CHAPTER 427: A LESSON TO BE LEARNED

The sky was paling faintly by the time Amber returned to the inn. The hunt had stretched long into the night, the last of the blood still warm in her veins. Her steps were silent as always, boots whispering against the wooden floorboards of the creaky stairwell. She slipped the key into the door, turned it carefully, and entered.

Inside, the room was dim, lit only by the last flicker of the bedside candle. Lilith slept soundly on the bed, her chest rising and falling in the soft rhythm of dreamless rest. A strand of silver hair had fallen across her face, catching what little light there was. She looked peaceful, untouched by the violence outside these walls.

Amber paused in the doorway, her crimson eyes softening for a fleeting moment. She tugged back the hood, revealing her pale skin, now unmarked where claws and blades had cut her hours ago. Her lips still carried the faint stain of blood, but she wiped it away with the back of her hand. No need for Lilith to see. No need to disturb her sleep with questions.

She moved lightly across the room, removing her cloak and tossing it over the chair. The faint smell of smoke, silver, and iron clung to the fabric — evidence of the hunter’s last stand. Amber wrinkled her nose, then stretched, rolling her shoulders as if shaking off the memory of the clash.

Her body was already whole again. Not a scar remained.

Amber sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Lilith for a long while. Her hunger was sated, the hunter’s blood still singing in her body, but another hunger stirred — not for flesh, not for power, but for something simpler. The sight of Lilith sleeping, untouched, made something deep in her chest tighten. She brushed the strand of hair away from Lilith’s cheek with a careful finger, then leaned back against the wall.

"Big sister is cute when she sleep," Amber whispered, so low it was almost part of the silence.

She tilted her head, amused by her own words.

The city outside stirred faintly as dawn crept closer. But in this room, for a little while longer, there was only quiet.

Amber closed her eyes, letting her body rest at last, the echoes of battle fading into the stillness.

°°°

Amber stirred awake, her lashes fluttering as the cool kiss of mountain air brushed against her skin. For a brief moment she thought she was still in the city, in the inn with its faint scent of wood polish and cooked meals lingering in the air. But as her crimson eyes opened fully, she realized the truth: she was lying on the coarse surface of a jagged cliffside, surrounded by mist and the endless expanse of stone peaks. The horizon stretched wide, mountains upon mountains rolling like the spines of titans sleeping beneath the sky.

She blinked, sitting upright, her hand automatically reaching for the dagger she had forged from her own blood. It was still at her side, gleaming faintly under the pale morning sun. But what chilled her wasn’t the cold stone beneath her fingers—it was the figure standing just a few feet away, arms crossed, silent and watchful.

Lilith.

Amber’s heart skipped a beat. Her master’s expression was unreadable, as calm as ever, but Amber could feel the weight pressing down from those red eyes.

"You thought I wouldn’t notice."

The words weren’t shouted. They were soft, almost casual, but the weight behind them slammed into Amber harder than any physical blow.

Amber opened her mouth to explain, to excuse herself—I only hunted rats, only killed filth—but before a single syllable could leave her lips, Lilith raised her hand. The air itself seemed to tighten.

"Stand."

Amber obeyed instinctively, rising to her feet, her body still sluggish from the fight the night before. She braced herself, thinking perhaps Lilith would scold her, perhaps strike her once or twice for sneaking out. Instead, she barely registered the blur of movement before a pale hand collided with her chest.

The impact was bone-crushing. Amber was thrown off her feet, tumbling across the jagged rocks, her body bouncing painfully before she came to a stop against a boulder. Dust filled the air.

Amber coughed, clutching her ribs as she staggered to her feet. Her crimson eyes blazed with defiance. "Big sister, what—"

"Defend yourself," Lilith interrupted, her tone sharp, absolute.

Amber barely had time to react before Lilith was on her again. Faster than Amber’s eyes could follow, Lilith’s silhouette blurred forward, her leg cutting through the air. Amber raised her dagger instinctively, but Lilith’s kick smashed into her forearm, sending her weapon flying. The younger vampire was thrown back again, crashing into the mountain wall with such force that cracks spread outward like spiderwebs.

"Too slow," Lilith said, her voice echoing in the mist.

Amber gritted her teeth, her pride igniting. She wiped the blood from her lip with the back of her hand and lunged forward, her blood arts igniting within her veins. Crimson tendrils surged around her, wrapping her fists and forming jagged blades of hardened blood. She darted in, her movements a blur as she slashed with speed and precision.

The air hissed with each cut, her blood blades leaving scarlet trails through the mist. She aimed for Lilith’s neck, her waist, her heart. But Lilith’s body weaved effortlessly between them. Every slash missed by inches, her master’s body moving with unnatural grace, like a shadow slipping through the cracks of reality itself.

Then Lilith’s hand struck again—two fingers extended. They tapped Amber’s stomach lightly, almost gently.

But the effect was catastrophic. Amber’s body convulsed as though lightning had struck her, her knees buckling under the sheer force that rippled through her. She collapsed, gasping, her blood blades dispersing as her control faltered.

Lilith towered over her, eyes cold but not cruel. "You believe because you killed rats and a hunter in the night, you are strong. But strength without discipline is only recklessness. Do you know what recklessness earns, Amber?"

Amber struggled to rise. Her pride wouldn’t let her stay down. She staggered upright, spitting blood onto the stones. Her voice trembled but was laced with fury. "Then I’ll prove it! I am stronger! I won’t lose again!"