Chapter 5

Ivy's POV

I forced myself to stay calm, scanning every detail of the luxurious room. The bedroom was exquisitely decorated, but something felt deeply wrong—the windows were sealed shut, their glass coated with dark protective film on the inside.

I was examining the door when the handle suddenly began to turn. My pupils constricted sharply. Someone was coming in. I immediately abandoned the door and lunged for the window.

I pushed hard against the frame, but it wouldn't open fully—just enough to reveal a semicircular balcony about three feet away, attached to the adjacent room. Behind me, the door lock clicked loudly. I had no choice. Taking a deep breath, I launched myself through the opening.

As I jumped, my coat snagged on a metal hook protruding from the window frame, the fabric tearing with a sharp rip that threw my body off balance. I barely managed to grab the ornate iron railing with both hands, and when my feet hit the stone surface, my left shoulder slammed hard into the ground.

Pain exploded through my body, the impact tearing open old scar tissue, and I could feel warm blood beginning to seep through my work shirt. I bit down hard on my lip to keep from crying out and quickly scrambled into the shadowy corner of the balcony.

I pressed myself into the dead angle of the balcony and heard heavy footsteps and rough cursing from the room behind me. "Damn it, the window's open! She jumped!"

A man in black leaned out the window, looking down. "Bloody hell, check the garden below!"

The footsteps retreated rapidly. I tried twisting the balcony door handle—locked. Looking around desperately, I noticed a rusted iron ladder attached to the side of the balcony leading downward—an abandoned old fire escape that seemed to lead to the estate's underground levels.

Gritting my teeth against the pain in my shoulder, I grabbed the freezing, rusted ladder and began climbing down. The metal groaned under my weight, and I was terrified it would give way at any moment. The bitter wind carried stray snowflakes that stung my face, and every time my left shoulder bore weight, it felt like the wound was being torn wider.

At the ladder's end, I found a small door, slightly ajar. I pushed it open and stumbled into a narrow stone corridor. Above me, I could hear the men shouting again—they must have discovered there was no body in the garden and resumed their search.

I felt my way forward along the completely dark passage, my hands pressed against rough, damp stone walls. My feet found uneven stone steps, and I nearly fell several times. The air grew colder with each step.

The passage seemed to lead deeper into the estate. I had no idea where it was taking me, only that I needed to get as far from my pursuers as possible.

At the end of the corridor, my hands found a heavy door. I pushed it open with all my strength and stumbled inside, falling to my knees in complete darkness. The air was thick with the smell of aged oak barrels and some kind of fermented liquid—this was the estate's wine cellar.

I groped my way forward in the darkness and accidentally kicked broken bottles, the sharp tinkling sound making me freeze instantly, holding my breath. In the distance, I could faintly hear my pursuers' voices, but they didn't seem to have found the passage entrance yet. I curled up behind a row of wine racks, trying to calm my racing heartbeat.

Just when I thought I was temporarily safe, I heard something in the darkness—an extremely faint sound, like fabric rustling, and breathing so quiet it was almost imperceptible.

I suddenly realized there was someone else in this room.

I froze, my pupils straining desperately to adjust to the darkness, but I couldn't see anything. That presence seemed to be somewhere deep in the cellar, quiet as if merged with the darkness itself. I couldn't even determine their location, only sense instinctively—I wasn't alone here.

I held my breath, not daring to make a sound, praying they hadn't noticed me.

The silence stretched for what felt like an eternity. Then, from deep in the darkness, came a man's voice—low, calm, with a strange textured quality. "You're bleeding."

My whole body jerked. The voice wasn't questioning or threatening, just stating a fact flatly, as if commenting on something trivial.

I didn't dare answer or move.

I heard extremely light footsteps in the darkness, and then something landed softly near my feet—it felt like cloth. The man's voice came again, still calm. "Press it against the wound. You're leaving a blood trail."

With trembling hands, I found the cloth and pressed it against my left shoulder wound. I couldn't see him at all, but I could sense him nearby. I wasn't sure who this man was, but at least he hadn't immediately called for help. A fragile hope flickered in my chest—perhaps he was just a servant hiding here, perhaps he wouldn't betray me.

Outside, footsteps grew closer, and I could clearly hear walkie-talkie static. "Thermal trace shows blood trail leading to the lower levels. Check the old wine cellar."

Terror shot through me as I realized they'd tracked my blood trail. I looked toward the invisible figure in the darkness and whispered desperately, "Please... don't tell them I'm here... I'll leave right away, just... please..."

No response came from the darkness. Only silence.

I bit my lip hard, nearly crying. I had no idea what he would do, could only wait in the darkness for fate's verdict. The footsteps had reached the door.

Just as the pursuers were about to push open the cellar door, the man in the darkness moved.

I heard his footsteps walking toward the entrance. My heart nearly stopped.

The cellar door was pushed open from inside, and hallway light flooded in instantly, stabbing my eyes painfully. I finally saw the man's silhouette clearly—silver-gray hair, tall slender frame, dark gray coat. He was the vampire Valerius who had sat in the head position last night. He stood with his back to the light, his face still hidden in shadow.

Outside the door, at least five or six guards were ready to rush in, but when they saw who had opened the door, they all stopped in unison and bowed their heads respectfully.

Valerius stood in the doorway, stepping aside to clear the path, and spoke in a low, commanding voice. "Take her back."