The following morning brought a flurry of activity to the Mixed Heritage section. Attendants arrived earlier than usual, directing specimens to prepare for Lady Bloodfang's private viewing. The atmosphere among the mixed-bloods was tense—Sestra had shared stories of previous specimens who had caught Lady Lilith's interest, and the outcomes had varied dramatically.

  "They say she can see bloodlines just by looking at you," whispered one specimen as they gathered for breakfast. "Trace your ancestry back generations."

  "I heard she collects genetic material for her experiments," added another. "Blood, tissue, bone marrow..."

  Thrall 7249 ate quietly, listening to the rumors while maintaining his calm demeanor. The more he heard about Lady Lilith Bloodfang, the more he recognized both the danger and opportunity her interest represented. A noble with her expertise in blood magic might detect the unusual energy patterns he'd been careful to conceal—especially if those differences stemmed from his interrupted Blood Bond experience or some aspect of his nature he didn't yet understand himself.

  After breakfast, the Mixed Heritage specimens were escorted to a preparation chamber different from the one used for the general exhibition. This room was smaller, more clinical in appearance, with various magical instruments arranged on tables around the perimeter.

  Curator Vexis entered, her expression more serious than the previous day. "Lady Bloodfang's private viewing will differ from yesterday's exhibition," she announced. "Rather than a simple dispy, she will conduct examinations of selected specimens. You will cooperate fully with any requests. Her research benefits House Vexarious as well as her own studies."

  She moved along the line of specimens, selecting individuals with a pointed finger. "You, you, and you," she indicated three mixed-bloods including Thrall 7249. "Remain here for preparation. The rest may return to the common area until summoned."

  As the others filed out, Thrall 7249 and the two selected specimens—Sestra and an older male with subtle feathered growths along his forearms—exchanged gnces. Being singled out was rarely positive in the experience of any sve.

  "Lady Bloodfang has specific interest in unusual hybrid expressions," Curator Vexis expined. "Each of you represents a different aspect of cross-heritage manifestation. You will undergo more thorough preparation than yesterday."

  This "thorough preparation" proved to be an uncomfortable process. Attendants took samples—small clippings of hair, scraping of skin cells, even tiny amounts of blood drawn with delicate crystal needles. Throughout, Thrall 7249 maintained his facade of compliant submission while inwardly analyzing everything happening around him.

  The blood sampling particurly concerned him. Blood magic was a powerful discipline in demon society, and the Bloodfang House was renowned for their expertise in this field. With a sample of his blood, Lady Lilith might discover aspects of his nature he himself didn't yet understand.

  After the sampling was complete, the three specimens were dressed in different garments than their usual blue section clothing. These new outfits were still blue but of finer quality, with subtle patterns woven into the fabric that seemed to shimmer when they moved.

  "The patterns are reactive to magical examination," expined one attendant as he adjusted Thrall 7249's colr. "They'll highlight any unusual energy flows during Lady Bloodfang's assessment."

  This information heightened Thrall 7249's concern. If the garments would reveal energy patterns, his carefully hidden magical potential might be exposed. He would need to focus on suppressing his energy as Mentor had taught him in the Pit.

  Once preparations were complete, the three specimens were led to a chamber Thrall 7249 hadn't seen before—smaller than the main exhibition hall, with a circur design and sophisticated magical implements embedded in the walls. At the center stood a raised dais surrounded by a pattern of intricate runes carved into the stone floor.

  "The Analysis Chamber," Sestra murmured, her scaled skin taking on a paler hue that suggested fear. "I've heard about this room. It's where they conduct the most detailed examinations."

  The feathered male nodded grimly. "Been here twice before. It's... intense. But not painful, at least."

  They were positioned at equidistant points around the chamber's perimeter and instructed to remain still. Unlike the previous day's exhibition, there were no other specimens present—just the three of them, two attendants, and Curator Vexis, who busied herself activating various magical devices around the room.

  After several minutes of preparation, the chamber's doors opened. Lady Lilith Bloodfang entered, unaccompanied by Lord Vexarious or other nobles. Her attire today was more practical than the previous day's formal wear—a fitted ensemble in deep crimson with numerous small vials and instruments attached to a belt at her waist. Her vivid red hair was pulled back tightly, emphasizing her sharp features and penetrating gaze.

  "Curator," she acknowledged Vexis with a slight nod. "The specimens have been prepared as requested?"

  "Yes, Lady Bloodfang. Basic samples have been collected and are avaible for your review." Vexis gestured to a small table where the vials of blood and other materials had been arranged. "The specimens are ready for your examination."

  Lady Lilith approached the table, examining the collected samples with critical interest. She held each vial up to the light, occasionally making notes on a small crystal tablet simir to the one Vexis carried. When she reached Thrall 7249's samples, she paused longer, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly.

  "Interesting," she murmured, almost to herself. "The cellur structure shows unusual resilience. And the blood..." She pced a drop on a small crystal pte, passing her hand over it in a gesture that caused the drop to glow briefly. "Remarkable compatibility markers."

  Curator Vexis moved closer. "Have you found something significant, my dy?"

  "Perhaps." Lady Lilith's tone was measured, revealing nothing of her thoughts. "I'll need to conduct a direct examination to confirm."

  She approached Thrall 7249 first, stopping a few paces away. "Step onto the central dais," she instructed.

  He obeyed, walking to the center of the room and standing on the raised ptform as directed. The runes surrounding the dais began to glow with a soft crimson light, matching the color of Lady Lilith's eyes.

  "Remain still," she commanded, raising her hands. As she began a series of intricate gestures, the air around Thrall 7249 grew heavier, charged with magical energy. He felt a warm sensation spreading across his skin, then deeper, as if something was probing beneath the surface.

  Lady Lilith's eyes never left him as she continued her magical examination. With subtle movements of her fingers, she adjusted the intensity and focus of the magic. The patterns in his garments began to shimmer more actively, responding to the magical energy flowing around and through him.

  Thrall 7249 focused on appearing calm while inwardly employing the techniques Mentor had taught him—controlling his breathing, channeling his own energy into the most basic, stable patterns, presenting the image of a simple half-blood with no remarkable capabilities.

  After several minutes of examination, Lady Lilith lowered her hands. The magical energy receded, though the runes continued to glow faintly.

  "Your energy patterns are unusual," she said, addressing him directly. "There's something distinctive about your magical signature that doesn't conform to typical demonic cssifications. It's as if..." She paused, her expression revealing a hint of genuine curiosity. "It's obscured, somehow. As if deliberately masked."

  This observation sent a chill through Thrall 7249. Was she detecting something about his energy patterns that even he didn't know? Or was she simply noting his efforts to suppress his magical potential?

  "I know nothing of my parentage, my dy," he replied truthfully. "I was raised in the sve quarters from my earliest memory."

  "Hmm." Lady Lilith studied him for a moment longer, then gestured for him to step off the dais. "Remain here. I wish to compare your patterns with the others."

  She proceeded to examine Sestra and the feathered male in turn, conducting simir magical assessments. Throughout, Thrall 7249 noticed that her examinations of the others were shorter, less intensive than what she had performed on him.

  When all three examinations were complete, Lady Lilith returned to the sample table, adding new notes to her tablet. After several minutes of silent review, she turned to Curator Vexis.

  "I would like to speak with the half-blood privately," she announced. "Have him brought to the consultation chamber."

  Vexis bowed slightly. "Of course, Lady Bloodfang. Immediately."

  Thrall 7249 was escorted from the Analysis Chamber through several corridors to a smaller room furnished with a table and chairs—a setting more suited to conversation than examination. The attendants positioned him standing beside the table, then departed, leaving him alone.

  Minutes ter, the door opened, and Lady Lilith entered. Without the other specimens or attendants present, her focus on him was undivided and intense.

  "Sit," she instructed, gesturing to one of the chairs as she took the seat opposite.

  Thrall 7249 hesitated, uncertain. Sves were rarely invited to sit in the presence of nobles.

  "It wasn't a suggestion," Lady Lilith said, a hint of impatience in her tone.

  He sat carefully, maintaining perfect posture, his hands resting on his knees. This situation was unprecedented in his experience—a private audience with a noble who was treating him, at least superficially, as worthy of direct conversation.

  Lady Lilith studied him silently for a moment, her crimson eyes assessing. "Do you know what makes you unusual?" she finally asked.

  "My mixed blood, my dy," he replied cautiously.

  "No. Half-bloods are uncommon but hardly rare. There's something else." She leaned forward slightly. "Something in your energy pattern that doesn't match standard hybrid manifestation. And your involvement in a Blood Bond interference... that suggests capabilities beyond your apparent status."

  Thrall 7249 remained silent, unsure how to respond without revealing too much.

  "Tell me about the Blood Bond incident," Lady Lilith continued. "In detail this time, not the simplified version you offered during the exhibition."

  He considered his options carefully before responding. Complete refusal would mark him as defiant, potentially dangerous. Too much information might expose his true capabilities. He needed to find a bance—enough truth to satisfy her curiosity without compromising his secrets.

  "A noble was attempting to force a Blood Bond on a young sve girl during a celebration," he began, keeping his voice even. "He was heavily intoxicated. I... intervened by suggesting the ritual might be dangerous under those conditions."

  "You 'suggested'?" Lady Lilith's eyebrow arched skeptically. "A sve offering magical advice to a noble?"

  "I had cleaned for magisters who discussed such matters, my dy. I repeated what I had heard about misaligned energies and ritual preparation."

  "And when this advice was inevitably rejected?"

  Thrall 7249 hesitated. "I positioned myself between them. The ritual began but... failed. There was an explosion of energy."

  Lady Lilith's expression showed growing interest. "You survived a backfired Blood Bond ritual with no apparent damage. That alone makes you worthy of study." She paused, then asked more directly, "Did you absorb any energy during this incident?"

  The question struck uncomfortably close to the truth. He had indeed absorbed a fragment of power from the noble during the interrupted ritual—a small but significant change that had accelerated his development under Mentor's guidance in the Pit.

  "I felt... something, my dy. A warmth that passed quickly."

  Lady Lilith nodded, as if his answer confirmed a suspicion. "Blood Bonds create permanent connections between participants, even failed ones. The fact that you experienced energy transfer suggests compatibility far above what would be expected in your caste."

  She rose from her chair and moved around the table, approaching him. "I would like to conduct one more test. It will be brief but more direct than the chamber examination."

  Before he could respond, she had removed a small crystal vial from her belt. "I need to test your magical compatibility more directly." She produced a thin silver needle and pricked her own fingertip, allowing a single drop of blood to fall into the vial. The drop glowed faintly with internal energy.

  "Your hand," she commanded, extending the vial toward him.

  Thrall 7249 hesitated. Any blood testing could potentially reveal things about his nature he'd been careful to hide. Yet refusal was impossible before a noble of one of the most powerful houses in Bloodreach.

  Slowly, he extended his hand. Lady Lilith pricked his finger with the same needle and added a single drop of his blood to the vial. The two drops remained separate for a moment, then began to swirl together of their own accord, creating intricate patterns within the crystal container.

  Lady Lilith watched the reaction intently, her eyes narrowing. "Extraordinary compatibility," she murmured. "Your blood doesn't resist the noble essence as expected for your caste. The barriers that typically require eborate ritual to overcome are barely present in your case."

  "As I suspected," she said quietly, watching the reaction in the vial. "Your magical essence has unusual compatibility with noble energy. The typical resistance patterns aren't present." She studied him with new intensity. "Do you understand how rare this is?"

  "No, my dy," he answered truthfully. Though he had learned about Blood Bonds from Mentor, the specifics of magical compatibility were beyond his current knowledge.

  "Most lower castes experience significant resistance to noble energy. It's why Blood Bonds require such eborate ritual preparation—to overcome the natural barriers between castes." She sealed the vial and tucked it into a pocket in her belt. "You have almost no such barriers. Your magical essence appears predisposed to accepting noble energy, which is highly unusual for your caste."

  Thrall 7249 remained silent, uncertain how to respond to this revetion. Was this unusual compatibility reted to his interrupted Blood Bond experience? His unknown magical potential? Or perhaps connected to something about his nature that he still didn't understand?

  Lady Lilith returned to her seat, watching him with calcuted interest. "I've made a decision," she announced. "I'm going to request your transfer to my personal research facility."

  The statement hung in the air between them. Being removed from Lord Vexarious's collection would mean yet another dramatic change in circumstances, with unknown risks and possibilities.

  "Lord Vexarious values you only as an exhibition piece," Lady Lilith continued. "In my boratory, your unusual magical properties could contribute to significant research. The conditions would be... superior to your current situation."

  "I am honored by your interest, my dy," Thrall 7249 replied carefully. "But I am merely a sve. My preferences are irrelevant."

  A slight smile curved Lady Lilith's lips. "A diplomatic answer. You're more intelligent than you pretend to be." She leaned forward. "Let me be clear: I know you're hiding something. Your energy patterns, your blood compatibility, your involvement in the ritual interference—none of it aligns with a common half-blood sve. Under my supervision, we could explore your true potential rather than suppressing it."

  The directness of her assessment was arming. She had seen through his careful facade more thoroughly than he had feared. Yet her offer suggested research rather than punishment—an opportunity to understand his nature rather than condemning him for it.

  "I will speak with Lord Vexarious immediately," Lady Lilith said, rising from her chair. "Given our houses' retionship and my specialized research focus, I anticipate no objections to the transfer. Prepare yourself for relocation within the next few days."

  She moved toward the door, then paused, looking back at him. "One more thing. In my research facility, specimens are not referred to by thrall numbers. You'll need a proper designation." She studied him for a moment. "You have qualities of both destruction and resilience. I think 'Damien' will serve as an appropriate research identifier."

  With that, she departed, leaving Thrall 7249—now apparently to be called Damien—sitting alone in the consultation chamber, his mind racing with the implications of this unexpected development.

  A name. After years as merely a numbered thrall, he had been given a name. Not out of kindness or recognition of his personhood, but as a convenient bel for a research subject. Still, it represented another step away from common sve status toward... something else.

  More significant than the name was Lady Lilith's clear recognition that he was unusual. She had detected what he had tried so carefully to hide—his potential, his different energy patterns, his unusual blood properties. Yet instead of reporting him as dangerous or defective, she had cimed him for her research.

  This transfer would mean leaving the retive safety and predictability of Lord Vexarious's collection for an unknown environment. Lady Lilith had mentioned "superior conditions," but research could imply more invasive examinations, more direct testing of his capabilities.

  Yet it might also mean access to knowledge about his own nature that would be inaccessible in his current position. Lady Lilith's expertise in blood magic and lineage studies could help answer questions about his origins and potential that he couldn't resolve alone.

  As attendants finally arrived to escort him back to the Mixed Heritage section, Thrall 7249—Damien—reflected that his path continued to follow unexpected turns. From sve quarters to the Pit to Lord Vexarious's collection, and now potentially to Lady Lilith's research facility—each transition bringing new dangers but also new possibilities.

  He had survived and adapted so far. Whatever came next, he would continue to observe, learn, and grow in understanding of both this world and himself. Lady Lilith had recognized something special in him. Perhaps under her attention, he might finally begin to understand what made him different—and why that difference mattered.