Captive of the Crimson Countess, Chapter 1: Countess Battoria
Pain blasted through her skull. Blair opened her eyes to see a darkened room lit by a single guttering candle. Her breath hung in the freezing air of the room. Blair shivered. The room flickered and swam in the candlelight. She pulled herself up to a sitting position. She could smell wet stone and tasted copper as she took a breath. Blood. The air hung thick with blood. The room's decorations looked lavish. Not a dungeon then. Blair sighed. Not that this comforted her. If the lady of the manor didn't kill Blair, her grandmother definitely would do so. That thought spurred another. Why wasn't she dead? Countess Battoria had every reason to kill Blair. She knew what the lady was, an immortal. And so Blair could bring down the lady as head of House Battoria. Why would an immortal risk keeping a witness alive? And why keep a witness like Blair alive in particular. She had training as a monster hunter. Even unarmed, Blair was dangerous to the lady. Most people in Karshvar knew t...