Chapter 39. To Be Found

XAVIER ASHERIUS' POV

Two days ago.

Peony's sweet floral scent vanished quickly as a blinding magic light enveloped my surroundings. Peony's figure and her worried gaze gradually faded from sight into tiny flickers. My hands balled into tight fists until my knuckles turned white.

In the blink of an eye, I found myself standing on the dusty floor of a dimly lit basement in an abandoned building. Lazarus, with his ruby eyes, stood three feet away from me.

“You arrived earlier than I had anticipated.” With a stride toward the door, Lazarus remarked, "I expected you to arrive at dawn at the earliest."

As I was about to follow him, I suddenly caught a whiff of a foul scent of black blood, which stung my nose. I followed a trail and discovered a vampire who was restrained in a chair.

There was a big hole in his left chest, from which thick black blood gushed like a spring. At the same time, a lifeless heart, which should have been inside, was now resting on the floor next to the chair.

The v