After a while, they managed to regroup in an alley on the complete opposite side of the city from the compound, all three of them catching their breath.
Irsted was still likely fighting sowhere near the compound. With his massive build and reckless attitude, it was almost impossible for any vampires nearby to miss him.
Not that they were worried—he seed to be enjoying himself a bit too much for their concern to matter.
"So... what do we do with this one?" Corven asked, still carrying the heir. Her unconscious body rested neatly in his arms, her breathing shallow but steady.
"It’s too dangerous to deliver her to the Baroness right now," Trish replied, eyes flicking down the alley’s length. "We should wait until tomorrow. Most of the people who saw our faces are dead, but still—we can’t just walk around with you cradling her like a prize."
"What if we put her in a sack?" Rose suggested casually, as if it was the most reasonable idea in the world.
Corven blinked, then gave a strained laugh. "Yeah... I don’t think that’s an option. If she really is as important as I think, roughing her up like that’s a one-way ticket to getting all of us executed."
Trish chuckled at that, taking another quick glance toward the main street, scanning for any unwanted tails or lurking figures.
"Can you two take care of her for now?" she asked. "Things need to cool down a bit before we do anything else. and Irsted can’t risk carrying her around after the ss he just made... Baroness’ orders or not, it’ll draw too much heat."
"Up for it?"
Corven nodded without hesitation. It was a smart plan—and it gave him ti to ask more questions, especially now that they had the heir in their hands. Also, there was sothing else he’d almost forgotten.
"By the way... Can you spare more of those net arrow things? I kinda used mine up."
Trish raised a brow, clearly unimpressed but not exactly annoyed. "Those are expensive, you know? What about after we wrap this up properly?"
"Fair enough." Corven shrugged. "Let’s et back here tomorrow then?"
"Yeah, sa spot." Trish gave a short nod, then peeked toward the street again.
With a final wave, she turned and rged with the crowd, disappearing among the passersby with practiced ease.
As the two remaining figures stood in the quiet alley, Rose turned to Corven. "So... where do we take her?"
"Let’s bring her to that establishnt we found before," he replied.
Rose raised an eyebrow. "Won’t that be suspicious?"
"Maybe," Corven admitted. "But if this really involves the Baroness, no one’s gonna get involved that easily. Vampires in this city don’t poke their noses where they don’t belong."
They moved quickly, cutting through the streets like a pair of alley cats. Corven kept the heir’s pale features hidden beneath his cloak, while Rose walked ahead, drawing attention away with her casual stride and confident posture.
Fortunately, no one stopped them. If they looked suspicious, nobody seed interested in doing anything about it. Maybe the chaos near the compound had worn everyone out—or maybe fear was doing its job.
Back at the establishnt, they entered through the side and headed straight to the bartender. Corven adjusted the heir slightly in his arms to keep her face concealed.
"We need another room for the night," he said, keeping his tone low but steady.
The bartender glanced up, smirking when he noticed the new girl slumped in Corven’s arms.
"Oh...? Up for so more fun already?" he teased, eyes narrowing with amusent.
Corven let out a half-laugh, more of an exhale than a chuckle. He didn’t have ti to explain and honestly didn’t care about correcting the misunderstanding.
"Yeah. Sothing like that."
"Sa room as last night," the bartender said, sliding a key across the counter.
"Thanks."
Corven tossed a small pouch of silver coins onto the counter before heading upstairs, Rose following close behind.
This ti, the second floor was rcifully uneventful. No shadows lunging at them, no cursed doors or strange phenona—just silence. Normalcy. For once, it was exactly what they needed.
Inside the room, Corven carefully laid the heir onto the bed. She was cold to the touch but not deathly—her skin smooth and pale, like porcelain under moonlight.
Both of them stared at her for a mont.
"She’s really beautiful, isn’t she?" Rose said quietly.
"I can’t really argue with that," Corven replied, his tone almost thoughtful. "She’s absolutely stunning."
Rose gave him a side glance. "Didn’t expect you to be that blunt."
"With everything we’ve been through tonight?" Corven gave a tired laugh. "Being shy isn’t exactly high on my list right now."
But as he allowed himself a mont to breathe, a more pressing concern entered his mind.
The job wasn’t marked complete yet. No confirmation, no reward window, no signal from the codex. That made sense—it probably wouldn’t trigger until she was delivered to the Baroness.
But then ca the second question—the more imdiate one:
What were they supposed to do with sleeping beauty until then?
As they settled into the small room, the contrast to the hellish compound made it feel almost peaceful. Too peaceful. It was a strange, quiet calm... until the girl stirred.
She shifted slowly on the bed, body moving weakly, almost like she was regaining consciousness for the first ti in years. One of the straps of her camisole slipped off her shoulder, exposing smooth, pale skin.
Then, slowly, she sat up.
She looked like soone who had just woken up from the world’s worst shift—disoriented, exhausted, and a little lost.
"W-where am I?" she asked, her voice soft—almost unnaturally so.
There was sothing in the way she spoke. It wasn’t just her tone—it was how effortlessly it cut through the room, delicate yet piercing. Whether it was her natural charm or so passive vampiric ability, it worked.
Corven and Rose both froze for a second, caught off guard—not by what she said, but how she said it.
Either way... she was awake.
And things were about to get a lot more complicated.
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