To His Hell and Back
Chapter 79: Those Blood are His Friend

Chapter 79: Those Blood are His Friend

Deep within the castle, a forgotten chamber had been repurposed. Once a place of prayer, it had been abandoned by the late human King due to its oppressive darkness. But when the current King ascended the throne, he saw opportunity where others saw only gloom. The chamber was emptied, its shadows embraced as a tool rather than a curse.

When the vampires arrived to take Versailles, this chamber was cleared for a singular, grim purpose: to break one soul. Only one. Only one person.

That soul was none other than Cassius, the only Crown Prince of Versailles.

Since the night before, Cassius had been imprisoned in this chamber. After failing his mission the King had demanded he was brought to this chamber and though it was a different one from their previous castle, it had been built to mimic the old one.

The room was suffocating in its darkness, heavy with the scent of damp stone and decaying earth. The sharp metallic tang of blood mixed with the musty air, a constant reminder of the violence that had unfolded here.

Cassius was no stranger to such sights or smells. In fact, the scent of blood felt almost comforting in its familiarity, and the cold that gnawed at his bones had become an old companion.

The floor beneath him was unforgiving. His hands were bound behind him, thick ropes digging into his skin, yet his body remained unnervingly still.

Despite the searing pain pulsing through his limbs, despite the sickening sound of blood splattering and the wet, fleshy crack of a metallic whip tearing through the air, Cassius’s exterior betrayed none of it.

He had perfected the art of remaining calm amidst chaos, hiding the storm within beneath a mask of cold detachment.

Emotionless. Detached. A skill honed over years of manipulation, betrayal, and sheer survival.

The darkness in the room was suffocating, the flickering torchlight casting grotesque shadows that twisted and contorted across the walls, as if mocking him, mocking his failure, and his foolishness.

His sharp, crimson eyes, trained to pierce through the darkness, scanned the space, taking in the scattered tools on the floor: sharp instruments, chains, devices of torture. Each one spoke of a place long abandoned by mercy, a place where humanity was forgotten.

This room was a temple to suffering, and it was here, in its grim silence, that he was left to be tested.

But Cassius’s thoughts weren’t on the blood or the grotesque reality of the scene unfolding before him. No, something far more insidious gnawed at his mind: the sudden, terrifying vulnerability he was forced to confront. His authority as Crown Prince, once absolute, was now fragile, a fleeting illusion. It was still a challenge as there was still someone with more authority above him, meaning that his peaceful reign would never be eternal.

Stripped of the power he had so carefully wielded, the control he had so long maintained, he now found himself at the mercy of forces far beyond his command.

Even as the Crown Prince, his position was never truly secure within these walls.

Cassius had been in situations like this before. Whenever he made a mistake, the King would call upon his strongest men to "punish" him. He’d lost track of when it had started or how long it had become a routine, but he had grown numb to it all. The pain, the punishment, everything had become nothing more than another boring, endless hour.

Yet there was an unsettling silence between each strike, a quiet that pressed into him, forcing him to reflect on the starkness of his own isolation. The truth settled in: his choices, his own decisions, had led him here.

The King was unhappy as he didn’t manage to capture the sorceress and that skinwalker alive. What he wanted was information and Cassius had killed the sorceress without permission before the King could even see them. This was why he was punished though Cassius didn’t feel pain anymore as the silver whip burn to his skin.

Suddenly the man who had whipped him- who seemed to be struggling more than him- stopped. He turned behind and bowed, wiping away his sweat from his upper body that was naked before bowing and leaving so the king would have his time with his son.

Cassius didn’t have to turn to know that it was his father and he remained composed with that trace of grin hanging on the corners of his mouth.

"You rarely fail Cassius," his father started, walking as he placed his hand to draw a line on the cold and damp walls. "You have always achieved what I had asked you and mistakes could happen but was this mistake done due to your carelessness from the measly distraction?"

Cassius knew what his father was going to say and remain silent, letting out a very faint chuckle. He was bloodied all over, caked with blood but his spirit was as high as ever.

"The distraction," the king was used to his son’s composure and thread his words carefully. "Was it your pet that had distracted you? You brought her there and that was why you failed to capture those sorceress alive."

"Pardon father you’re mistaken," Cassius’s voice was hoarse than ever as the lack of blood and thirsty had caused his throat to dry like the desert. "I wasn’t distracted. They killed themselves before I could gather more information or keep them alive. Seems like they are loyal to their own King."

His majesty furrowed his eyebrows, "However Cassius, why do I feel that this wasn’t all the reason why you had failed? Why is it that I feel the presence of that pet of yours had clouded your judgement? You have became more reckless and rash."

"I was always reckless," Cassius answered without once losing his composure, "That girl is a pet and she would remain as one. I protect her because she’s fun when she’s alive but I don’t plan on sacrificing my life for her, you can be at ease, I have never been swayed and I don’t plan to do so."

"Are you certain?" The king smiled as he pulled his hand away and then look at the bloodied silver whip. Facing his father’s back, Cassius was calm only to hear the king continues his words, "What if suddenly that pet is in danger before you now will you come running to save her or choose your responsibility as the crown prince?"