I didn't stop there. The anger, panic, and nerves were too much. It caused me to lose control.
I pulled the head clean off and carefully caught the body before it fell to the ground and alerted anyone else. Hauling it over my shoulder, I made my way down. Blood was spilling behind me, but at this point, I didn't care.
Something was dangerously wrong here, and if I didn't hurry, I was afraid that Cedar would become one of the bodies they mentioned.
The smell hit me immediately. It might not be obvious to those without a super sense of smell, but I could make out the dozens, if not hundreds, of dead bodies stuffed in the cells.
Quickly, I put the guard in the first one, trying not to let myself get too distracted by the mountains of dead vampires.
They had been slaughtered. Their necks slashed. Body parts pulled apart. Arteries cut.
They wanted every single drop.
Special blood.
Most of the wounds seemed to have been made to get as much blood out as possible. I walked down the cells, pausing at one of them when I made out a vampire I had seen during my first day in the castle. It was a family member.
Actually…
My heart dropped into my stomach. A lot of them were either guards or vampires from the Castle family. Some even part of Caspian’s present.
The disgust was almost unbearable.
Why is he doing this?
But the more I thought about it, I realized that I hadn't seen many feeders around. A handful maybe, but there should have been dozens for a family this large.
Is he drinking vampire blood instead?
Impossible.He had to be doing something else with it, but I didn’t have time to think about it now.
Instead, I kept walking, going further into the dungeons than I'd ever been before. I followed the hallway until it started slanting down and turning.
That was when I heard it.
Small, melodic whispers, barely audible, muffled by the thick dungeon walls.
They came from the same direction as the bond. I kept going but came to a sudden stop when I reached the door. Krae was on it, reaching for me, and my breath was stolen from me when I felt the power of whatever was behind it.
Cedar is in there as well.
The bond pulsed, pulling me closer.
I walked forward with careful steps, my hand reaching out to touch the carvings on the door. Power zapped at my fingertips.
It told me to back away. To run and hide.
But I wouldn’t. Not this time.
There would be no more running and no more hiding. I needed to face what was in there, so I pushed it, needing to use more strength than I anticipated.
Inside was a large, circular room. It was huge, and light was streaming in from the top as the sun started rising. Cedar was right near the entrance, unconscious. I lunged toward her, taking her in my arms and pulling her to me.
Her skin is so cold.
I held her tight, rubbing my hands up and down her arms in an attempt to warm her up. She didn’t have any visible markings, but I could tell her power had somehow been zapped from her.
She stirred but didn't fully wake.
