Bound to the vampire I must kill-Chapter 65: Don’t leave me

Chapter 65

Rhydian didn’t answer her. The silence was his reply.

Karine gave a faint laugh, the kind laced with guilt. Though her eyes flickered with slight irritation and Rhydian wasn’t even looking her way to notice. "I guess I deserve that."

He still didn’t reply, she was the last thing on his mind at the moment.

They rode the rest of the way in silence, the forest thinning as the palace finally came into view. The black towers shimmered against the early noon sky, and a faint breeze rolled through the courtyard. Everything looked...normal.

Peaceful.

Rhydian exhaled softly, his shoulders loosening a little. Maybe he’d make it in time after all. But he was almost sure she would scold him for taking too long.

As he approached the palace gates, a guard spotted him and immediately rushed forward.

"Your Majesty!" the man shouted breathlessly. "Thank goodness you’re finally back, there’s an emergency, you need to come. Now!"

Rhydian’s heart skipped a bit. "What is it?"

The guard looked pale, sweat dotting his brow. "It’s the queen... She’s been attacked."

The words slammed into Rhydian like a freight carriage.

He stared at the guard, eyes wide, lips parting but no sound escaping.

Karine who was beside him gasped in shock, though her lips played a small satisfied smile.

"What did you just say?" he asked, voice low. Dangerous.

"She was poisoned. It was an assassin—we don’t know how bad it is, but she collapsed. They’re with her now, the royal physician and Ser Edmund, they...."

Rhydian was already moving, not even waiting for the guard to finish talking.

He didn’t walk, He ran. Through the palace gates, past startled courtiers and stunned nobles, his heart pounding so loud it drowned out everything else. And hell, he was a complete blur to all eyes that managed to see him.

His blood felt cold. His chest tight. No way, this had to a lie right?

This couldn’t be happening. Seraphina was a fucking assassin herself, why would she get attacked and poisoned? She was fine! He kept telling himself.

He reached the physician’s chamber and slammed the door open with enough force to rattle it off its hinges.

"Where is she!?" he asked with a heavy voice,his breath ragged.

Every head turned.

Seraphina lay on the table, limp and deathly still, her skin ashen and her lips tinged blue. Tubes of herbal extracts lay scattered, blood-stained cloths and salves tossed aside in a flurry of desperation. Edmund stood to one side, hands covered in blood and sweat, while the physician hovered over her with trembling fingers.

The moment Rhydian saw her, his world stopped.

"No..." he whispered. His knees nearly buckled, but he surged forward, shoving past the attendants.

"What happened to her?!" he demanded, his voice cracking.

Edmund stepped aside, face grim. "Someone, she was poisoned, not through any injury and not through food either. She collapsed shortly after the assassin escaped. We’ve tried everything—"

"You let this happen!?" Rhydian’s roar made the walls shake. "How...how did no one stop this!?"

"Your Majesty," the physician said, his voice measured but strained, "I’m afraid there’s no way, this poison was made specifically to kill the victim mercilessly, it has no antidote. The queen won’t survive this one."

Rhydian’s breath caught.

"No antidote?" The physician nodded.

Rhydian quickly recalled the power of his blood, his blood was the only thing that might save her at this point. Without hesitation, Rhydian yanked his sleeve back and grabbed the nearest blade.

"Everyone. Out."

"But, your majesty..."

"I said OUT!" he bellowed.

The room emptied instantly, Edmund also leaving quietly, the physician bowing as he closed the door behind him.

Rhydian turned back to her, his hands trembling as he knelt beside the table.

He took her hand, it was cold.

He tried to steady his breath, but it came out ragged. His eyes stung with tears threatening to spill, and he couldn’t stop staring at her face, so still, so pale.

"Don’t you dare do this to me," he whispered. "Seraphina... you don’t get to leave me. Not ever!"

He sliced across his palm with the blade and pressed it gently to her lips.

"Come on... take it. Please take it..."

The blood slid into her mouth and down her throat, her throat bobbed, a sign that she swallowed, But after a few moments of nervous waiting, nothing happened.

No flicker of movement. No twitch. No color returning to her cheeks.

Rhydian pressed harder, forcing more blood into her mouth. Desperate. Maybe she needed more, maybe the previous one wasn’t enough.

"I can’t loose you, I’ll go insane.... please, please love... don’t do this to me."

Still nothing.

A crack split through his voice.

"Seraphina..." he whispered. His other hand cupped her cheek. "I’m right here. I’m here now. Open your eyes. Please—"

Nothing.

His blood began to drip down her chin, and he let out a raw, guttural sound.

"Fuck... No!" Rhydian’s voice shattered, pressing his forehead to hers, breath uneven and ragged. "This isn’t it, Seraphina, please. You’re not gone, not like this. You can’t be. Please... wake up. Just... just one more chance. Say something. I swear, I’ll tear this world apart for you. Whoever did this, I’ll make them beg for mercy. I—I need you, Seraphina. Don’t leave me. Please, don’t leave me like this."

A minute passed.

Then two.

Still nothing.

And then—just when the hopelessness began to cave in—she gasped.

It was a weak, rattling sound, but it tore through the silence like thunder.

Her fingers twitched.

Rhydian’s head snapped up, eyes wide.

She coughed again, harder this time, her chest jerking, and a faint glow began to pulse beneath her skin.

The blood worked.

The color slowly bled back into her cheeks, her lashes fluttering as she slowly opened her eyes.

Rhydian let out a breath so shaky it was almost a sob. He stared for a moment, both relief and disbelief crashing on him. She was fine, she was alive, she really was....Alive!

He clutched her hand and kissed it fiercely, holding it to his face.

"You scared the hell out of me," he muttered, voice thick. "I thought, I thought I’d lost you." He added, his dead falling against her as hot tears flowed down his face. Seraphina reached to hold him, her hand trembling slightly.

Was he.... crying? Rhydian was crying?