In the cover of darkness, a mysterious shadow-like figure moved through the empty hallways of the palace. It carefully made its way towards Laina’s private quarters. Coming up upon her room, the shadow easily slit the throats of the guards.

As they bleed out from the open wound on their necks, the guards could barely make a sound or cry for help. Once they were down, the shadowy figure materialized before the door He gently placed his hand on the handle. 

In an instant, he turned into a puff of black smoke and entered the room through the keyhole on the doorknob. Upon materializing in the room, he turns his attention to Laina who was sleeping soundly in bed. 

Titan was sleeping soundly next to Laina. As soon as the assassin entered the room, his ears twitched, facing forward. He stirred awake as he noted the scent of the assassin. Looking directly at him, he bared his teeth and growled. 

There was barely any light in the room, the assassin did not notice Titan. He carefully made his way towards the bedside, while slowly retrieving the knife they kept on their waist belt. As the mirror-like surface of the knife reflected the light of the moon, a glimmer of light reflected across the room. 

Kol heard Titan’s growl and the entrance of the assassin. His eyes flickered open as he took note of where the assassin was. 

Before the assassin could take another step, he realized someone was standing right in front of him. A shiver ran down his spine as he quickly retreated backward. But Kol was quicker than the assassin, he lunged forward. 

With his swift move, Kol grasped onto the collar of the assassin’s clothes. As he struggled, the assassin cut Kol with the knife across his neck. Thinking he had the upper hand, the assassin smirked as blood seeped out of Kol’s neck wound. 

But the vampire hybrid did not move, nor did his expression change. Seconds later, the blood stopped flowing and the wound healed on its own. The assassin gasped audibly in shock. Kol, still holding the assassin by the collar, pushed forward. He pinned the assassin against the door. 

Kol barred his sharpened fangs at the assassin as he raised his other hand. He protracted his nails, ready to slash the assassin.

The sound of the assassin’s body hitting against the room door stirred Laina awake. Her reflexes kicked in as she grabbed the dagger beneath her pillow and sat up. Her vision was still a little blurry and she could barely see clearly in the darkness. 

Instead, Laina focused on her hearing and traced the sounds to be coming from where the room door was. 

“Kol, what’s going on?” she called out. 

Hearing Laina calls out to him, Kol diverted his attention to her. The assassin used this opportunity to his advantage. He kicked Kol away from himself, sending him flying across the room. 

The sofa broke Kol’s fall as he stumbled onto the coffee table. Laina, clearly seeing what was going on, immediately turned on the table side lamp and got out of bed. The assassin used his shadow form to move swiftly. 

Just as Laina got out of bed, the assassin materialized right before her. Though she was taken by surprise, she kept her cool. Laina curled her fist and punched the assassin right in the face. He stumbled backward, caught off guard by the crown princess’s sudden attack. 

Kol recovered from his fall onto the coffee table. He lunged forward, moving at breakneck speeds. The assassin did not have any time to react. Kol grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. 

Looking the assassin in the eyes, he punctured a hole in the assassin’s body with his bare hands. Kol grabbed onto the assassin’s heart and yanked it out of his body. The assassin collapsed onto the floor. Blood pooled around the corpse, staining the carpet. 

Kol looked at the fresh blood covering his entire arm. The heart of the assassin was still beating in his hands. It felt warm. The smell of blood was intoxicating, Kol could not help but bring his hand close to his mouth. 

He licked the blood off his arm. In an instant, he could feel newfound strength flowing through his veins. Without any hesitation, Kol picked up the body of the assassin and bit into his neck. Laina, who was still in shock by what had just happened, did not know how to react.

“Laina, Laina, are you alright?” a familiar voice traveled into the room from the balcony. 

Laina jumped as she dropped the dagger in her hands. Looking towards the source of the voice, she could not believe her eyes. 

She placed her hand on her forehead, “I must be dreaming.”

She rubbed her eyes and looked up towards the balcony again. There he was, walking into his room through the balcony’s glass door. 

“Dante? What in Kinshearth are you doing here?” she gasped in shock. 

When Kol realized there was someone else in the room apart from him and Laina, he turned to see. He quickly made his way over to Laina and stood between Dante and her. His eyes were blood red and his mouth was covered with fresh blood.

Kol stood protectively over Laina while glaring at Dante. 

“Kol,” she called out to him as she placed her hand on his shoulder, “Kol, it’s alright, Dante is a… I know him. He does not mean me any harm.”

Kol turned to look at Laina. Only with her reassuring gaze did he stand down. Dante was surprised to see the vampire hybrid standing before him. Why was there another man in Laina’s room?

Dante placed his hands on Laina’s shoulders. He checked her neck, her arms, making sure she was alright. 

“Are you alright, Laina? Were you hurt?” he asked as he continued to check her arms for cuts or bruises. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she said reassuringly. 

But it was as if he could not hear what she said, he continued to check her body for any sign of injuries. Just as he was about to lift her nightdress to check her thigh, Laina’s face flushed red. She held down the hem of her nightdress and placed a hand on Dante’s shoulder to get his attention. 

He looked up at her with a look of worry. 

“Dante, I’m alright. Really.. Kol here, killed the assassin before he could get to me,” she explained.