Page 28 of Blood Sings (Beyond the Gloom #1)

I gripped the windowsill, the worn stone rough beneath my gloves. My fingers trembled, and I squeezed harder, willing the shaking to stop.

Seventy-six hours without synthetic blood.

Eyes closed, I inhaled from my stomach up to my chest and held the night air in. I can manage this . I’ve gone days without blood before.

But never this many. Never when it mattered so much. Never when every day pushed my body to new limits.

And Selena…

A pang of worry tightened my insides as I pictured her alone at home, curled up on the floor, fighting her own battle against the hunger. Or was this twisting sensation just my own craving? The two were becoming harder to distinguish.

I flexed my hands, and the leather creaked unnaturally loud in the quiet tower. My arms ached from the strain of holding on so tightly, but I couldn’t bring myself to let go. That windowsill was my anchor to reality, to control.

“Projector Tepes to Black Guild,” I called, extending my Blood Manipulation to its limits. “Enemies approach from the northeast.”

A searing cramp ripped through my stomach.

I bit back a groan, breathing through set jaws. Waves. Just waves. They’ll pass. But the vexing voice of reason whispered, Until they don’t.

The madness would come, and the hit would be catastrophic.

Moonlight spilled across the stone floor, drawing long, writhing shadows on the walls. On any other night, I might have appreciated the view—the star-speckled sky, the crescent moon. It was a perfect moon, the kind that inspired terrible love songs. Now, it only made me more aware of the passing time—and the outliers that moved below.

My eyes clawed at the inky sky, but each shadow mocked me, withering my hope. The vast darkness swallowed my silent screams. Where is that damn shipment? Dread pooled in my gut, cold and heavy.

Terraknight had sent my letter to Commander Enescu two weeks ago. Surely, my godfather knew we’d be out of HemaTech-9 by now.

My heart raced, pumping the last dregs of synthetic blood through my system. What if it never comes? What if Selena and I lose control?

What the hell would I tell Harbinger when the bloodlust kicked in?

It was too late to send us away now. I might last another day, two if I isolate myself, but Selena… She’d hunt them down, and I’d be too weak to stop her.

They’ll have to kill us.

The thought turned my legs to jelly, but part of me welcomed it. Better that than becoming the monster Lev and Elena tried to make me.

I forced myself to take another deep breath, tasting the breeze on my tongue. Focus on the mission. Just get through tonight.

“The enemy’s primary force is a mix of Ignises and Nebulas,” I continued, relieved as my voice held steady. “With a Limus and Glacies company on their—”

“I’ve confirmed their location, Projector,” Harbinger cut in, his voice sharp through the Harmonization. “We’re ready to intercept them at point ninety-seven. Focus on monitoring the perimeter.”

My anxiety vanished, replaced by a hot flash of irritation. My fangs ached, desperate to extend. I breathed slowly through my nose, willing my hammering heart to slow. Don’t snap. Don’t let him see how much the hunger is affecting you.

But all I could think about was how quickly I could sink my fangs into his neck. The image was so vivid—the warmth of his skin, the rush of his blood—that I had to physically shake it away.

“Cap, Ember’s in position,” Terraknight’s voice thundered through our link. My head throbbed as if goldminers were digging inside my skull with pickaxes.

“Pearl to Harbinger, I’m ready.”

I leaned against the window, waiting for the others to take their positions. Fourteen hundred yards stretched between me and the Black Guild. A safe distance. Enough time for them to run if… if the worst happened.

My gaze darted from the decaying staircase at my side to the gap in the wall. A tight squeeze, but a potential escape route if the Glacies snuffed me out and flew up the shaft.

Another spasm hit, bending me over in pain. I pressed my forehead against the cool stone jamb, waiting for it to pass.

Outside, Bethlen Fortress sprawled beneath a cobalt sky. Its red roofline zigzagged like a drunken serpent, drawing my attention to the haphazard stack of three towering stories. Ornate cornices, wrought iron balustrades, porticos, and battlements swam before my vision in a dizzying blend of Victorian and Wallachian Renaissance. I blinked hard, trying to focus, but it all blurred into a nightmare of brick and stone.

A flicker of movement caught my eye.

Dark shadows swarmed the Transylvanian hills, flooding the narrow cobblestone streets like a plague of locusts.

My knees buckled, and I clung to the windowsill to stay upright. “Harbinger,” I called, pulling up Sighisoara‘s old map on my Visor. “Have Ember change her location. Post her at three o’clock, two hundred yards from her current position.”

The Harmonization crackled with dead air. Harbinger’s silence pressed heavily on my already frayed nerves. Just as I was sure he was ignoring me, his hoarse voice broke through.

“We’ll confirm the location… Ember, can you see that point?”

“I’ll check—give me ten seconds.” Ember’s voice was tense. “Yeah, I can see it. Moving over there now.”

“The new position has higher ground and is opposite Pearl,” I explained. “They’ll both serve as vanguard. Ember will deceive the Stalkers in the early phases before you split up into individual confrontations.”

Terraknight chuckled. “So she’ll be the bait. Princess, you’ve got guts for such a pretty voice.”

“Nebulas and Ignises can’t attack on elevated terrain.” Another cramp twisted my insides. I breathed in and out, exhaling anguish. “Once she’s up there, they shouldn’t be able to reach her. If they change positions, the bank will provide cover—”

“Don’t get me wrong. It’s a good plan. Ain’t that right, Ember?”

To Terraknight, she answered eagerly, “I’ll do anything to help.” But when she addressed me, her tone turned sharp. “Did you find a new map or something? Must be convenient.”

I fought to keep my voice neutral. “It’s the map the Republic’s ground forces detailed at the war’s outset. Want me to share it with you later ?”

If we both survive this night. If the hunger doesn’t consume me first.

I glanced down the stairwell again, gouging the distance to the ground. Fourteen hundred yards had seemed like such a safe buffer when I chose this position. Now, with their glowing blue threads stretching in my mind, each one screaming prey , I wasn’t so sure.

Terraknight tsked. “Sure you wanna do that? You’d be divulging military secrets to traitors.”

This time, I didn’t hide my frustration. “What’s the point of having this information if we don’t use it?”

I’d unearthed the map from a dusty cardboard box in the Archives. How confidential could it be if no one had bothered to file it?

“Also, you are not traitors,” I rebuked. “If nothing else, I’ve never seen you that way.”

“Yeah, yeah—” Terraknight’s reply was cut short. “Shit. They’re coming.”

A feral roar split the night, shaking the tower to its foundations.

I staggered, my boots catching on the uneven stone. My fight-or-flight response kicked in, pumping adrenaline through my veins. Every nerve howled at me to run, to abandon this rundown deathtrap while my legs could still carry me.

I closed my eyes and reached out with my magic. The ties to Terraknight and Harbinger stretched taut, a tangled web of blue lightning. Their movements came in flashes—dodge, strike, retreat—a frenzied dance against the encroaching Stalkers.

“Open Transpectre via Harbinger,” I hissed through gritted teeth.

Pain exploded behind my eyes. Harbinger moved in a blur, too fast for me to follow. Cursing, I shifted Transpection to the others.

A mile to the east, a blinding flash lit up the sky, and heat seared the air as an Ignis hurled a Magma Lance across the city. The tower swayed. Chunks of masonry crashed around me.

I lurched. The window provided cover.

To the north, the Black Guild’s elemental fury tore through the streets. Buildings crumbled like sandcastles. Twin tornadoes ground against each other, clearing the mushroom of dust and smoke.

The battle moved into Citadel Park—a place once a modest grove now sprawling over fifteen hundred acres. Water jets arced over rooftops, flooding the roads, and fractured the Stalkers into smaller groups. Fire lanced between trees, igniting canopies like candle flames.

Another bestial roar, closer this time.

Ice shot through my veins. I didn’t consider myself a coward. Out of millions of purebloods, I was the second-longest survivor in the conscription zone—or third, counting Selena first. But this…

Desperate for a clearer view, I latched onto Phoenix’s perspective. Moonlight filtered through freshly budded leaves, illuminating her hand as she pricked her finger with the point of her sharp blade. A single drop of blood welled up.

My world went red.

Saliva pooled in my mouth. My fangs dropped, razor-sharp and aching.

No, no, no, no.

I doubled over, my left hand tightly pressed against my mouth, the right one scrabbling at the stone wall for support. The hunger roared louder than any beast outside, threatening to take over my senses, my duty, my very self.

I screamed internally. They need you. You can’t give in. Not now.

Phantom scents of cedarwood and toasted marshmallows—Phoenix’s smell—tricked my nose.

My stomach gnawed. I jerked my head, trying to clear the hallucination, but my grip on reality slipped by the second.

Through Phoenix’s eyes, I saw the forest transform into a deadly maze. The Limus’ sand magic infested every shadow, turning the terrain treacherous. A deafening crack split the air, and my heart soared into my throat. A massive blue spruce hurtled through the mist, straight at Phoenix.

Her pulse spiked, and mine raced to match it. Move.

Phoenix twisted, the massive trunk missing her by inches. She rolled to her feet in one fluid motion, fire igniting in her veins. Her hand slashed through the air and sketched a foot-wide archway. A perfect, pulsing sphere of blue energy bloomed from the sparks dancing on her fingertips.

One heartbeat. Two. Three.

The sphere erupted, unfurling into a spiral of green-blue flames.

Wow. So that’s Blazeorb.

An anguished cry pierced the mist—she hit the Nebula that had attacked her.

Phoenix bolted, weaving between gnarled trees, thorns tearing at her clothes. Each stray thorn that almost pierced her skin made me flinch.

Ahead, moonlight painted a small clearing silver. It beckoned like a beacon of hope, but in this situation, open spaces meant vulnerability.

I studied the map on my Visor, searching for another route for her to join the others, when the holo-screen blared in alarm. Two Ignises were closing in, but she couldn’t see them through the fog.

“Get away from there, Phoenix!” I shouted, already vaulting over the rotten banister and plunging into the dark maw of the stairwell.

Wind whipped my face, the ground rushing up to meet me. Floors blurred past. My stomach rolled from hunger and vertigo. I tried to angle my body, but my limbs felt leaden, unresponsive. Normally, I’d land this with flying colors.

But not today. Not with my blood level running so low.

I hit hard, my right leg twisting with a vomit-inducing crack. White-hot agony exploded through my knee and robbed my lungs of their air. The world darkened, dissolving into a sea of bright, tiny stars.

I clamped my jaw shut, swallowing a scream. Through the haze of tears, I forced my attention back to Phoenix through our link. The scene on the holo-screen sharpened with horrifying clarity.

Where the map had shown solid ground, Phoenix now thrashed in a boggy mire. Murky water lapped at her thighs, rising with each desperate movement. Her hands scrabbled at the sodden earth, grasping for roots or stones—anything to halt her slow descent.

Mashing my teeth together, I popped my knee back and staggered to my feet. I burst from the tower, stumbling on weak legs. Every step was torture. My muscles screamed for blood I couldn’t provide.

I moved on momentum and terror, catching myself against a tree, bark cutting into my shoulder. “Dammit!” I snarled and pushed off.

I’d always healed fast, so this… this bone-deep weakness was new. Terrifying. For the first time, I truly feared I might not make it before sunrise.

But Phoenix needed me. So, I ran, cursing my frailty with every faltering step.

In front of her, a mound of reeds erupted in billowing steam. Dirt and vegetation sloughed off like melting wax, revealing nightmare made flesh. Twin behemoths rose, their steel-gray skin pulsing with inner fire. Twisted horns, glowing orange at the tips, curved from massive skulls.

Four eyes, bright as molten metal, locked onto Phoenix—onto me.

Phoenix’s terror slammed through our connection, so raw it nearly brought me down. I watched, helpless, as she lashed out with her magic. Unearthly shrieks filled the air as the Ignises recoiled. But the balaur’s power faltered. Steam dissipated. And she fell back with a splash, sinking faster.

A horrible growl shook the forest. Harbinger. “Phoenix!”

The hair on my nape stood up. A dry-stone wall materialized out of nowhere. I dove through, sharp edges slicing my arms. The blood loss slowed me, but desperation drove me on. Downhill, my legs found new speed.

I leaped the Small Tarnava Creek, my lungs burning as I charged uphill toward the forest. Dread squeezed my stomach. My pulse echoed in my ears. As erratic and fast as any mortal’s.

Phoenix yelled, defeated, “I can’t get out! I’m scared!”

I’m coming. Just hold on.

The Ignis’s twisted face contorted, its black tongue flicking out. Beside it, its twin’s eyes flared as lava bubbled up in its maw, blazing like a captured sun.

“No…” her cry reached me now. “I don’t want to die.”

Something snapped inside me. I crashed to my knees at the glade’s edge, unleashing my magic with a savage roar. Every inch of me screamed as I poured what little energy I had left into the assault. Darkness edged my vision, my skin on fire as if someone flayed me open, vein by vein, layer by layer.

I hissed through the agony and slammed my consciousness into the Ignises’ hollow minds. I seized their putrid blood, commanding it to burst.

Rotten gore erupted from their eyes, their howls fracturing the night. Magma balls dissolved in their throats.

I screamed louder, clenching my splitting head between my hands. Every drop of their blood I spilled tore another piece of me apart.

Phoenix dragged herself from the marsh inch by inch, mud masking her freckles. Her clear, drift-glass green eyes widened in terror, fixed on something behind me.

A twig snapped—too close. Every instinct begged me to turn, but I couldn’t risk losing my grip on the Ignises. One moment’s lapse and Phoenix would die.

I should have looked. Should have prepared.

Tree-trunk arms crushed my middle. Ribs snapped like sticks.

The Nebula yanked me back, its roar deafening in my ear. My hold on the Ignises vanished as I clawed at the oozing limbs, desperate to break free. It squeezed harder, trying to pull me into its putrid body. Acidic drool stretched from its maw, sizzling on the ground and coating me. Burned grass and rotting flesh assaulted my nose.

I clung to awareness even as the world began to dim. My muscles quivered, fighting its grip. More bones crunched. Agony, with a capital A, coiled around my spine. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t fight.

The Ignises summoned their magic. Two massive magma balls hurtled toward Phoenix.

I called her name, but nothing came out.

She neutralized the first one with a Blazeorb. The second struck her square in the chest. She flew back, spine cracking against a tree before she slumped to the ground.

Our connection went silent.

Harbinger roared, and the sound shook the forest. Grief and thunder rolled and combined, nearly bursting my eardrums as my hearing threatened to fail me next.

“Phoenix…? Damn it!”

“Harbinger, I’m going to retrieve her. Buy me a minute—”

“Don’t, Pearl… They’re using her body as a decoy. It’s an ambush.”

The voices hammered in my skull. Tears or Nebula saliva streaked my face—I couldn’t tell which. Waves of crushing pressure pulsed through my body.

I screamed until my throat was raw, my awareness fracturing like glass under a hammer blow.

I’d never truly hated my immortal lineage until now. We might be hard to kill, but we weren’t immune to pain. And this… this was beyond endurance.

A pool of crimson spread beneath me. Even with blood, recovery would take a whole day. A day I didn’t have, with sunrise mere hours away.

The Nebula’s grip tightened, grinding my shattered bones. I had no strength left to scream. Darkness beckoned, promising sweet oblivion.

I tried to swallow, but it hurt too much, and I gave up. Just let me pass out already. My head felt impossibly heavy, as if someone had filled it with rocks.

“Aurora!” a voice called. Familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t…

The Nebula twisted, and something in my spine shattered with a sound like splintering ice. The pain vanished. My body numbed, weightless.

Darkness rushed in, thick—suffocating.

Phoenix… I’m sorry. I-I tried…

Then, nothing.