The Bride He Hates-Chapter 50: Saving You
Chaos erupted as Thornfield Castle became a battlefield. The explosions continued destroying essential points, creating openings in the castle’s defenses.
Elise’s hidden forces included the vampires who’d been posing as servants, guards, and members of visiting entourages. They had been smuggled in over the past three days, waiting for Elise’s signal.
Outside, Order forces attacked the walls. Hundreds of hunters came with weapons, holy magic, and siege equipment. It was a coordinated coup attempt to eliminate Azrael and destabilize vampire society.
Visiting nobles drew weapons or activated magical defenses. Adrian’s warriors clashed with Elise’s forces. King Damien and his Shadowmere soldiers joined the defense immediately.
But Azrael’s top priority was Lyanna. He moved with vampire speed, grabbed her and pushed her towards Adrian.
"Get her to the safe chambers. Now. Don’t let anything touch her."
"No!" Lyanna protested, trying to pull away. "I can help, I can..."
But Adrian was already moving. He half-carried, half-dragged her out of the council chamber, through passages that had been designed centuries ago for emergencies.
Elise’s forces were everywhere, and they encountered hostile vampires twice in the corridors.
The first time, two vampires in guard uniforms stepped out to block their path. Adrian didn’t even slow down. He released Lyanna’s arm long enough to attack both enemies, one was decapitated with a single sword strike, so quick that Lyanna barely saw it, he smashed the other’s head against the stone wall, cracking both his skull and stone.
"Keep moving." Adrian said, grabbing her arm again and pulling her forward over the bodies.
The second encounter was more dangerous. Three vampires attacked them from multiple directions in a narrow corridor. Adrian pushed Lyanna behind him and fought with all three simultaneously. He killed two quickly, but the third managed to get past his guard and lunged towards Lyanna. She raised the small dagger she had grabbed from the council chamber. The vampire laughed at her pathetic defense. But immediately, Adrian’s sword cut through the vampire’s chest from behind.
"I told you to stay behind me." He said grimly, pulling her forward again. "Walk faster."
They reached the safe chambers deep within the castle. The chambers were built to withstand siege, with walls reinforced by magic and steel, and doors that could hold vampire strength and Order weapons.
Adrian pushed Lyanna inside, quickly checked the chamber for threats, then activated the enchanted mirrors on the wall.
"These will show you what’s happening in the castle." He explained, touching different points on the mirror to activate different viewing angles. "Stay here. Don’t open the door for anyone except His Majesty or me. If the castle falls, there’s a hidden passage behind that bookshelf that leads to the forest. Run towards the south without looking back."
"You’re leaving?"
"I’m needed in the battle. The king needs every warrior." Adrian walked towards the door, but then paused and looked back at her. "He cares about you, more than he admits, maybe more than he knows himself. That’s why you’re here, safe, while the rest of us fight."
Then he left. Lyanna stood alone in the chamber and walked to the mirrors to see what was happening outside.
Azrael was in the main hall, fighting like a skilled predator he was. He wasn’t just strong, he was strategic. He could predict enemy movements, coordinate with defenders, and was personally fighting the most dangerous threats while directing overall defense.
King Damien fought beside him. While Azrael was precise and strategic, Damien represented raw power and warrior instinct. Together, they were lethal.
Lord Richard stood in the centre of the hall using Eclipse magic. He created barriers that blocked weapons, offensive spells that burned Order forces, and magical shields that protected vampire defenders.
But Elise was formidable too. The fight between Azrael and Elise became personal as they clashed amid the chaos. Their history fuels every exchange.
"You betrayed vampires for what?" Azrael asked. "Power? The Order’s promises? Money? What was worth selling us out to genocidal fanatics?"
"I betrayed no one! The vampire courts are stagnant, ruled by old males who refuse to evolve, who cling to outdated traditions and power that benefits only them. We’ve been stagnant for centuries while humanity is advancing, and growing stronger." She pushed him back using magic.
"The Order offered a new structure, a complete reset. They offered me to burn away the old, corrupt courts and build something better from the ashes. I was going to be the creator of that new world, the founder of a vampire society that actually works instead of wallowing in eternal politics."
She genuinely believed she was doing the right thing, that betraying thousands of vampires was justified for a better future.
"And you were supposed to be my ally in this. We were perfect together, Azrael. We could have ruled the new order, could have built something magnificent. But then that human trapped you with the illusion of love and partnership.
I’m freeing you! Once she’s dead, once you’re no longer clouded by fake feelings for a mortal girl, you’ll see. You’ll understand what I’m trying to build. You’ll thank me for removing the weakness that’s been clouding your judgment."
The hatred in her voice when she spoke about Lyanna was chilling, Elise truly believed killing Lyanna would be a gift to Azrael.
The battle reached its climax when Order forces breached the inner defenses. A figure in white robes, The Leader, was leading them. Lyanna could tell The Leader was a middle-aged woman, with long silver hair. Her face was hidden behind a mask.
She was attacking vampire defenders with her magic. Azrael saw her and went to fight her directly, but he was still fighting Elise. For a moment, he was caught between two strong opponents, The Leader was attacking from one side with weapons and holy magic, and Elise from the other side with vampire speed and using her perfect combat skills.
He was being overwhelmed, taking hits he couldn’t avoid, bleeding from wounds that were healing slowly because of the silver and magic.
King Damien intervened, tackling Elise with his weight and pushing her to the ground.
"Handle The Leader!" He roared. "I’ve got this traitor!"
The fight between Azrael and The Leader was brutal and bloody. Her blade hit Azrael’s ribs, wounding him. Her holy fire spell hit his shoulder, and he had to cut away the burning cloth before it spread. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
But he was also four hundred years old, and had fought wars before the Leader was even born. Slowly, he started dominating her. But he was getting injured. Lyanna could see through the mirrors that he was slowing, and weakening, because of the holy nature of the wounds.
She couldn’t watch anymore. She couldn’t hide in these safe chambers while Azrael died fighting the threat she had been unknowingly helping by wearing that tracking ring.
Against Adrian’s orders, Lyanna grabbed the sword that was in the chambers. She then walked to the door and stepped out. She reached the main hall just as The Leader pointed her silver blade towards Azrael’s heart.
He was on his knees, exhausted from blood loss and wounds. The Leader stood over him, her blade was moving towards him. Without thinking, without hesitation, and without any plan other than stopping that blade from reaching Azrael, Lyanna threw herself forward.
She stepped between the blade and Azrael. The silver blade pierced through her chest, missing her heart by inches but destroying lung tissue, cutting through her ribs, and burning with holy fire.
The pain was instant and overwhelming. Her scream tore through the hall, cutting through the sounds of battle. And then Azrael screamed. It was raw, full of anger and terrifying.
Lyanna collapsed. There was blood everywhere, so much blood that it soon became a blood pool. The last thing she saw before darkness took her was Azrael’s face, and his devastating eyes with fear of losing her.
After all the revenge, the cruelty and the slowly growing connection, he was about to watch her die. And he hadn’t even realized he loved her until it was too late.
