CHAPTER 46: THE FEELING OF BETRAYAL

Seamus’ eyes fluttered open, his vision hazy as the light stabbed into his skull. He groaned, blinking slowly, fighting the heaviness in his body.

Every muscle screamed in pain, every nerve burned. His entire frame felt broken, but the familiar blue screen that hovered before his eyes managed to steady the chaos inside him.

[Vital Overflow skill is being used...]

[Your body is healing by 60%]

[Time until healed properly: 2 hours 30 minutes]

’Damn... how long was I out?’ Seamus thought.

He struggled to move a finger, to twitch his arm, but it was as if his body was bound in threads made of iron.

Another notification flickered to life in front of him.

[You are under Viviane’s Hybrid Bloodstyle: The Anguish of Sovereign Inferno (Stage 1 – Control of Fire)]

[With your wounds and the bracelet halting half of your power, you don’t have enough strength to destroy the thread]

’Bracelet?’ His mind jolted.

He forced his head to turn until his gaze fell on the glint of silver around his wrist. A bracelet sealing his strength.

"Damn you, Viviane," he muttered.

A calm voice answered from the side of the room. "What is it, Seamus? You still can’t calm down?"

The sound dragged his gaze left. A small table stood near the bed. Viviane sat there, graceful as ever, her hands steady as she poured steaming liquid from a kettle into a delicate floral cup.

The faint scent of chamomile drifted through the air, mocking him with its serenity.

He clenched his teeth. "No. I can’t believe you tried to control me this way. You betrayed me, Viviane!"

His voice cracked. Maybe from the wounds, maybe from the weight crushing his chest. Or maybe it was his heart itself, fracturing.

He had fought through hell, bled, and nearly died to reach this point, only to be stabbed in the back by the one woman he believed in most.

Viviane.

But now? She was the one binding him.

His blood simmered. Hatred and love blurred into something unbearable, a thin blade cutting him from the inside.

"Why can’t you understand that I did it for us!"

Viviane’s voice rose, trembling, desperate. She stood, cup in hand, and approached him. Her golden eyes locked on his, pleading.

"Or... or are you already in her control?"

He barked a bitter laugh. "I’m not controlled by anyone but you! You and your damn red thread that’s choking me!"

"Go on then, strangle me to death with your so-called love. I dare you!"

Viviane stopped, her frown deepening. Confusion shadowed her features, as if the thought had never once occurred to her that he might resist her, hate her, push her away.

She had believed he would always understand her. Even when she was wrong.

"Seamus, how can you not understand?" she whispered. She set the cup aside, her hands trembling faintly.

"We are already in a blood pact. Can’t you feel it? Can’t you feel the pain in my heart?"

His hand lifted on its own and brushed her cheek. His expression was tight, his eyes burning with resistance.

"Maybe because you’re always lying, Viviane," he spat.

All of them–Viviane, Isolde, Madeline–were the same. Manipulators. Wrapping their selfish desires in ribbons of this is for you, this is the best for us. Lies. Every word of it.

None of it was for him. It was always for their selfish desire. And now he was the one trapped in the center of their schemes.

"I will never lie to you!" Viviane’s voice cracked as her eyes shimmered. She leaned closer, trembling. "I just don’t want you to be caught in this mess!"

Tears threatened to fall. Real or fake? He couldn’t tell. And that was what tore him apart the most.

His chest ached because he still loved her, still wanted to protect her, even as her betrayal gnawed at him.

"Just stop all of this, Viviane."

"Killing Isolde won’t solve anything. My identity’s already exposed. Even your so-called friend wants me now. Everyone wants me. Tell me, can you protect me from all of them?"

The silence stretched.

Seamus already knew the answer. She couldn’t. She hadn’t even been able to defeat Isolde.

He had borrowed Isolde’s attributes and it was enough to crush three evolved vampires. That was the difference in power. That was the gulf between them.

"It will solve everything!" Viviane shouted suddenly, clutching his arm.

"I’ll become a matriarch! Then both of us can rule Velstrath together. We’ll marry, Seamus. We’ll run, hide away if we must, but no one will ever take you from me!"

She pressed her forehead against his, her voice cracking. "And I’ll kill anyone who dares want you. You’ll be mine alone. No one else will ever touch you!"

Her eyes gleamed, feverish. "I can even change you into a vampire. Then nothing will separate us. I never wanted your power, Seamus. I only ever wanted you."

He stared into her golden gaze. He saw pain, desperation, and love, maybe. But beneath it all... selfishness and naïveté.

"Oh, Viviane..." he murmured, his chest tight.

He could almost believe her. Almost.

"Let’s just run away. Forget about Isolde. If that’s what you want, I’ll go with you," he whispered.

But Viviane shook her head violently. "She’ll find us. And this isn’t just about you, Seamus. It’s about me and my dignity. She’s trampled on it for hundreds of years!"

Her head pressed against his chest, listening to the thrum of his heart, calming her.

"Please," she whispered. "Just wait. And stop hating me."

His lips curled into a humorless smile. "Ah. So that’s it. You don’t love me enough to let go of your hatred."

His eyes hardened. "Just admit it, Viviane. You only want to destroy Isolde. Don’t drag me into it. You did this to yourself, remember that."

Her face twisted in anguish. "No, Seamus. It’s not like that!"

"It is." He glared. "We’ve only known each other for two months. You expect me to believe you’d do something this reckless, risk everything, for someone you just met?"

"I gave you my purity!" she cried, her voice shattering. "Purity untainted for a thousand years. I gave it to you and you still don’t believe me?"

The words hit him, and he felt her heart breaking. But he couldn’t let himself soften. Not again. If he stayed weak, if he gave in, he’d only be used again. He was done being used.

But his body, controlled by her, betrayed him. His head tilted forward, following her as she leaned closer, her eyes wide and helpless.

"It’s fine if you think that way," she whispered, climbing onto him, straddling him as desperation bled from every pore.

"If you won’t believe my words, then I’ll show you with my body. And if you still doubt me after that... then wait here. Wait until I kill her. Then you’ll be mine. Forever."