Adam Cook stood perfectly still. The cold, damp air of the secret sub-basement suddenly felt incredibly heavy. It pressed against his skin like a wet, dirty blanket. He stared at the girl in the red velvet cloak.Emily smiled at him. Her smile was sweet, innocent, and completely evil. She did not look like the muddy, crying, broken girl from the Old Academy gates. Her face was perfectly clean. Her hair was neat. She looked exactly like the beautiful, popular girl she always wanted to be.But she was holding a wooden cross. Glowing red strings of blood magic tied her fingers to the ceiling. She was controlling the dead monsters."Emily," Adam whispered. His voice was completely empty. "How?"Emily let out a soft, beautiful laugh. It was the same laugh Adam had heard in the woods. It sounded like a sweet melody, but it smelled like old pennies and burnt sugar."Oh, Adam," Emily said smoothly. She took a step forward. The red strings moved with her. "You always were so easy to trick. You

Drip. Drip. Splash. A large puddle of fresh, warm blood began to form around the base of the pillar.Adam’s blood was not normal. He had survived the evolution. He had opened the Second Gate of the Void. His blood was incredibly dense, rich, and full of raw, powerful energy.The smell of Adam’s fresh blood hit the air. It did not smell like old pennies. It smelled like pure, concentrated magic. It smelled like a feast for a starving beast.Instantly, every single dead monster in the room reacted.The Leader-Thrall’s red eyes flared so brightly they looked like burning coals. The monster’s jaw twitched. It took a step toward Adam, its dead nose sniffing the air greedily.Even the monster holding Kael dropped the blindfolded boy to the floor. The monster turned its unhinged jaw toward the stone pillar. Thick, dark saliva dripped from its bloody teeth.The Death Thralls were fueled by Blood Mana. And Adam’s blood was the most powerful blood they had ever smelled. They went completely cra

Adam squeezed his hand. A tiny drop of violet-black ichor leaked from a small cut on Adam’s palm. It touched the monster’s bone-blade.HSSSSS.The bone-blade instantly melted into gray smoke. The Leader-Thrall tried to pull back, but Adam’s hand shot forward. Adam grabbed the monster directly by the throat.Adam did not punch. He did not kick. He did not fight. He unraveled it.The violet-black ichor flowing through Adam’s veins pulsed brightly. The dark energy seeped out of his skin and entered the monster’s neck.The ichor spread across the dead monster like a violent, burning spiderweb. The dark lines crawled over the stitched-together flesh.The necrotic tissue burned away like dry paper thrown into a furnace. The thick black stitches popped and broke."SCREEEE!" The Leader-Thrall let out a horrific, unnatural scream.The glowing red Blood Mana strings attached to the monster’s limbs snapped instantly as the dark ichor touched them. The blood magic could not survive the pure, corr

The loud, ringing bells of Bourbon Academy filled the night air.BONG. BONG. BONG.It was the alarm. The King’s Royal Hunters had arrived at the front gates. The sky above the Academy glowed with the bright, burning red light of their torches and their magical flares. They were the most dangerous men in the kingdom. They were the King’s personal executioners, sent only to kill monsters that the regular army could not fight.Adam Cook stood in the shadows outside the ruined library. He had just told Kael he was going to welcome the King’s men. He wanted to fight. His new, violet-black blood was pumping through his veins. He felt the terrifying, endless power of the Void Sovereign inside his chest. He was a predator, and he wanted to eat. But as Adam took a step toward the bright lights, his legs suddenly gave out.He stumbled and fell hard to his knees. The stone cracked beneath him. A bright, flashing purple screen appeared in his mind.[SYSTEM WARNING!][Blood Replacement Protocol

Adam let out a long, heavy sigh. His rigid, stiff muscles finally relaxed. He slumped backward against the leather couch. The blinding violet cracks on his skin slowly dimmed down to a soft, quiet glow."Better?" Catherine asked softly.Her hands were still pressed against his chest. She was leaning close to him. She could feel the strange, synthetic pulse beating against her palms. Thrum... click... whirrrrr... thump.It was a deeply intimate, tender moment. In the quiet, dark room, surrounded by the blue light of her magic, they were the only two people in the world.Adam looked down at her.The golden stars in his pitch-black eyes softened. For a moment, the cold, alien predator faded, and the broken, lonely boy returned to the surface."It feels... quiet," Adam whispered. He reached up slowly. He placed his large, cold, marble-white hand over her small, pale hand on his chest. "You are the only quiet thing left in my world, Catherine."Catherine looked up into his eyes. Her heart