Iron Blooded - Twenty Nine: The Untree

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.

Aurora Waters was overwhelmed with despair when she faced the truth about her family.She had been born into a family of villains.Even worse, her family had an unhealthy obsession with faking their identities.They took “Fake it till you make it” so seriously that it usually ended with them getting killed!Her oldest brother pretended to be a CEO just to mess with the female lead, but that backfired when the male lead showed up and threw him out.Her second brother? He was an obsessive lover who pretended to be a wealthy second-generation heir—until the real heir ended his life.Her third sister? She faked being an heiress to manipulate the second male lead but ended up being killed by him.Her fourth sister? She faked an illness to attract the third male lead’s attention, only to die from a real one.Her mother? She put on a facade of being a kind and loving mom but ultimately met her end at the hands of the male lead.Her father? He pretended to be a powerful tycoon but lost his job and was drowned by the second male lead.And Aurora? She planned to impersonate the daughter of the richest man alive, but if things went the way they always did in her family, she’d probably meet her end by accidentally falling down the stairs.However, there was one glimmer of hope in this nightmare: she had a 100% rebate system that rewarded her for spending money on her family![Beep! You bought an eraser worth 1 dollar for your eldest brother! 2 dollars have been credited to your bank account!][Beep! You bought a candy worth 1 dollar for your second brother! 2 dollars have been credited to your bank account!]Aurora’s eyes sparkled as an idea took shape. She began spending on her family like crazy to rake in cash.She even wished her family were greedier so she could earn more! Just as she was brainstorming new ways to splurge on her family, she unexpectedly ran into her childhood crush.[Beep! You gave a bun worth 20 dollars to your childhood crush! 100 dollars has been credited to your bank account!]Aurora: …! That’s walking money!

Shi Li found herself transported into a novel, becoming the vicious female supporting character who had an unhealthy, obsessive love for the male lead.During classes, she was either scheming how to win over the male protagonist or pondering the fates of her classmates in the original story.[It seems that in the next few days, Director Wei will have a car accident]Upon hearing Shi Li’s inner thoughts, the young lady abruptly stood up.[However, after Director Wei’s death, his mistresses and illegitimate children will show up at the door, claiming a large portion of the family fortune]The young lady gracefully sat back down.A few days later, the chairman died in a car accident and was promptly cremated before his last breath had even faded.When the mistresses tried to storm in with their illegitimate children to claim their share, all that remained was a fresh, warm urn of ashes.[That new sister-in-law of the school bully seems to be involved in some serious trouble behind his brother’s back]The school bully thought indifferently, wondering how bad it could be – at worst, she’d be cheating on his brother.[She’s connected to human trafficking rings operating across borders]School bully: !The police cracked a major international case, and thanks to this incident, the school bully finally gained recognition from his family.Everyone assumed Shi Li was madly in love with the male lead. The academic genius helped her create “chance” encounters. The young lady even delivered the male lead to her bed.Of course, some people took a different approach.Class monitor: What do you think of my young uncle?Others who rushed over upon hearing this: You fool, what are you trying to do?Following the principle of “if you can’t beat them, join them”Other classmates: This is my 6’3″ athlete little brother, and this is…

“It’s finally here,” said the man with the sword in an echoing whisper.

“The Tower of Choice, the last 100 floors!” the band of five exclaimed in unison.

Angelica came down from the altar with a dull look, seemingly annoying.

Then we looked around.

“I tell you once again, but you’ve had a lot of trouble in the meantime. I couldn’t have climbed to the 100th floor alone without you.”

Thud!

One by one, they fall to the floor.

Angelica’s dagger pierced my neck, and I felt a darkening in front of my eyes with a tumultuous rage. My awareness faded, from my senses, from everything else. After that, everything was eroded by profound darkness.