James didn''t even stop what he was doing when Anya teleported into the room.


    Her presence in his study was as natural as the ticking clock on his wall.


    Only she had the privilege of ignoring all protocols to get to him directly.


    They had been through thick and thin together and had built the vampiremunity in this city to what it was with their own hands.


    She deserved much more.


    He however, stopped what he was doing to look up when she crossed the room in quick strides.


    He frowned. Coupled with the tense look on her face, something was up.


    This was incredibly out of character for her.


    "We have a problem." She said,ing to stand in front of him.


    "I just heard from my contacts in Decapolis." She said frantically. "The guys at the Ark are making enquiries into Faewall. They''re now watching us."


    James''s eyes widened and he shot up from his chair. "You''re sure?" He asked. "You''repletely sure."


    "I am." Anya nodded. "This is real, James. We''re under their watch."


    "Shit." James clenched his fists. He could feel a sense of dread creeping in on him. If the Ark ever found out what he was hiding, he would be kissing his position as City Lord goodbye.


    People will die for his crime but he could make sure he wouldn''t be one of them.


    But losing his status as a City Lord would sign his death warrant.


    He''d be dead before the year was over.


    He swallowed as he thought about the enemies he''d made. It was a good thing they were all a part of the Monarchy and not the Council.


    But how did those at the Ark know anything serious was going on?


    This had to be what Genesis had meant.


    Her words reyed in his mind like a broken record.


    I''ve set ns in motion that you can''t stop even with my death.


    He''d dismissed her then, but now he was feeling the pressure of her threat fully.


    He walked out in the open and began to pace.


    The worst case scenario was an Eldering to Faewall.


    The lesser but still worse scenario was an Attendanting.


    Whichever one came, he didn''t want to face either of them.


    The best scenario would be them dismissing their submission.


    However, he won''t be leaving all this up to chance. The best way to save himself was to destroy the tree at its roots.


    James stopped pacing. He looked at Anya, determination in his eyes. "We don''t have any more options. It''s time to do what I''ve been holding back on."


    Anya raised an eyebrow but there was no surprise in her expression. She knew him well enough to expect this. "You''re sure?"


    "Absolutely." He said, his tone as hard as iron. "If the Ark really wants to dig around, we''ll have to make sure theye up empty."


    He met her gaze, his voice lower but fierce. "You''ll take one side of the city. I''ll take the other. We''ll search every inch until we find her."


    Anya hesitated.


    "Remember, Anya," James growled, meeting her gaze, "we''re in this together."


    "Alright." Anya nodded. "Let''s do it."


    They stepped back, both of them gathering their vitality.


    What they wanted to do required every drop of vitality they had. This time, it was all or nothing.


    They won''t recover all of the vitality they''ll be using and it''ll be a significant blow to their reserves but it''ll be worth it.


    He grunted as he unfurled his Aura, the energy spreading like mist but with the speed of a broken dam.


    The Aura covered almost half the city, covering every street it could get to.


    Anya''s Aura expanded in the opposite direction, forming a nket of vitality over her designated area.


    Their Auras stretched far, reaching across Faewall like a.


    And Genesis Matten was the fish.


    James began his search, shifting his awareness from house to house and street to street.


    Sometimes, he had to increase the height of the Aura, pulling back in some ces.


    The vampires in the city all felt the Aura settling over them.


    They paused whatever they were doing, looking in the direction of the City Lord''s estate.


    James was on a hunt and their instincts told them to stay quiet and wait till it''s over.


    They paused whatever they were doing and waited. Whatever the city lord was after, that didn''t mean they should continue what they were doing and expose their secret dealings when he could see them clearly.


    But some vampires were hidden from sight, living inside their pockets of darkness. These were ck spots. ces that remained blind to him as his vitality couldn''t prate them.


    But that was okay. They had anticipated this.


    Vampires did deserve their privacy. He wasn''t about to go knocking on every door, searching for his target.


    Instead, he moved methodically, eliminating each ck spot by confirming its owner''s identity. Then, he cross referenced it with its location and the owner''s allegiances.


    If it was a safe zone, he moved on. But if there was doubt, if it seemed like a ce Gen could hide, he lingered, his Aura probing as deeply as it could.


    He read the vitality around the ce, trying to pick out clues that he could use.


    He was aware that his vitality was rapidly depleting with each second but he had to do this.


    He focused his search, ruling out ck spots in neutral territories or owned by families with no connection to Gen.


    And then, just as he was nearing the end of his scan, he found it.


    A small, seemingly abandoned basement deep within one of the oldest parts of Faewall.


    A ck spot, unreachable and unounted for.


    "Gotcha." A grin spread across his face. This had to be it.


    Without hesitation, he teleported,materializing right outside the basement.


    He wasted no time, deploying a ck zone around the basement and sealing it offpletely.


    He reeled in his Aura and took a deep breath, savoring the feeling of finally closing in on his prey.


    If Gen was here, she would have no escape.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!