Chapter 122: The Real Cassandra
Sebastian~
Six Hours Earlier
I sat alone, fingers drumming against my knee, dressed in my favorite black three-piece suit—silk lapels, gold cufflinks, not a wrinkle in sight. Still, I felt like a wreck inside.
I had barely touched the blood in the crystal glass beside me. Vintage AB-negative, imported straight from our labs in the Alps. Smooth, sweet, with a hint of spice. It tasted like ash on my tongue.
Luca and Amelia were still out searching. Every second that passed without news tightened the vice in my chest. Cassandra—no, Brielle—was still out there. And if she really was her, then everything I thought I knew was about to collapse like a bad soufflé.
The lounge was deathly quiet—until a soft, almost apologetic knock disrupted the silence.
I straightened in my seat, brows furrowing. That wasn’t the knock of someone eager. It was hesitant, uncertain. "Enter," I called, voice smooth, steady. Not a trace of the storm swirling beneath my surface.
The door creaked open and three vampires stepped in. Two young women, couldn’t be more than a hundred years old, probably turned around the same time. Their blonde curls and wide, terrified eyes practically screamed fledgling. The man with them was older—at least three centuries—gray in the beard, shoulders squared with the confidence of someone who’d survived more than his fair share of bloodbaths.
All three bowed low. "Lord Sebastian," the man greeted respectfully, voice gravelly.
I gave them a slow nod. "Speak."
The older man stepped forward, his hand brushing the back of one of the girls in a reassuring gesture. "Forgive us, my lord. We heard you were here. And we heard you’re searching for... the vampire hunter. Cassandra."