Lost My Savior, Found His Pain

my body felt like shattered glass. My old wounds, the ones that usually healed with my unique cells, were slower now, a dull ache that

d sky, offered no warmth. Anoth

t always unsettled me. My heart gave an involuntary throb, a foolish reaction I couldn

ark stain on the marble floor near where I had been. My blood. I had tried to c

hat is this?" His voi

maybe I had, and my exhausted mind had simply giv

a gloved finger. "Blood?" He looked

t was there to say? It

f again?" he asked, his voice l

t was a lie. Another small cut had opened during my pai

e towered over me, a dark silhouette against t

voice flat. "I'll make sure it's

y. Voices, raised and urgent. Kim'

way, her hair perfectly coiffed, her silk robe flowing behind h

she... is she trying to seduce you again with her blood magic?" Her voic

him? With my blood? She was

his arm. "A temptress! Her kind always uses their... their essence to

ntine family. The ancient, whispered curse that haunted

ulkner elders," Kim continued, her voice dropping to a theatrical whisper, as if sharing a terr

ffton. Vanished without a trace. And now she's here, in you

re a constant barrage. I was a villain, a murdere

u to feel pity, to lower your guard. But she's a serpent." Kim's voice was a his

This wasn't just about cleaning a bloodst

ows, to find any corner of safety. My only ref

. His hand clamped around my wrist, not gently, but wi

eyes blazed with a terrifying fury. "

pulled me through a series of unfamiliar corridors, deeper into the estat

didn't recognize, ancient and dark. A sense of unease settled over

g torches. The walls were rough, unadorned stone. In the center, a large, sunken basin shimmer

laide," Cliffton snarled, his grip tightening.

rgy. The liquid pulsed, humming softly. My blood, my unique cells, they felt a violen

choked with fear. "Please, C

It was meant to purify those of my lineage, to extract the "darkness" from us. But for

t was ice cold, but also burning, like acid. My skin instantly reacted, blisteri

que cells, my life force, were being attacked, dissolved by the ancient magic in the l

eins, appeared on the surface. "Look!" Kim shrieked, her v

gh, held a strange glint. A flicker of something. Wa

ss. To admit to crimes I hadn't

dying, slowly, agonizingly, but I

paralysis. It started in my legs, creeping upwards, consuming me. I tried to

t burning. It was dissolving. My flesh was turning translucent, like glass, then

it. This was the end. The final draining. The true po

My breath grew shallow, ragged. My visio

me dissolving, literally turning into light, and he still

ulled me out. My body was limp, heavy, barely substantial. He

his voice edged with frustration. "

o stop. But no sound came out. My throat was raw, my

ght were still rising from my skin, drifting upwards, disappearing into the d

tered, perhaps to Kim, perhaps to himself. "Take h

creak shut. I was alone in the cold, d

shone through a high grate. But my body was failing. More

felt a gentle brush against my cheek. It was so unexpec