Chapter 27-A grave so deep

Chapter 27: 27-A grave so deep

A few nights back~

Luan remained standing in the middle of the stone corridor long after the mess, and Princess Varitreya disappeared from sight with Maisa in her arms.

The cheers that usually followed the end of an arena match never came. Instead, whispers spread like wildfire through the academy.

A redblood had been carried away by the future queen herself. The image replayed in every vampire’s mind until it became impossible to separate fact from rumour.

Luan slowly clenched his fists. "This wasn’t supposed to happen."

But after easedropping outside and hearing the truth, he couldn’t help but feel hurt. A mate bond, all four of them were mated to Maisa!

He walked away with a heavy heart. The abandoned duelling courtyard behind the first-year combat arena had become the unofficial gathering place for students who didn’t want professors overhearing them.

Night ivy climbed the academy walls, casting long shadows over the cracked flagstones. There, five blackbloods were already waiting.

Fenwick paced restlessly back and forth. Brylle sat on a broken pillar with his face buried in his hands. Joam continuously rubbed his wrist where the poisonous blood had been drawn, feeling as though the wound still existed. In his mind, it did. And Zaden, the quietest among them, looked paler than sheet of paper.

The moment Luan appeared, all four straightened as though they had caught sight of their last ray of hope.

"Luan!" They called out.

Brylle stepped forward towards him. "You finally came."

"We’re finished," Joam stated. A plain truth that had become known to them since the Princess took Maisa in her arms. "This is your fault," he put all the blame onto Luan.

Luan stopped several metres away and folded his arms. "My fault?" He asked in shock.

Fenwick almost laughed from stress. "You told us she’d be an easy target," he let out. "You said humiliating one redblood would make Addessa notice you, and as your friends, we jumped in to help you."

"You never mentioned the Princess would jump into the arena!" Zaden spoke up. His blood was boiling, and it made him lose his temper.

Joam swallowed. "We poisoned someone protected by the future queen. The crown damn it! Do you know where that leaves us after what we’ve done!"

Brylle looked physically ill after his friends let out a truth that was burning deep in his chest. "I can’t sleep. I can’t drink blood with the knots in my stomach... and the thought of House Varitreya coming after me is..." he became breathless. "I am dead, man, dead. For you, I have dug a grave for myself so deep that not even the devil can fingers my corpse."

"Exactly!" Fenwick joined in. "What if Princess Varitreya executes us?"

"What if Lady Challan supports her?" Joam felt a tightness in his every muscle. The blood in his veins went cold. "My father already heard about the incident. And he’s called me home. Goodness knows what kind of scolding and punishment I’ll have to face when I get home."

"Lucky you, Lad," Zaden said. "My mother refuses to answer my calls," he added.

"Can you blame her?" Brylle asked, "We might’ve just made our families enemies of the throne. Can our parents handle that?"

Silence settled heavily. Luan studied each of them. Only now did he truly understand how badly things had spiralled.

These weren’t weak vampires. They belonged to respected blackblood houses. Normally, none of them would fear another student. But the person they had offended wasn’t merely another student. She was Princess Varitreya Vancres, the future ruler of vampirekind.

One word from her could erase generations of privilege for them and send their families to the pits of despair.

Luan exhaled slowly. "Relax, all of you. Just calm down."

Four heads snapped toward him. Fenwick blinked. "...Relax?"

"Are you insane?" Joam asked as though he’d heard the biggest joke of a lifetime. "Calm down? Relax?"

Brylle threw his hands in the air. "That is very easy for you to say. The worst that will happen to you is a slap on the wrist. But the rest of us..."

"Yes, man... now is not the time for your jokes," Zaden added onto what everyone else said.

Luan shrugged. "I’ll handle it. So go back to your rooms and relax," he said calmly. "I have given you my word and intend to keep it. You are all my friends... no, best friends, and I won’t let anything happen to either of you."

The blackbloods stared at him for a long time without saying a word. They hesitated to trust him. It was the same trust and friendship that got them into the mess they were in.

Joam frowned. "Handle it... how?"

"Jo, buddy, my family still has influence," he spoke casually, almost lazily. "My father advises Her Majesty. He’s part of her council, so Princess Varitreya has to give me some face," he added.

"Stepfather," Joam found himself correcting. "Everyone in Veris knows that your biological father was killed by the female head of the Everheart hunting family!"

Luan’s face darkened. Hatred burned in his heart when he was reminded of his father’s death and the responsible party. Regardless, he towards them confidently and continued.

"My mother sits on the Blood Council. It’s the second power after the royal family. So even on that front, Varitreya is bound to let this little mistake slide, right?"

"And your sister is one of the Princess’s closest council members," Zaden tried to find the silver lining, a sliver of hope that they might make it out of that mess in one piece.

Luan’s lips curled into the familiar charming smile that had won over nearly every student in Veris Academy. "And Varitreya has always treated me well."

Not warmly or affectionately, but kindly enough. Enough that he believed she would hear him out.

"I’ll smooth things over with her for you, guy," he decided. "You did this for me, and I’ll never forget that.

Brylle released a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. "You really think she’ll forgive us?"

"If I ask," he said confidently. "She will. I don’t see why she’d make things difficult for me."

Fenwick looked unconvinced. "And Addessa?"

Luan’s smile softened. "I’ll deal with Addessa, too."

The mere mention of her name made something warm bloom inside his chest. His admiration for Addessa Challan had begun years ago.

Every rejecti, cold glance, and dismissive answer had only made him admire her more.

Zaden placed both hands on Luan’s shoulders. "We’re trusting you, lad. You must get this handled as soon as possible, or we are finished."

"If this fails... our families won’t survive the consequences," Fenwick let out.

Luan nodded once. "It won’t fail," he assured them.

One by one, the four blackbloods finally relaxed. Their shoulders lowered, their breathing steadied, and hope returned to their eyes.

After thanking him repeatedly, they disappeared into different corridors.

Soon, Luan stood alone. His confident smile slowly faded. "Please don’t let me be wrong," he prayed to whatever dirtiest lingered close by.