"What happened?" Sophie cradled the unconscious Agatha, turning to Charles in panic.
"We saw you talking to Uncle Amanda and went to watch the snake charmer," Charles choked out between sobs. "Before we could get close, the snake lunged and bit Agatha! I didn't mean to—I didn't know it would attack! Everyone else was fine!" Guilt gnawed at him. He'd already incinerated the snake to ashes, but it was too late.
Sophie's vision swam as she examined the twin purple puncture marks on Agatha's calf. *Why this? Why now?*
Then it hit her—*Belindak!*
She yanked the drowsy serpent from her Phoenix Bag. "Belindak! What kind of snake bit Agatha? How do we cure her?"
"Stop shaking me!" Belindak hissed, slithering to inspect the wound. "A demon viper. Strange… they're usually docile in the human world. Why attack?"
Demon vipers, native to the demon realm, rarely retained their aggression here. Belindak knew this better than any human. Yet one had struck.
"How do we fix it?" Sophie demanded.
"The solution's simple," Belindak said. "Agatha must ingest the gallbladder of a demon viper—preferably the one that bit her." *Mine would work too,* it silently added, *but I'm not dying today.*
All eyes turned to the petrified snake charmer beside the pile of ashes.
"I—I found that viper in the Bahama Forest! It was my first time bringing one out! They told me demon vipers were safe, that they made good money—" The man trembled. If he got out of this alive, he'd hunt down the liar who'd given him the idea.
"Are there more vipers there?" Sophie pressed.
"Y-yes! There were two. The other escaped when I caught this one."
"How long does Agatha have?" Sophie asked Belindak.
"Three days. The venom only induces coma. The gallbladder will reverse it."
"Charles, take your sister back to Seahaven Manor. I'll find the viper." Without a backward glance, Sophie sprinted toward the forest, Amanda forgotten in her urgency.
*Once, Carina would've turned to me for help,* Amanda thought bleakly. *Now, she doesn't even see me. Should I let go?* Swallowing his pain, he followed.
---
Meanwhile, Libor arrived in Bell City, unaware of the two cloaked figures trailing him.
"Why torture yourself?" Bazzak murmured, eyeing Lina's pallor. Daylight weakened even pureblooded vampires like him—for a newborn like Lina, it was agony. "Libor apologized. Can't you forgive him?"
"I want to see who stole his heart," Lina whispered, her gaze burning. A thousand years ago, she'd forsaken her humanity, her kingdom, even her faith—all for Libor's love. And what had she received? An apology. *No one takes what's mine. Not even if I must destroy them both.*
Perched in a tree, Libor wrestled with his thoughts. He hadn't expected Bazzak and Lina to find him. *Lina… a vampire now.* Sophie had been right—vanishing without explanation had been cruel.
For centuries, Lina had chased him, begging Queen Yulia to turn her, desperate for his affection. But his feelings had never been love. Even now, as immortals, that truth remained. *If only she'd see Bazzak—the one who's loved her all along.*
When night fell, he'd find Sophie. *Have you missed me?* He imagined her smile in the dappled sunlight.
---
Deep in the Bahama Forest, Sophie and Amanda searched fruitlessly. The forest was vast—far larger than she'd anticipated. Without the charmer's directions, finding one viper in three days seemed impossible.
As dusk thickened, Libor's keen senses led him to Sophie's location.
"Sophie! What are you doing out here?"
"Libor!" Relief flooded her. "Agatha was bitten by a demon viper! We need its gallbladder!"
Libor's chest warmed at her eager welcome. *She needs me. That's enough.*
Nearby, Amanda watched silently. *Perhaps he's better for her.*
With vampiric speed, Libor soon unearthed a viper in a hollow tree. After cleansing the gallbladder with water magic, he handed it to Sophie.
Unseen, two pairs of eyes observed everything.
Lina's rage spiked. *How dare this woman—this* human*—stand between two men while basking in Libor's devotion!*
Bazzak, however, noted the tension. *Libor's love is unrequited. The other man… a rival?*
Before he could react, Lina vanished.
Sophie had just stored the gallbladder when Libor and Amanda suddenly lunged past her.
*CRASH!* Three figures collided and recoiled.
Lina, nursing a minor wound, glared at the men shielding Sophie. *Tonight, that human dies.*
"Lina?" Libor's eyes darted around. "Where's Bazzak?"
Amanda studied the hostile girl and Libor's wary expression. *History here.*
"Libor." Bazzak stepped from the shadows, grimacing. "I didn't expect her to attack."
"Uh… what's going on?" Sophie blinked, oblivious to how close death had been.
**Will Sophie grasp the danger she's in—or will Lina's vengeance strike first?**