CHAPTER 220: WHEN FIRE DEVOURS THE NIGHT

[House Everett—Balcony—Midnight—LAVINIA’S POV]

The curtains still swayed in the night wind, taunting me like they knew I was too late. My heart hammered as I dashed across the chamber and onto the balcony, cold air slicing against my cheeks.

The estate grounds stretched below—torches flaring, knights flooding the courtyards like a tide of steel. And yet—no sign of him. No shadow slipping through the gardens. No figure darting across the rooftops.

Just silence.

Too much silence.

My hands curled tight around the balcony rail, nails digging into the stone. My teeth ground together. "Caelum..." I hissed his name into the dark, tasting venom with every syllable. "You won’t escape me."

Behind me, Rey’s voice drifted through the smoke like silk dragged over a blade—mocking, but edged with steel. "He hasn’t flown far, princess. He can’t. A rat may scurry faster in the dark, but in the end..." His smirk widened. "...rats are meant to be crushed."

I turned sharply, fire boiling in my chest, my cloak snapping around me like a banner of war. "You’re right." My voice rang cold, hard enough to cut the night itself. "Then let’s crush him."

Without another word, I stormed out of the chamber, Marshi’s heavy steps pounding after me.

Papa was waiting below, crimson cape glinting in the torchlight, his blade still unsheathed. His gaze caught mine, but he didn’t move to stop me. He didn’t need to because he understood.

Instead, his voice thundered like an order to the stars themselves: "Ravick—follow Lavinia!"

The command cracked like lightning, and the estate roared to life. Knights scattered, gates clanged shut, and steel boots pounded the earth.

I didn’t pause. I didn’t breathe. I vaulted onto my horse in one smooth motion, the leather reins snapping in my grip. My blood sang with fury, with purpose, with the intoxicating thrill of the hunt.

"Rey," I barked, my tone sharp as a drawn blade. "Split. Take the west roads. Flush him out. Drive him into my hands."

For once, he didn’t argue. His grin was razor-sharp, his cloak swirling as he spurred his horse toward the shadows. "As you command, princess."

I smirked, my hair whipping in the cold wind as I dug my heels into the horse’s sides. "Run, Caelum. Run as fast as you can." My voice dropped low, deadly, carrying across the midnight air. "Because tonight—I’m the hunter."

And with that, I dashed into the dark, Marshi at my side, the empire’s fury thundering behind me.

***

[Caelum’s POV—Midnight Flight]

HUFFF!! HUFF!!

Damn it! That bitch—how did she find out?

For years—years—I buried every trace. I moved like a shadow, erased every whisper, and cut every loose tongue. Even the poison incident... I laid it all so carefully, so perfectly. A masterpiece of deceit. And yet—

My hands clenched around the reins until my knuckles split white. My horse’s hooves pounded against the dirt road, carrying me farther from Everett’s walls, but not far enough. Never far enough.

Then how the hell did I fail?

My chest burned, not just from the sprint but from rage gnawing at my ribs. That girl—no, that monster wearing a girl’s face. Lavinia Devereux.

I gritted my teeth. The way she looked at me, like I was prey. Like she was the blade and I was already bleeding. Her eyes—those cursed eyes—always reminded me of him. Her father. That tyrant who built his throne from the bones of men stronger than me.

And now his daughter stalks me like some golden-haired viper.

"Shit!" I spat, jerking the reins as branches whipped across my face. The forest swallowed me, shadows clinging to my back. Still, I could feel them behind me. The thunder of hooves. The clash of steel. The Devereux hounds unleashed.

No. I won’t be caught. I won’t die like this.

I forced my breathing steady, forcing my panic down, smothering it beneath cold calculation. I’ve lived in their empire, smiled at their court, worn their chains of silk and lies. They think they’ve cornered me?

No.

I am no rat.

I am the rightful heir. The blood in my veins burns hotter than their steel.

"Lavinia..." I hissed her name like a curse into the wind. My lips curled into a grin despite the ache in my lungs. "You may be the hunter tonight. But one day, little princess..." My eyes glinted as the moonlight cut across my path. "...I’ll turn the blade back on you."

And with that vow, I drove my horse deeper into the night.

But—

ROAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!!

The monstrous roar split the air, and my blood iced. I jerked my head back—and froze.

A fire.

No—not fire. A beast wrapped in fire, charging straight toward me.

"What...the hell...?" My voice cracked.

The flames weren’t burning the forest—they obeyed him. They licked his golden fur, curled around his fangs, and crowned him like a living god of ruin. His paws hit the earth with the weight of thunder, every step shaking the ground beneath me.

Marshi. Her divine beast. The flaming Rakshar of legend.

My fingers clamped so hard on the reins my nails cut into leather. "Run! Run, damn it!!" I whipped the horse’s side, urging it faster, but—

ROARRRRRRR!!!!!

The forest split with the sound. The roar wasn’t a sound at all—it was a wall, a quake, a force that rattled the marrow inside my bones. My horse screamed, eyes rolling white, body seizing under terror. The beast’s fire was everywhere, a tide of heat swallowing the night.

I couldn’t breathe.

"Faster, damn you! Faster!" I spat, trying to drag the reins, but my horse legs tangled. Panic overtook speed.

Then—

SCREEECHHH!!!

The horse reared violently, hooves clawing the air. And there—looming before me like judgment itself—Marshi blocked the path, eyes burning molten gold. His mane of fire crackled with divine rage, sparks raining onto the earth like falling stars.

"No...no, no, no—" I twisted, desperate, searching. There had to be another way. A hole. A path. Anything.

I can still escape. I can still—

THUDD!!!

A boot slammed into my ribs with the force of steel. Pain ripped through me as I was torn from the saddle, my body crashing into the dirt. My vision blurred, and air ripped from my lungs.

"Arghhh!!" I spat blood, rolling onto my side, clutching the ribs that screamed with every breath. My palms scraped dirt and leaves as I struggled upright, chest heaving.

And then—I froze.

The beast.

Marshi stood a few paces from me, his hulking frame blotting out the moonlight itself. His golden fur shimmered like molten metal, and from it dripped fire—liquid flame hissing as it kissed the earth. The air around him warped with heat, suffocating, merciless. His eyes glowed molten gold, unblinking, fixed on me as though I were already prey half-swallowed.

And in that burning vision of death... I saw her.

Beyond the inferno, seated high on her black horse, posture straight as a blade, hair catching the torchlight like spun gold—Lavinia Devereux.

Her lips curved into a smirk, cruel and beautiful, and her voice slid through the night like a blade across my throat.

"Well, well, well... Caelum."

Her voice was silk laced with venom. She leaned forward slightly in her saddle, those red eyes gleaming like molten rubies, bright enough to burn holes straight through me.

"...long time... no see."

Then, suddenly, she gasped—mocking, playful. Her hand touched her lips as if she had slipped.

"Oh wait... forgive me," she whispered sweetly. Then her smirk cut sharper, dangerous enough to bleed the night itself.

"Ex-Emperor of Irethene... Caelum Virell."

The name hit like a guillotine. Each syllable stretched, slow, deliberate, and weighted with mockery and truth.

And in that instant, my blood turned to ice.

This wasn’t the girl I had always toyed with, taunted, and dueled in whispers and shadows. No.This was the daughter of Cassius Devereux. The tyrant’s blood burned in her veins—merciless, absolute.

And she had come... for me.

She swung down from her horse in one smooth motion, her cloak billowing like the wings of some midnight executioner. The steel of her boots struck the earth, steady and final, like the march of a death sentence.

Step by step, she closed the distance.

Her hand glided along the hilt of her sword—slow, savoring—until the blade hissed free, catching the firelight in its polished edge.

She stood before me, shadow and flame at her back, and her voice rolled out low and sharp:

"Didn’t I tell you once, ’emperor’..." She spat the title like poison, her blade rising until the cold steel kissed the side of my throat. "...that if ever I found the Hidden Emperor—"

Her eyes narrowed, lips curving into a cruel smile.

"—I would personally have the honor of ending you myself?"

The pressure of the blade pressed firmer, cutting into my skin, her words sinking deeper than steel.

"I suppose..." she whispered, voice dark and almost gleeful, "...the time has finally come."

The night itself seemed to hold its breath. And for the first time in years, I, Caelum Virell, felt cornered.