Chapter 4

Mia sat on the floor, her face turning from pale to ashen. She gripped the hem of her silk dress so tightly that her nails cracked, blood seeping from the broken tips.

Desperate, she crawled forward on her knees and clung to Manfred's pant leg like it was her last lifeline.

"Father, save me. I can't go down there. That testing ritual will kill me. Bishop Burton is famous for being strict and impartial. If he sees through me..."

Mia's voice was shrill and hoarse, her sobs shaky and full of cracks, betraying her panic.

Manfred's forehead veins popped as he kicked Mia aside with savage force. Her petite frame crashed into the bedpost, the impact echoing with a heavy thud.

But he didn't spare a single thought for his usually pampered youngest daughter.

His sinister gaze locked onto the silver bloodletting knife buried in the fireplace ashes, then slowly shifted to Carly, who stood there cool and unruffled.

Manfred growled, his voice barely above a whisper, dripping with venom, "Carly, this is not the time for your attitude. Grand Duke Morton's carriage is already here.

"If Mia fails the blood test, the whole Buckley family will be swinging from the gallows in the castle square before sunset. You're a Buckley too, so be smart and slit your wrist right now!"

Rosemary finally snapped out of her shock. She scrambled over to the fireplace, not caring about the burning embers, and snatched up the silver bloodletting knife.

Her hair came loose in the struggle, a few strands of white hanging by her cheeks, making her look like a madwoman.

Rosemary shrieked, waving the silver knife at Carly, "Yes, bleed her. Do it now. Just pour your blood into Mia's mouth right now.

"If her body is full of Holy O-Type blood, the testing ritual won't find out at all. Carly, you bitch, are you trying to get us all killed?"

Faced with a pair of rabid hounds ready to tear her apart, Carly didn't flinch. Instead, she pulled a cold, mocking smirk.

She extended her right hand and, with effortless grace, pointed at the tall, tightly shut window.

Outside, the once-silent Black Forest was now swarming with hundreds, maybe thousands, of massive vampire bats. Their eyes burned crimson in the night.

As a shrill horse's cry echoed, a lavish carriage drawn by six nightmare horses, pure black, not a single stray hair, rolled to a stop in the castle courtyard.

On the carriage curtains, a giant bat with outstretched wings was embroidered in gold thread and obsidian, the exclusive crest of Grand Duke Morton, the most terrifying among the thirteen pure-blood clans.

"Father, Mother, do you really think you're that smart? Or are you just forgetting how sharp a pure-blood Grand Duke's nose is?"

Carly's voice was icy calm, but every word hit them like a hailstorm, smashing right through their nerves.

"Grand Duke Morton has been ruling the night for a thousand years. His sense of smell is so sharp that he could pick up a drop of pure blood from miles away.

"If I start bleeding in this room, the holy scent of Holy O-Type blood will flood the entire castle in seconds.

"When Grand Duke Morton walks in, the first thing he notices is someone upstairs bleeding out, while Mia's sitting right in front of him with someone else's fresh blood still in her mouth.

"Do you really think he'll compliment Mia on her appetite, or will he just crush your skulls with a flick of his psychic power?"

Manfred swayed, his face draining of all color.

Carly didn't stop. Her gaze landed on the silver knife in Rosemary's hand, still smudged with black ash, and she went on, "And let's not forget, Bishop Burton from the Holy Court has been in charge of law and judgment for years.

"The 'Eye of Truth' he brings can see through any illusion or disguise. If Mia drinks my blood now, the two different sources of power will clash violently inside her.

"The testing ritual will instantly turn black-purple, which is the color of deception.

"Not only will Mia die, but the Buckley family will be charged with 'desecrating holy blood and deceiving a pure-blood Grand Duke.'

"That's a crime so severe, you'll be skinned alive, your bones picked clean, and your soul roasted in hellfire for forty-nine days straight."

Rosemary's hand shook, and the silver knife clattered to the floor again. She turned to Manfred, her face etched with despair and fear.

"What are we supposed to do now, my lord? Mia only managed to hide it before because those clueless low-level vampires in our territory never caught on, but this time, it's Grand Duke Morton!"

Mia huddled at the foot of the bed, trembling uncontrollably.

She just couldn't figure out why Carly, who never talked back, never resisted, and always sacrificed everything for the family, suddenly became so quick-witted and biting.

Mia also wondered how Carly knew the blood clan's rules and the ways of the powerful so well.

Mia had no clue that Carly had spent three years locked away in a dark, damp dungeon, suffering inhuman torment and losing every drop of blood. Those brutal rules were carved into her bones.

"We're out of time."

Carly smoothed out her wrinkled skirt. She wore a simple dress that was so faded that it was almost white.

It looked nothing like Mia's fancy nightgown, dripping with pearls and lace.