The Villains Must Win-Chapter 107: Valerian Cross 27

The moment Stephany stepped into Lucien’s mansion, she felt the weight of a hundred hungry red eyes pressing down on her.

The grand hall was vast, lined with towering stone columns and adorned with chandeliers dripping with blackened crystals. The air was thick with the scent of blood and something darker—something ancient and predatory.

A hush fell over the room as she entered. The vampires that filled the hall, lounging on velvet sofas or draped over the railings of the grand staircase, turned their attention to her. Some smirked, their elongated fangs glinting in the dim candlelight. Others inhaled deeply, savoring her scent, their pupils dilating with raw hunger.

A single, venomous whisper slithered through the crowd.

"Human."

Stephany’s heartbeat hammered in her chest. She swallowed hard, but there was no masking the fear that clung to her like perfume. They could hear it. Smell it. The vampires stirred, shifting closer, their movements too smooth, too silent. One of them, a woman with silver hair and hollow black eyes, licked her lips.

"She smells divine," she purred.

A dark chuckle echoed from somewhere above. "How generous of you, Lucien, to bring us such a rare treat."

"A virgin too."

Stephany’s breath hitched as one of the vampires lunged—but in the next instant, a sickening crack echoed through the hall.

Lucien had moved faster than she could comprehend, his fingers digging into the vampire’s throat. The attacker’s feet barely touched the floor as Lucien lifted him effortlessly, his crimson eyes glowing with an eerie, deadly light.

"She is mine." His voice was like velvet, smooth but edged with steel. "Touch her, and I’ll rip your heart out."

The vampire choked, clawing at Lucien’s grip, but Lucien only tightened his hold before hurling him backward. The body crashed into a marble pillar, shattering it into dust.

The hall fell into silence.

One by one, the vampires withdrew, their heads dipping in reluctant submission. Even the boldest among them would not dare challenge Lucien directly.

But Stephany knew the truth.

They were still watching. Still waiting.

And if Lucien’s control slipped for even a moment, they would devour her.

=== ===

That night, she barely slept.

Lucien had given her a room—one that was grand and luxurious, with a bed draped in black silk and a balcony overlooking the frozen abyss beyond the castle walls.

But none of it comforted her. Not when she could still hear the soft, inhuman whispers through the corridors.

Not when she could feel them, lurking just beyond the door.

Lucien had told her she was safe. That as long as she stayed close to him, no one would dare touch her.

But even as she curled beneath the heavy blankets, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was not a guest here.

She was prey.

She thought everything would be fine as long as Lucien was around. But no matter how many times she told herself that, the feeling of unease wouldn’t go away.

It was only her first day in his castle, yet it already felt like she was trapped. Like this was just another beautiful cage, no different from the one she had left behind.

And for the first time, the thought crept into her mind—if she was going to be imprisoned, maybe it would have been better to stay where she knew she was safe. Back in her brother’s arms.

Stephany shook her head, pushing the thought away.

This was no time for regrets.

It was only her first day.

Everything would be fine.

As long as she had Lucien, nothing would happen to her.

Lucien was the master of this house.

No one would dare touch her.

No one . . .

=== ===

Back in Cross HQ.

The air around them shimmered as Evelyn completed the spell, the faint scent of burning herbs lingering in the cold. A pulse of energy rippled outward, and in the next blink, the world shifted.

Valerian felt the ground vanish beneath him. The familiar weight of gravity twisted, and for a split second, there was nothing—no sound, no air, just an endless, gut-wrenching void. Then, with a violent lurch, they were slammed back into existence.

Ice.

Everywhere.

Valerian’s boots crunched against the frozen ground as he steadied himself. Jagged glaciers loomed around them like the ribs of some ancient beast, their glassy surfaces reflecting the pale, ghostly light of a sky that never seemed to change. A storm raged in the distance, the winds howling like wailing spirits. The air was sharp, biting into his lungs with every breath.

"Damn," one of the hunters muttered, rubbing his arms. "Couldn’t you have teleported us somewhere warmer?"

Evelyn exhaled, her breath curling into mist. "Sure. Next time, remind me to find a sunny beach dimension for our daring infiltration mission."

Valerian shot her a look, unimpressed. "Enough. Where’s the castle?" frёeωebɳovel.com

They had already wasted a day just trying to locate the Blood’s Castle—and then lost another week gathering the necessary magical things and rare herbs to create a teleportation spell strong enough to get them inside.

Who knew what had happened to Stephany in all that time? Was she even still alive?

Evelyn closed her eyes for a brief moment, tuning into the lingering traces of Stephany’s energy. When she opened them again, they gleamed with a faint, eerie light. "North," she said. "Not far, but the terrain won’t be easy."

They moved swiftly, each step cautious. The dozen hunters accompanying them were some of CROSS’s best—silent, lethal, and disciplined. They didn’t need an army for this. Charging into a vampire stronghold with full force would be suicide. Their goal was to infiltrate, extract Stephany, and leave before anyone even realized they were there.

But Valerian knew better than to believe things would go that smoothly.

As they pressed forward, the icy wasteland stretched endlessly, the frozen ground cracking beneath their feet. The bitter wind howled through the air, cutting into their cloaks like knives.

Then, Evelyn suddenly stopped.

Valerian barely had time to react before she pushed him down just as a razor-sharp icicle shot past his head, embedding itself into the ice with a deafening crack.

"Ambush!"