The night was thick, as if dipped in ink, drowning the city in darkness.
Lin Ruo Qing
ing's footsteps echoed in the narrow alleyway, quick and uncertain. Tonight marked her final shift at the café near campus. She had taken what she thought was a shortcut back to her dorm, only for her GPS to malfunction, leading her to an unfamiliar part of the city.
Everything around her was old—abandoned storefronts with shattered windows, decaying walls smothered by ivy, and cracked cobblestone paths that hadn't seen footfall in decades. The wind howled through the alley, sharp and damp, carrying with it the scent of rust and rot.
She wrapped her coat tighter around her body, urging herself forward. She had just decided to turn back when a scream pierced the silence.
It was a woman's scream—high-pitched, desperate, chilling.
Lin Ruoqing froze. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but her legs moved on their own, propelling her toward the sound.
At the end of the alley stood a tall, iron gate, partially open. Beyond it lay a courtyard cloaked in overgrown thorns and shadows. A crumbling mansion loomed in the distance, its spires piercing the night sky.
"Hello?" she called out hesitantly.
No answer. Only the rustling of dead leaves.
She took a step back—
A sudden gust of air brushed her neck.
She spun around—nothing.
And then, a hand.
Cold. Strong. It clamped over her mouth and pulled her into the shadows.
"Don't scream," a low, gravelly voice whispered in her ear. It wasn't a request. It was a command.
She struggled, but the grip was unyielding. She turned her head and met a pair of crimson eyes—glowing, inhuman, and ancient.
The man held her close, shielding her. She could feel the tension in his body, like a predator poised to strike.
Through the gate, she saw them.
A woman in a torn red dress, pinned to the ground. Two shadowy figures hunched over her, their mouths latched onto her neck. Blood poured down her collarbones, soaking into the earth.
Lin Ruo Qing's breath caught. Her knees buckled.
They were drinking her blood.
Vampires.
The stranger beside her moved. In a blink, he vanished from her side.
Screams. Then silence.
When she looked again, the attackers were on the ground—ripped open, unmoving.
The man stood above them, barely breathing hard. Blood painted his sleeves.
He turned slowly, his eyes meeting hers. There was no humanity in that gaze—only something... other.
"You shouldn't be here," he said softly, almost regretfully. "But since you are—"
He stepped toward her. She tried to crawl backward, but her limbs were frozen. Fear, or something deeper, held her in place.
He knelt beside her, taking her wrist gently.
"Let go!" she whimpered.
His fingers brushed her skin, eyes narrowing as if reading a language written in her veins.
"You smell familiar," he murmured. "Like something I lost... long ago."
Then he leaned down, and his lips brushed her skin.
A whisper of a kiss. But it burned.
His tongue flicked over the wound he made, tasting her blood.
And the world exploded.
Lin Ruo Qing's mind shattered. Images flooded in—
Flames licking a castle wall.
A throne room bathed in blood.
A girl with her face, dressed in white, screa