Remember Rapheal the vamp who almost killed sapphire.
Sapphire stirred awake, the weight of yesterday pressing into her limbs. The soft morning light streamed through the thin curtains, brushing warmth across her skin. She yawned, stretching slightly, her body sore but determined. Today, she would return to work, distraction was her only escape.
She swung her legs off the bed, rubbing the back of her neck where the phantom ache still lingered. As she stood, she moved to reach for her work cloak—
And froze.
A shadow moved.
Her heart seized.
There, standing near the door, arms crossed and face unreadable, was him.
The man who had nearly choked the life out of her days ago.
Her breath caught as she scrambled out of bed, heart hammering wildly, fear igniting into fury.
"Get out!" she screamed, grabbing the closest thing she could find, a trencher, and hurling it. It shattered at his feet, but he didn't flinch.
With nothing but her brief on, she yanked the door open and bolted.
Barefoot, breath short, Sapphire tore through the manor corridors like a hunted thing, Rapheal's slow, deliberate steps echoing behind her.
She didn't stop until she slammed the door to the study open, chest heaving.
" Lord Typhon—!"
Typhon looked up from the parchment he'd been reviewing, brows furrowed in confusion.
Before he could speak, she stumbled inside, her legs weak, her hair a mess, her skin flushed. And then—
Raheal stepped in behind her, calm.
Typhon's eyes shifted to the vampire, then to the disheveled woman before him. His expression barely moved, but his voice was cool and sharp.
"What is all this ruckus all about "
"I woke up and he was in my room" she snapped, breathless and trembling with rage and fear.
Raheal offered a lazy smirk.
"Your door was unlocked."
Typhon stood slowly, his gaze narrowing. Sapphire, still in only her brief, wrapped her arms around herself instinctively.
"Get. Out," Typhon said to Raheal, voice low and dangerous.
Raheal didn't move. "You said I'd guard her. I was guarding."
"You'll do it from a distance," Typhon snapped.
Sapphire's eyes flared. "You knew?!"
He turned to her slightly not answering her question
Sapphire's voice broke through the thickening silence.
"You knew he was here? That-that man nearly killed me?"
Typhon's jaw tightened. "He won't harm you again."
"That's not the point!" she hissed, stepping forward despite her bare feet and trembling frame. "He killed his wife"
Raheal leaned against the doorframe, smirking. "Careful with your words."
"Don't speak," Typhon barked without looking at him. His attention was on her—only her now.
"I didn't intend for him to be in your room. He was to observe, not invade."
Sapphire shook her head in defiance ."I don't want this murderer to be anywhere near me"
"You're overreacting," Typhon said coldly.
She laughed bitterly. "Overreacting? After nearly dying? After waking up to that—"
Raheal pushed off the wall. "She's dramatic. Are all humans this noisy?"
Before she could snap back, Typhon crossed the room with swift, silent steps. He was in front of Raheal in seconds, a hand to his chest, pushing him back through the doorway.
"I said get out."
Rapheal's smirk faded as Typhon's eyes glowed faintly red,. He retreated without another word.
Typhon shut the door slowly, then turned back to Sapphire. Her chest was rising and falling as her eyes glossy with unshed fury.
"I know why I'm here," she said, eyes flickering up to meet Typhon's unreadable gaze. "Look—I'm working on it. Discreetly. Just as you told me to."
Her words hung in the air, laced with quiet defiance. The silence between them stretched until Typhon broke it with a sigh
"You weren't discreet enough," Typhon said, his voice calm.
"The people have started whispering, about a woman who promised them a cure."
Sapphire opened her mouth, but no words came. Shame burned in her chest as she slowly lowered her gaze. "I only asked around… I didn't mean to draw attention."
Typhon sighed, a tired sound that somehow felt heavier than anger. "Eugene went out this morning to restock the manor. Caught wind of the gossip."
He stepped closer, eyes narrowing. "Raphael is under my command now. He'll work with you—until the whispers die down."
A pause.
"We wouldn't want you dying before you repay me, Sapphire."
Her name rolled off his tongue like a warning.
Silence stretched. And then she turned, gathering what dignity she could in her bare state, and left him standing there.
Lord Typhon sighed heavily as the door shut behind her, his fingers tightening around the edge of the desk. That heady, reckless woman would get herself killed before she even came close to a cure.
Did she not know how dangerous her path was? Or worse—did she not care?
Alchemists were not permitted to work solo. By decree, all were to report directly to the King's Court, placed under strict supervision. Not just for their safety—but for everyone else's and he had defyed the king by letting her stay here.
He could have handed her over. Should have. But he hadn't.
And with the upcoming ball, which he suspected wouldn't go well, too many eyes, too many enemies.Typhon felt the pressure tighten like a noose. He had thought this through a hundred times over. The ball wasn't just a celebration; it was a stage. One wrong step, and everything would burn.
He needed control. He needed leverage.
And he had only one option: Raphael.
The irony wasn't lost on him. A beast barely tamed, Typhon didn't trust him, he'd be a fool to. But trust was a luxury, not a necessity. What Raphael had was far more valuable.
His fangs.
With those fangs gone, Raphael's power was leashed, his freedom dangled on a string. It was the only way Typhon could rely on him without sleeping with a blade at his throat.
For now, that would have to be enough.