Eternal Huntress

Chapter 31

The next night arrived far too quickly. As the sun set, casting a blood-red hue over the city skyline, I found myself standing next to Alex, both of us tense, our gazes fixed on the horizon. Elias was behind us, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his eyes downcast. The weight of what we were about to do was like a boulder pressing down on all of us. No one spoke, the air thick with the knowledge of how dangerous this mission was.

"We shouldn't trust him," Alex muttered under his breath, his gaze hard and focused on the city ahead.

I glanced at him, understanding his frustration. After everything that had happened with Elias, the idea of walking straight into a meeting of ancient, powerful vampires with him as our guide felt like walking into a trap. But we didn't have any other options.

"We don't have to trust him completely," I whispered back. "But we need his intel. If what he says is true, we can stop this before it spirals out of control."

Alex's jaw clenched, and I could see the battle raging in his eyes. He hated this as much as I did. But beneath his anger, I could sense the fear—fear of losing me again, of failing to protect what we'd fought so hard for. He had every right to be cautious. But we both knew we couldn't turn back now.

Elias pushed himself off the wall, walking toward us. His face was unreadable, but there was something different in his eyes, something more resolute. "The meeting is in an old cathedral on the outskirts of town," he said quietly. "It's mostly underground, hidden from human sight. They'll be expecting me to show up."

Alex's eyes narrowed. "And how do we know they won't kill us the moment we walk in?"

Elias met Alex's gaze without flinching. "You don't. But they want to recruit me—keep me on their side. That gives us an advantage. They won't strike unless they feel threatened."

I could feel the tension between the two of them, like a rope pulled too tight. It wouldn't take much for it to snap. "We need to focus," I said, stepping between them. "We don't have time for this. We go in, we listen, and if we see an opportunity, we take it."

Elias nodded, his face grim. "We'll have to be careful. These vampires... they're not like the ones you've faced before. They're old—ancient. Stronger than Gabriel, more calculated. They'll see through any deception."

A chill ran down my spine at his words. I had thought Gabriel was bad enough, but the idea of facing vampires even more powerful than him made my stomach turn. I had felt how ruthless Gabriel could be, and now we were about to face those who had controlled him.

"We can handle it," Alex said firmly, his voice low but steady. "We don't need your warnings."

I reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. He was right—we had fought our way through worse. But this was different. This wasn't just about survival. This was about preventing a catastrophe that could destroy everything we'd worked for.

We prepared in silence. Elias gave us the details we needed: the layout of the cathedral, the number of vampires expected, the best way to approach without drawing too much attention. Every word he spoke felt like another brick in the wall between us, but there was no turning back now.

As we moved through the city streets, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, like shadows were closing in on us from every corner. The tension between Alex and Elias was palpable, a constant undercurrent threatening to explode at any moment. But for now, they kept their focus on the task at hand.

We reached the outskirts of the city, the streets growing quieter as we moved further from the bustling heart of the town. The cathedral loomed in the distance, a massive, crumbling structure that had been abandoned for decades. Its stone walls were covered in ivy, and its spires jutted up into the darkening sky like skeletal fingers reaching for the stars.