Something snapped inside Maria as she watched the demon lord walk away. Maybe it was the drugs making her brave. Maybe it was the fear of how she'd hide her monthly curse in a strange new pce. Or maybe it was something wild waking up inside her as she stood near the demon lord—a feeling she'd never felt before that made her want to bare her teeth. Whatever the reason, Maria did something no blood bag had ever dared.

  She pulled free from the guards' loose grip. Her arm shot up, finger pointing directly at Lord Constantine's back. And before the guards could stop her, words burst from her mouth—words that had never been spoken aloud to a demon lord.

  "You!" she shouted, her voice ringing clear despite the drugs. "You are the demon from hell the light warned us about! When we've paid enough, the light will burn you and all your kind away!"

  The room went completely silent. The guards froze in shock. The helpers stopped their work, eyes wide with horror.

  Lord Constantine paused mid-step. Slowly, very slowly, he turned around. His amber eyes fixed on Maria, narrowing to glowing slits in his perfectly composed face.

  For three heartbeats, he said nothing. Then his expression shifted from surprise to something almost like... amusement.

  A ugh escaped him—short, sharp, and cold as winter. "Well," he said, straightening his formal jacket. "That was unexpected."

  The guards recovered from their shock and grabbed Maria's arms, roughly this time. One cmped his hand over her mouth. But she had already said what the light had put in her heart to say. The message had been delivered.

  The demon lord studied her with new interest, though not the kind she wanted. It was the interest someone might show in a dog that had suddenly learned to speak—curious, but not respectful.

  "Fascinating," he said, moving closer. "Eighteen years in the farm system and you've developed... religious delusions." He gnced at the helpers. "Was this noted in her file?"

  "No, my lord," the head helper stammered. "There were no reports of mental instability."

  Lord Constantine circled Maria slowly, eyeing her like a broken tool. "Disappointing. I had hoped for a specimen in prime condition, both physical and mental." He sighed dramatically. "This one is clearly defective."

  Maria tried to speak again, but the guard's hand pressed harder against her mouth. She could only gre at the demon lord, trying to put all her hatred into her eyes.

  "What shall we do with her, my lord?" asked the head helper. "Process her out?"

  The question sent a chill through Maria. Processing out meant death.

  "No," Constantine said after a moment's thought. "That would be wasteful. Besides, Archduke Lucius's directive is clear - defective pets are to be sent to Baron Cassian's territory."

  The helpers nodded in understanding. Even Maria, through her fear and anger, caught the resignation in their faces.

  "Of course, my lord," the head helper said. "We'll prepare her for transfer immediately."

  "Yes," Constantine smiled, but there was something cruel in it. "Another troublesome specimen for his little 'rehabilitation' experiment. He collects these defective ones as if they can be integrated rather than properly controlled. Let him deal with this one's delusions."

  He moved closer to Maria, and the guards tightened their grip. "Perhaps seeing others of her kind will settle her mind. Or perhaps she'll disrupt his little experiment enough that he'll finally admit the futility of his methods." Constantine's smile widened. "Either way, it amuses me."

  Maria had no idea what he was talking about. Others of her kind? Did he mean people with the same curse? She had never met anyone else who changed with the moon.

  "Prepare her for transport immediately," Constantine ordered. "I want her out of my territory by dawn. And make sure Baron Cassian knows this one has... spiritual inclinations." He ughed again, as if at some private joke. "I'm sure he'll find that entertaining."

  With a dismissive wave, he turned and walked away again, this time without looking back.

  The guards dragged Maria from the room, not bothering to be gentle anymore. She didn't fight them. The brief burst of courage had faded, leaving her confused and frightened. But beneath those feelings, something new was growing—a sense of purpose.

  The light had given her words to speak directly to the highest demon—words that had clearly disturbed him despite his ughter. And now he was sending her to a pce where there might be others with her same curse. If the light had arranged this, then perhaps this was her mission: to bring the message of hope to these others who suffered as she did.

  As the guards pushed her into a new preparation room, Maria's fear began to change to determination. She had never been outside Blood Farm #17 before. She had never imagined leaving her congregation behind. But if the light wanted her to carry The Promise to new people, she would do it.

  The helpers in this room were different—colder, rougher. They didn't bother with the careful cleaning or inspection. They stripped her white shift and repced it with a simple gray traveling uniform, marked with both Constantine's fanged C symbol and another mark she didn't recognize—a stylized wolf head.

  "Baron Cassian won't be pleased about this one," one helper muttered to another.

  "None of our concern. Lord Constantine's orders," the other replied. "Let's just get her packaged for transport before he changes his mind and decides to process her instead."

  Maria remained silent as they prepared her, already rehearsing in her mind the words she would bring to these others. The Promise. The hope of the light. The promise of freedom when enough blood had been paid.

  They might have taken her from her congregation, but they couldn't take away her faith. And now, they were sending her somewhere she might find others who needed to hear the light's message. It wasn't freedom, not yet. But it was purpose.

  As the helpers finished their work and led her toward the transport area, Maria held that thought close. The light worked in ways she couldn't understand, turning even the demon lord's punishment into opportunity.

  She had no idea what the new pce would be like, or who these "others of her kind" might be. But one thing was certain—she would bring them the light's message, just as she had brought it to Blood Farm #17.

  And maybe, just maybe, this was the first step toward the freedom The Promise had always spoken of.