The Vampire King's Pet-Chapter 315: Loose ends

"Aira, I beg you! If never again I ask anything of you, then do this!" Selira pleaded, her voice breaking as she clutched at her daughter desperately.

Aira slowly nodded, her expression unreadable. For a moment, it seemed as though she had given in. Then her gaze shifted—slowly, deliberately—to where Lord Dangrey knelt.

Gone was the fear that had twisted his face moments earlier. In its place was a smirk, subtle but unmistakable, one he tried desperately to hide. His back was still bowed, his posture lowered in submission, but Aira couldn’t unsee the faint curl of satisfaction at the corner of his mouth.

He thinks he’s won, she realized coldly.

Even as her mother begged harder—more fiercely than before—Dangrey’s confidence grew. The sound of Selira’s sobs filled the air, raw and humiliating, and still he smirked.

This time, Aira didn’t hesitate. She heard her own voice before she even realized she had opened her mouth to speak.

"Kill him."

The words rang out clearly, cutting through the chaos.

She turned her gaze to Zyren as she continued, her voice steady and merciless. "...Give me the fire. I’ll burn him myself."

She jerked the hem of her dress out of her mother’s trembling hands and straightened fully, lifting her chin as she fixed her gaze on Zyren. There was no doubt, no uncertainty, no hesitation in her expression.

Zyren moved instantly. There was no pause, no question in his eyes. His grip tightened around the blade, and in a single, fluid motion, he slashed forward.

Lord Dangrey screamed.

"Your mother will never recover! She will always be my—"

The words were cut short. Zyren aimed the blade directly at his mouth, severing his head cleanly from his body in one brutal slice. His expression at the moment of death was one of pure horror and hatred, frozen forever as his body collapsed to the ground.

Barely had his head hit the stone before Aira moved. She didn’t wait for Zyren to call for the fire. She strode straight toward one of the guards carrying a flame, snatching it from his grasp without a word.

She turned back to Dangrey’s body and threw the flames onto it, watching closely as fire consumed flesh, clothing, and bone. She stood there, unmoving, as the body crackled and burned, slowly turning to ash.

Dangrey’s severed head was still alive. His eyes rolled wildly in their sockets, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly. Vampire vitality was strong—given enough time and blood, he could have grown an entirely new body.

Aira stepped closer.

A slow smile spread across her face as she stared down at him, her expression cold and unyielding.

"If I could have killed you earlier, I would have done it myself," she said calmly.

Without another word, she lowered the flame and set his head on fire. She stood there until nothing remained—no flesh, no bone, no trace—only ashes scattered across the ground.

Around her, people whispered in hushed voices, horror and awe mingling in equal measure. Aira didn’t care. Their opinions meant nothing to her. She returned the flame to the guard and turned away without another glance.

Her attention shifted immediately to her mother. Selira had collapsed, fainting from shock. The horrific expression frozen on her face—wide eyes, twisted fear—made Aira’s chest tighten painfully. She remembered the look Selira had worn when Zyren moved to behead Dangrey, and guilt flickered briefly before she forced it down.

She scanned the area, hoping to spot Liora so they could calm Selira together. But there was no sign of her sister. That didn’t surprise her in the slightest.

What did sicken her was the knowledge of where Liora likely was. Somewhere far away. Somewhere dark. Killing an innocent human. And there was nothing Aira could do to stop her.

Behind her, Dangrey’s remains continued to burn as guards reinforced the flames whenever they threatened to die out. They made certain that not even ash remained intact.

Aira bent down and lifted her mother easily, Selira’s weight barely noticeable in her arms. She was far stronger than any normal human. Relief softened her expression slightly as she turned toward the gates, already planning to clean her mother up before she woke.

She had just begun to walk when Zyren fell into step beside her, the bloody blade now returned to its sheath. Aira stiffened instinctively at his presence, her shoulders tensing.

"It will take a while before she recovers," Zyren said, his tone carrying a quiet warning.

"Most of those who have been under the mind bloodline ability for so long never do," he added, almost as a reminder.

Aira didn’t slow down.

"She’ll heal with time," she replied sharply, walking faster, intent on putting distance between herself and him. She hadn’t forgotten their earlier conversation—not a single word of it.

She climbed the stairs quickly, unsettled when Zyren followed her without hesitation. His long, dark cloak trailed behind him, its gold lining catching the light as he moved. He walked easily beside her, his gaze fixed on her just as intensely as ever. This time, though, she caught something else in his eyes. Worry.

"Your sister," Zyren said. "She’s getting worse."

His tone was just as severe as it had been when he spoke of Selira. Aira sighed quietly in response, exhaustion washing over her.

Her mother she could help. Perhaps her powers could heal Selira’s fractured mind. But Liora... Liora was beyond her reach. Whatever ritual had been performed had gone terribly wrong.

"There’s no way to help her?" Aira asked, a faint note of desperation slipping into her voice as she glanced at him.

Zyren shook his head.

"She’s killing more humans," he said bluntly.

Aira froze mid-step, her eyes widening as the words sank in. Slowly, she turned to face him, accusation blazing in her gaze.

"You care?" she asked sharply.

She hated that her instinct was to defend her sister, hated that she couldn’t help it.

Zyren shook his head again.

"I don’t. It’s not like it’s a massacre," he replied calmly, continuing up the stairs beside her.

Aira picked up her pace, climbing faster than before, desperate to escape him. She knew he wouldn’t stay this close unless he had something he wanted to say.

Still, he remained silent until they reached her door. She turned abruptly, blocking the entrance with her body and fixing her gaze on him.

"You have something to say?" she asked seeing as how he saw the need to walk her back to her room, something he didn’t need to do unless he wanted something.

She looked up at him, fully aware that he towered over her, that he could snap her neck before she could even blink. Cold. Brutal. Cruel. Heartless.

And yet... he had confessed his love for her.

If what he said could even be called love.