The corridors grew silent as the guests began to retire to their assigned rooms.

Ruelle had been led to where Lady Maxine was sharing her room with her, but the vampiress hadn't returned to the room. Unable to rest, she had decided to take a short walk. The silence around the place made way for her thoughts. She reflected on the reckless and defensive promise she had made in the dining room.

"Brilliant, Ruelle. Truly brilliant. Why not promise to wrestle a werewolf next while you are at it?" she muttered to herself.

Pride had tripped her tongue and now it left her pacing the corridors like a ghost. Just because she had been given a seat at their table did not make her one of them. She would always be a lowly human in their eyes.

If she survived tomorrow, she swore not to open her mouth when vampires were involved.

Ruelle paused near one of the tall windows, her reflection faint against the glass. Beyond the window, a single lantern burned in the direction of the stable, its light swaying with the wind.

Walking into a room, she found the back door of the mansion. Her hand reached for the doorknob and she was about to turn it when a voice stopped her.

"Miss Ruelle."

Ruelle turned and caught sight of the head of the servants, Maude. The woman stood in her dark gown, her face expressionless but composed, as she stared at the human.

"Do you need something?" Maude inquired.

"No. I was just taking a walk," Ruelled answered before adding, "I couldn't sleep."

The older woman didn't respond, but her gaze stayed on the young woman. And the silence only made Ruelle feel as if she was in a place she was not meant to be. As if the housekeeper disapproved of her presence.

"You shouldn't be out like this," Maude stated, her eyes void as her voice, which carried a touch of discipline in it.

"My apologies. I didn't know it was off-limits, I—" Ruelle's words halted when Maude walked to one side of the room. The woman then picked up a shawl before walking back to where she was.

Without warning, Maude draped the shawl around Ruelle's shoulders. "The weather at this hour is colder than it feels inside," Maude said, adjusting the shawl with surprising care. "And your shoulders are nearly bare at this hour. It might bite you."

The gentleness beneath the scolding surprised Ruelle, causing her to blink. She murmured, "Thank you…"

"If you must walk, stay near the lanterns and not go beyond it," Maude suggested with a stern voice before offering a bow and disappearing out of the room.

Ruelle then stepped out of the back door and felt the night chill brush against her cheeks. She made her way towards the stable, listening to the rustles of the leaves and the wind.

Reaching the stable, she was quickly greeted by the scent of hay and wet ground, which felt familiar and comforting. There were several stalls which had magnificent looking horses tied to them. Coming to stand before one of the stalls, where a dark brown-coated horse lifted its head, Ruelle whispered, "Hello there."

She carefully placed her hand on the horse's neck. The horse accepted her touch without complaint.

"You are far braver than I am," Ruelle murmured. "You're probably used to being chased by vampires."

It wasn't as if she hadn't ridden horses before, but the thought of vampires hunting her down like a rabbit tomorrow worried her.

She kept her hand on the horse's warm coat as she glanced over her shoulder. At the far end of the stable, half-shadowed by a hanging lantern, she spotted a workbench cluttered with tools like axes, a saw, and a crossbow with several arrows resting on it.

Taking the opportunity of being alone and only in the company of the horses, she moved towards the tools and picked up the crossbow. There was a bullseye hanging on the other side of the wall.

"Maybe if I practise, I won't be stabbed in ten seconds," Ruelle whispered to herself.

When she picked up the bow, she realised it was heavier than she had expected. She had seen some of the seniors use it and she mimicked the posture along with the arrow.

She pulled the arrow back against the string, and when she released it, the arrow flew for half a second before plummeting to the ground. Crap…

"I must commend your bravery. Confidence without competence is a rare combination," a familiar voice drifted from the stable entrance, where a tall shadow had appeared.

Ruelle couldn't believe Lucian witnessed that. She cleared her throat and turned toward him.

"Are you here just to mock me?" she asked stiffly.

"At your skills?" Lucian stepped into the stable, each footstep crisp against the ground.

"That too…" she muttered under her breath.

Lucian bent, picked up the fallen arrow, and examined it with cool detachment. "Too?" he echoed without looking up.

"For deciding to be part of the hunt," Ruelle admitted, her lips pursing.

"You're holding it wrong." Lucian said this while ignoring her earlier words. His hand reached for the crossbow she was holding and took it from her. "Your angle is off."

He drew the bow with a practised ease and then released the string in a single fluid breath. The next moment, the arrow embedded itself into the bullseye with a blunt, satisfying thud.

"Even if you didn't take part, it wouldn't help," Lucian remarked, handing the crossbow back to her. What did he mean by that? She asked herself. "Pull another arrow."

As she did, he stepped behind her shoulder. He instructed, "Don't lift your elbow so high. Keep your wrist firm. And breathe before you release, not after. You are angling it upward which is why it dives."

Ruelle did as he instructed, her fingers clumsy on the wood as she tried to steady her breath. Staring ahead at the bullseye, she asked quietly,

"What did you mean… it wouldn't help?"

"Exactly that," Lucian replied nonchalantly, his eyes fixed on her posture. "The more Dane would have tried to keep you out of it, the more those vampires would have taken interest. Curiosity is a poison to our kind. They would have dragged you regardless. If not into the game then outside it. Aim," he added.

Ruelle swallowed and drew the arrow back again.

"The outcome would be pretty much the same," she heard Lucian speak behind her. She turned startled when she felt his cold fingers brush her elbow, guiding it down by a mere inch. "Release."

She didn't give a second thought and released the arrow. Though this time the arrow didn't plummet into the ground like last time, neither did it hit anywhere near the target.

"Will you be watching tomorrow's hunt?" she asked, remembering he had said he wouldn't be participating.

"I have better things to do than watch you get caught in the first minute," Lucian didn't hesitate speaking his mind and Ruelle bit her lip.

"Aren't you supposed to cheer for your brother's team?" she muttered, frowning as she turned to glance at him.

Lucian raised one of his eyebrows and asked, "Are you asking me to cheer for you?"

It wasn't as if Ruelle had anyone else here to support her. She knew Sawyer, but he would cheer for his sister. Her gaze dropped without meaning to. Noticing this, Lucian sighed and remarked,

"Don't look so defeated. Dane's skills are decent. Better than most of them, at least." After a pause, he said, "Now pick another arrow, Belmont. Let's see if we can get you to survive past the first minute."

Ruelle lifted another arrow, inhaling slowly as she tried to mimic the same angle Lucian had used moments before. She released the arrow, but it missed the target again.

As she took another aim, she asked, "What were you doing outside the mansion?"

"I came to feed Zhenya," he replied, his hands slipping into his coat pockets, his stance relaxed as he watched her struggle. "And you—what was with the extra name?" His voice deceptively casual.

"Oh, that…" A tiny laugh escaped Ruelle's lips. Feeling his eyes bore a hole into her head, she explained about the minister, the wine and the pot to him. "...and that's what happened. I don't know. I just…panicked."

"I see," was the only response from Lucian, his gaze on her unreadable. He then said flatly, "Your grip is crooked."

Before she could adjust, he stepped behind her once again. His left arm slid past her side to help her reposition her hold on the crossbow. His right hand then held her hand that gripped the arrow. The touch was nothing more than a correction, yet she felt blood rush up to her cheeks.

"You'll miss every time if you hold it like a frightened squirrel," Lucian stated, his breath brushing her cheek as he corrected her aim. He drew the arrow back before telling her, "Release."

The arrow swished through the air and struck cleanly at the edge of the bullseye.

Ruelle's face lit up even though it was achieved with his help.

"It hit!" she said excitedly.

Lucian's expression didn't change, at least not in the obvious way. His eyes narrowed by a fraction, pupils tightening as if her sudden joy had caught him off guard. He blinked once almost dismissively, before stepping back and shifting his gaze toward the stable entrance.

"That is enough for tonight," his words came out clipped. "Go get some sleep. You will need it tomorrow."

"Thank you for the tip," Ruelle said quietly as she watched him leave.

When Ruelle returned to the room, she noticed Lady Maxine was lying on the bed fast asleep. Seeing the candles still burning for her, she felt guilty. She stepped quietly and blew them out one by one, trying not to disturb the vampiress.

What she didn't know was that Lady Maxine hadn't fallen asleep at all. The vampiress's breathing was steady but her senses were keen, eyes half-lidded beneath her lashes as she observed the human girl through the dim glow of the dying wicks.

Maxine had been raised in a time where humans were unreliable and often dangerous in their desperation. So if her cousin had made one sit beside him, she intended to watch closely.

It was only when Ruelle began changing her clothes, turning to pick up her nightclothes, that Maxine's eyebrows drew closer.

By the time Ruelle slipped beneath the covers, the vampiress had already closed her eyes, as though she had never been awake.

When morning arrived, the weather was clear and birds that sat on the branches of the nearby trees chirped. Dane sat alone at the open patio, humming a cheerful tune as he drank his blood tea.

Lady Maxine entered the place before taking a seat across from Dane, watching him now.

"Staring so intently at your cousin in the morning is considered taboo. You're married, remember?" A slow smile appeared on Dane's lips. "Though our ancestors have tried to keep the blood thick."

"It is the last thing and not to mention disgusting," Maxine rolled her eyes.

"One never knows," Dane shrugged his shoulders, utterly unbothered. "Why are you drilling holes with your eyes then?"

"Just figuring out what you are up to," Maxine replied while a maid appeared and placed a fresh cup of blood tea before her. She then said, "You look like a cat that drowned the neighbour's bird."

"Do I?" he asked, his eyes meeting hers.

Maxine tapped her nails on the table. She asked, "Why did you bait Renard yesterday?"

Dane blinked slowly, his smile stretching. He answered, "I did no such thing."

"Honestly, Dane. Are you trying to kill that poor human out of some twisted amusement?" Maxine questioned him with a sigh. "Not to mention she doesn't seem like the kind you usually go for."

"I told you, she's a guest," Dane tutted.

"A guest you lured, knowing she would take the bait like Renard?"

Dane chuckled, leaning back in his chair. He asked instead, "But isn't it enjoyable? All of us getting to spend time together like this?"

When the sun rose high later in the sky, the mansion was alive again. The night creatures gathered at the edge of the forest, laughing and wagering on the humans who stood next to the horses.

Ruelle's palms were damp and her breath was shallow. She heard Sawyer shout, "Stay safe, Ruelle! All the best!"

A weak smile made it to Ruelle's lips, her eyes scanning at the vampires. Angelina was one of the hunters and she wondered how likely it was to be injured by her. As her eyes wandered, she noticed Lucian missing.

Dane stepped before her line of sight and asked casually, "How good are you with crossbows?"

"I am still learning," Ruelle admitted, feeling her stomach in knots. She had carried a dagger with her for precaution.

"That's alright," Dane said brightly, patting her back as if she were a seasoned soldier. "We'll win this."

"You are very optimistic," she muttered wryly under her breath. She finally mounted the horse while he handed the reins out to her.

"You did fine during Hunt and Stake. This is just a little more dangerous. Slightly higher chance of injury, maybe a limb or two sometimes, but nearly the same. So don't hold back." Dane offered his pep talk to her. At the same time a servant stepped forward with a horn and asked,

"Ready?" And after five seconds, the servant blew the horn.