The journey took hours. Maria sat alone in the small moving box with windows too dark to see through. She'd never been inside a car before. The strange motion made her stomach feel sick, or maybe that was the drugs still in her system. Or maybe it was fear.

  At first, she'd been brave. The light had given her a mission to bring The Promise to others with her curse. But as the car moved through the night, doubt crept in. She'd called the demon lord a demon to his face. No one did that and lived. What if this wasn't a mission? What if they were taking her somewhere worse than Blood Farm #17?

  She remembered stories whispered in the sleeping area about blood bags who fought back or tried to escape. Those stories never ended well. Blood extraction to unconsciousness. Experimental testing. Things too terrible to name.

  By the time the car stopped, Maria was shaking. The bravery that had filled her when she pointed at the demon lord had drained away, leaving only cold fear. When the door opened, she flinched back against the seat.

  "We've arrived," said a voice. Not rough like the guards from the farm, but calm and even. "Please come with me."

  Confused, Maria looked up to see a young woman in a neat uniform. She wasn't wearing guard clothes, and she didn't have a shock stick or restraints. She just stood there, waiting.

  Maria didn't move. This had to be a trick.

  "Are you hungry?" the woman asked after a moment. "There's food waiting inside if you'd like some."

  Food? Maria couldn't remember the st time she'd eaten. But she didn't trust this. In Blood Farm #17, no one offered food unless it was extraction recovery rations.

  "Where am I?" she asked, her voice rough from hours of silence.

  "You're at Baron Cassian's main residence," the woman said. "I'm Eliza, one of the household staff. I've been assigned to help you settle in."

  The words made no sense to Maria. "Settle in?" What did that mean?

  "I know this must be confusing," Eliza said, her voice gentle. "The Baron asked that you be made comfortable after your journey. Would you prefer to rest first, or eat?"

  Maria stared at the woman, looking for signs of the trick. Maybe they drugged blood bags before punishment here. Maybe they wanted her to let her guard down.

  "Where's the extraction room?" she finally asked.

  Eliza looked puzzled. "Extraction room? There's no extraction room here."

  Now Maria was sure this was a trick. Every pce with demons had extraction rooms. That was the whole point of blood bags—to have their blood taken.

  Cautiously, Maria stepped out of the car. She expected rough hands to grab her, but none came. Instead, she found herself standing in a wide open space with green grass and trees. In the distance stood a rge building, but not like the concrete blocks of Blood Farm #17. This one had many windows and looked almost pretty with its stone walls.

  For a moment, Maria could only stare. She'd never seen so much open space, or so many trees, or a building that wasn't made for keeping blood bags locked up.

  "This way, please," Eliza said, gesturing toward a path.

  Still waiting for the trick to reveal itself, Maria followed. Each step on the stone path felt strange after years of concrete floors. The air smelled different too—clean and full of pnt smells, not like the chemical-and-blood smell of the farm.

  As they walked, Maria noticed other people moving around the grounds. None wore gray blood bag uniforms. They wore clothes in different colors, and they moved freely without guards or chains. A few gnced at Maria with curious expressions, but no one stopped them.

  "The Baron has assigned you quarters in the west wing," Eliza was saying as they approached the big building. "It's near the garden, which has a lovely view of the sunset. Many of our newer guests prefer it there."

  Maria didn't understand most of what Eliza said. What was a "west wing"? What were "quarters"? Why would a blood bag get a view of anything? None of it made sense.

  The door to the building opened automatically as they approached. Inside was nothing like the bare, white halls of Blood Farm #17. The floor was covered in soft material, the walls painted warm colors. Lights glowed softly from fixtures on the walls, not the harsh brightness Maria was used to.

  "Your rooms are this way," Eliza said, leading Maria down a hallway. "The Baron is away on business today but will meet with you tomorrow after you've had time to rest."

  Rooms? More than one? Maria's confusion grew with every step. This pce wasn't just different from the blood farm—it was like something from another world.

  Eliza stopped at a wooden door and opened it. "Here we are," she said, stepping aside so Maria could enter.

  Maria hesitated, sure that beyond the door would be a punishment room where the trick would finally be revealed. But when she peered inside, she saw what looked like a small living space with furniture and windows that showed trees outside.

  "There's a bedroom through that door," Eliza said, pointing. "And a private bathroom. Fresh clothes are in the wardrobe. When you're ready to eat, just press this button by the door, and someone will bring you food."

  Maria stepped into the room cautiously, waiting for the trick. The floor was soft under her feet. The room smelled clean, not like chemicals. There was a couch and chairs that looked comfortable, not hard benches. The light coming through the windows was natural sunlight, not artificial.

  "I'll leave you to settle in," Eliza said. "If you need anything, just press the button."

  When the door closed behind Eliza, Maria stood frozen in pce. What was this? Why was she being treated like this? Was this how they broke people who defied demon lords? Give them nice things and then take them away?

  She waited for the locked sound, but it didn't come. Slowly, she moved to the door and tried the handle. It opened. She could leave if she wanted to.

  Maria closed the door quickly, her heart racing. This was all wrong. Blood bags didn't get rooms with soft floors and windows. They didn't get doors that opened. They didn't get to ask for food whenever they wanted it.

  She moved to the window and looked out at trees and grass stretching into the distance. Far away, she could see a fence, but it wasn't like the blood farm's electric fence with guards. This one was simple metal bars with no sharp wire on top.

  The longer she stood there, the more Maria became convinced this was a test. The light had warned that demons were tricky. They could make things look good to tempt people away from the true path. Maybe that's what this was—a trap to make her forget her mission. To make her soft and weak so she wouldn't spread The Promise to others.

  Moving away from the window, Maria took stock of the room. There were pces to hide if she needed to. The bathroom had water she could drink if they tried to starve her out. The clothes in the wardrobe could be torn into strips for emergencies.

  Most importantly, she needed to find others with her curse. The demon lord had said there were "others of her kind" here. She hadn't seen any yet, but they had to be somewhere on the grounds.

  As the sun began to set outside the window, Maria made herself a promise. She wouldn't be fooled by this nice pce. She wouldn't forget why the light had sent her here. She would stay strong, find the others, and share The Promise with them.

  After all, demons were demons no matter how nice their cages looked. And the light would still burn them all away when enough blood had been paid.

  She just needed to stay true to her mission, no matter what strange new tricks this pce tried to use on her.