Chapter 54

• A sudden gust of wind swept past me, and I felt the splatter of something warm and thick against my face. My eyes fluttered open, locking with the lifeless stare of the blonde vampire. A heartbeat later, his head detached from his body, tumbling to the floor as the rest of him crumpled like a broken marionette. My hand trembled as I lifted it to wipe my face, realizing with a sickening jolt that the sticky substance was his blood.
• The air was pierced by brief, agonized screams from the other two vampires before an eerie silence fell. I was too drained to process the carnage or why I was still alive. The searing pain in my body dulled my thoughts, pulling me into a haze. My eyes closed again, unable to resist the pull of exhaustion.
• "Thalassa! Thalassa, open your eyes!" Hadrian’s voice broke through the fog, but I couldn’t be sure if it was real or a desperate figment of my fading mind.