Teleportation Rune worked by virtue of connecting two points in space and shuttling the object or person through the narrowed space channel. It required Void Mana as fuel, which I found out was actually Mana tainted by the essence of a creature with void affinity.

Amara explained to me how the runes inside the chamber worked. Basically, a dragon was an endless well of mana, so as long as they remained breathing, mana would flow. That's why, to weaken the dragon or for some other purpose, the heart would have to be removed.

Since this dragon had void as its main element, the mana generated by the heart was being absorbed by the runes and shunted into the cave. According to her, all the mana crystals I had seen up to that point were the crystallization of the mana released by the heart.

I was left in awe, to say the least. But that wasn't the end of it.

From what I could gather, Amara had a thorough knowledge base regarding runic inscriptions to be able to operate them seamlessly. However, she wasn't skilled enough to work on that front. That's why she found the pillars utterly enigmatic.

The teleportation rune, on the other hand, was much easier to operate. It just needed an activation sequence to start before the void would connect the space points.

"Ready?"

I nodded at her in confirmation.

Amara stomped her foot on the rune, and the air was suddenly a tad heavier. The space around me seemed thicker than usual, restricting my movements greatly.

Before the flash of light blinded me, I saw a flicker of change in Amara's expression and then nothing.

Darkness took over my vision, my body weightless. Suddenly I was back inside my body and able to see, and I did not like what I saw.

Arcs of charged mana flashed all around me, tearing holes in space and some flicking my way. I ground my teeth and held fast against the discharge. Pain flared around my body as the purple arcs of mana tore through my flesh.

The entire episode lasted only a few seconds and when it ended I awoke to the sound of dripping water and stale air.

"Ugh..." I heard a groan to my left and turned to see Amara holding onto her bleeding arm.

Concern flared within my breast and I crouched down next to her, getting an uninterrupted view of the gash that seemed to have nearly torn her arm in half.

"Are you alright?" I asked solemnly.

Amara muffled a groan and looked at her arm. "Void Mana." She uttered. "It's interfering with my regeneration."

While I was also injured, mine only consisted of a few nicks and tears. Her injury, though not fatal, was certainly debilitating.

"Can't your talents fix this?"

"They are." She spoke. "I'm still too weak, so it's taking more time."

I took a glance at our surroundings, noting the cavernous structure that initially put me in distress. But the lull of the atmosphere was enough to put my heart at rest.

All around the rough cavern walls surrounded us. Moss and mud coating the black stones. Here and there I could see a root poking through the crevices, and in one location I spotted the water dripping off a stalagmite. I felt my throat itch at the sight of water.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked. The cave we were in seemed exceptionally bare bones, except for the single teleportation rune that we stood atop.

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"Blood," Amara answered. "I need blood."

Blood.

Most of Amara's talents focused on blood, especially Blood Monarch, which had blood in its name. That said, I couldn't find any creature near me to supply her with blood. That is, without taking myself into consideration.

I sighed. "Would mine work?"

Amara stilled, glanced at my face, and then at the numerous small cuts and nicks I had accumulated all over my body.

"You're injured." She said. I felt something else too from the way she was avoiding my eyes. She seemed to be feeling guilty, but of what I had no idea.

"Will it or will it not?" I pressed in a stern voice.

She bit her lip and looked at my arm. I knew vampires needed to be fed blood to regenerate their mana. Something I had picked up from Edith, who wanted to create enhanced health potions for the team. Those required vampire blood, and she had unintentionally delivered that nugget of information.

Amara sighed and tried to push herself to her feet. I was quick to lend a hand. She stumbled, falling into my arms.

I could smell the fragrance wafting from the hair, lacking even the slightest hint of goblin cruor thanks to her supernatural control over blood. Despite the roughness of her armor, she felt so soft and warm within my embrace that I had to consciously resist pulling her in.

Her head rested against my chest, the beat of my heart echoing in her ears. She lifted her head, silver locks cascading to reveal her pale and charming visage. Her face nuzzled into my nape, and I felt her hot breath against my flesh.

I knew what was coming, but I could never have anticipated the feeling that hit me. The intense sensation of euphoria that erupted in my whole body. My arm slid around her slender waist, subconsciously pulling her tighter.

All I knew in that moment was the lust flaring within my heart. Everything ceased to exist, except for the heated and tender embrace of Amara.

And at that my heart roared with one wish, with one desire. Mine!

"Mm-hmm."

A gasp left my throat at the fading sensations. I stumbled back, my vision swimming.

"What was that?!"

As my sight started to come into focus, I saw Amara lick the crimson fluid off her lips. She glanced at me with a narrow look and covered her mouth.

Suddenly exhaustion dominated my body and mind. I leaned against the rough wall and breathed roughly.

"Sorry about that," Amara said. "A vampire bite usually puts the host under intense bliss to curb any resistance on their part. Mine kind of does the same but at a vastly enhanced rate."

I noted the lack of cuts that used to sting all over. Though I did feel intensely lethargic, like I hadn't slept for over a week. My stomach especially ached with hunger, and my throat felt rough as sandpaper.

"Why do I feel so weak?"

The hunger and thirst had existed for a while now, and even the exhaustion had been grating at my nerves. However, I had been able to shoulder it all this while. But now, the drain I was feeling was so much more intense.

"I would wager a guess, but it looks to be a culmination of various factors. Like you seem to be hungry and thirsty. You probably haven't slept in a long while, and now you had a sizable amount of blood drained from your body. It's a miracle you're able to stay conscious."

That was an apt analysis. I wonder how much of that she got from the passive sense granted by Blood Monarch.

"If you'd told me earlier, I would've barbecued a goblin limb or two for you." She added.

I scrunched my nose in disgust and shot her an appalled look. The idea of consuming something humanoid just tickled my senses the wrong way. Even if there was no difference between a goblin and wolf as a monster, I would still pick later over former any day of the week.

Amara flashed me a wide smile, taking pleasure in teasing me. There was no doubt that she had said those words expecting my reaction. Truly an utterly insufferable vampire.

"What happened with the teleportation? It wasn't supposed to go this way, was it?"

At my words, Amara adopted a look of hesitation. But I wasn't willing to back down, so I stared back with a hard look. She sighed and hung her head low.

"I should've prepared for this, but we were kind of in a hurry, so..."

After the cavern was left empty and the goblins had fled, I had proposed we tour the place and scour the rest of the goblins. My main goal behind that suggestion was to find some food. Amara, however, had been insistent on leaving at the earliest.

Finding it impossible to argue against the Night Queen, I had instead picked a few mana crystals and wrapped them around my belt. Emergency funds secured.

"What happened?" I repeated.

Amara sighed and pointed at the teleportation rune beneath us. "This happened," she said. "It's damaged. That's the reason why the Void energy meant to bring us here safely went out of control."

"Wait, I don't understand. How could you have known about this? And even if you did, was it even possible to fix it?"

The teleportation rune we stood on had suffered from the cracks. Looking at it from an outsider's perspective, it would probably come off as an ancient relic of the forgotten past.

"I didn't know, and neither could I have fixed it." Amara saw confusion flare on my face and held up a hand before I could speak. "BUT, I could've cut off the link that connects the two. Which would've resulted in a random location, but at least we would've been safe."

I was at a loss for words.