"Wow. Basic conclusion, but not bad."

Madeline nodded, but a flicker of approval — or amusement — crossed her eyes. She was testing him.

'Damn, this woman really loves to criticise me.'

He changed tack, choosing the question that had been gnawing at him for weeks. "Anyway, have you ever seen a silver dagger with the Velstrath symbol on the handle?"

This time Madeline's composure cracked for a heartbeat before she masked it again.

"The one you're describing sounds like Velstrath's Regalia," she said smoothly. "It's usually owned only by the head of Velstrath. It's not supposed to leave their vault."

Her words hit him like a jolt. Unlike Madeline, Seamus couldn't hide his reaction.

How could such an important dagger look exactly like an artifact that ended up in his nursery room?

'Has Isolde known about my bloodline all along? Was she behind my mother's death?'

Seamus clenched his fists, unable to believe she could be worse than he already thought.

If she had truly orchestrated his mother's death, he would kill her with his own hands.

It was also possible his father had been running from something ever since Seamus was a child, only stopping when they settled in this small town when he was seven or eight.

Andrew always seemed like a man in flight and that something was probably Isolde.

But he married her? How? The story didn't add up. Dragged back to reality, Seamus drew a slow breath.

'Right. He'd never marry the woman who killed his wife. There's something missing here I don't know.'

And even if Isolde used people to kill his mother, Andrew as an asshole as he was, would definitely try to search for the perpetrator of Alice's death and might know about that dagger origin.

He forced himself to calm down. He was an adult now; he had the right to know what actually happened.

He would ask Andrew everything and if his father lied, he'd know.

Seamus straightened, rolling his shoulders as his pulse kicked up. "Let's continue with our training now," he said, voice firm.

Madeline followed suit. "Sure… if you can take this bracelet from me or destroy it, I'll let you sleep with me."

She lifted her left hand, the jade bangle catching the light as she spun it slowly on her wrist.

"What?!" His jaw went slack for a heartbeat. "Are you serious this time?"

"Completely." Her smirk sharpened. "I want to see if you can wield my power or not. You have my permission to attack."

"But only using arms and feet, bloodstyle and weapons are prohibited. How about it?" Seamus gives a condition that makes Madeline laugh.

"Fair enough."

He blinked at her boldness. Of course, she knew his power was tied to sex; he'd spent weeks teasing and hinting at her, trying to push that boundary.

But could he actually win this? He had rarely been able to even graze her in sparring. But trying and losing is better than nothing,

He switched his attributes to a combination of Isolde's and Leah's—the two highest from his harem—feeling strength and speed hum through his veins like a storm gathering.

"Alright then," he muttered, crouching low. "Don't regret this."

Madeline only tilted her head, fingers flexing. "Come take it from me, boy."

Seamus moved first. He stepped in and swung for her wrist. Madeline blocked easily, her arm snapping up to stop the hit.

Even when he had two combined attributes, her movement was still fast.

'Damn it, how strong is she?'

He went low, a quick hook to her ribs, but she shifted aside and countered with a palm strike that drove against his shoulder.

The hit stung but he stayed in close, hands moving fast, always reaching for the bracelet. His eyes could see her movement, but his body couldn't. Just like the destination he could never reach.

She turned with him, her movements neat and efficient. Each time his fingers came close to the jade she slipped out of reach.

Seamus ducked under a strike, trying to catch her from below. She kneed him in the stomach and he grunted, sliding back a step.

"You're stronger than before," Madeline said, "but not enough."

He didn't answer but lunged again, throwing a flurry of blows aimed at her head and arms. This time, he tried to concentrate his strength and speed in his hand, but still Madeline blocked each one, her eyes calm.

She caught his wrist and twisted, forcing him down. He rolled with it, pulling free and striking for the bracelet again.

Seamus's fingers brushed cool stone, but she ripped her hand back and shoved him across the ground.

"Tch! You really didn't want to lessen up even a little won't you?" He stood up and brushed the dirt off his body.

"Never." Madeline didn't even sweat, smiling, "My body isn't as cheap as any of the Velstarth members that gladly give it to you."

Seamus chuckled and shook his head, "Well, I paid with my blood."

Without warning, he came at her again, his movement was a blur. This time he mixed his attacks, low kicks and quick jabs, forcing her to guard different lines.

She parried but he saw her stance open for a heartbeat. He slammed his shoulder into her, driving them both off balance. His right hand closed on the bracelet.

For a moment he had it. He could rip it free or crush it. Madeline's expression sharpened.

Power burst from her like a wave and he was thrown back, slammed into the stone floor hard enough to crack it.

Pain shot through his ribs. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth. She stood over him, certain he was finished.

"You lost," she said.

Seamus laughed through the pain. "Did I?"

He opened his hand. Shards of jade slipped between his fingers, falling to the ground.

When she'd thrown him he'd clenched down, crushing the bracelet instead of holding it. Even battered, he forced himself upright, swaying on his feet.

Madeline stared, surprised for once. "You…"

"At least my effort to train you isn't wasted," she murmured.

"Also you cheat, you tell me no skill but you used once anyway." he shrugged while Madeline answered with a laugh.

She snapped her fingers. In an instant, the training ground dissolved. Seamus blinked and found himself in a room swathed in deep green and black, the same colours she always wore.

Heavy curtains muffled the light. It smelled faintly of sandalwood and something sweet, like old wine. He had never seen this place before.

"Come here, boy," Madeline's voice cut through the silence. "I'm ready."

He turned, and his breath caught. Madeline was already stretched across a vast bed, bare skin against dark sheets, her long hair spilling like ink around her.

She propped herself on one elbow, fingers lazily tracing patterns on the mattress as if inviting him closer.

Her eyes, half-lidded, held the same calm control she'd shown in the fight, but now wrapped in something far more dangerous.

Seamus swallowed hard, his heartbeat loud in his ears. After weeks of teasing and rejection, this was real. He could finally have sex with her and finally get the power he'd been chasing.

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