“I don’t know.” For the first time, Vero felt uncertainty. Usually, she didn’t think too much about everything that had happened in her life. She acted according to her will and didn’t worry too much about the consequences she would face.But this time was different. She feared that a wrong answer would make her lose Lev. Even though they didn’t officially belong to each other, her feelings already ran this deep.Lev seemed displeased with her response. “Is there even a slight desire to meet them?” he asked. This time, it sounded more urgent.“I don’t know, Lev. I haven’t thought about it,” Vero replied. “What do you expect from me?”“I hope you make a decision soon.”The room felt so silent and dark. Lev’s attitude and words made her feel cold. She hugged herself and looked down. “This is the first time I don’t know what I should do,” she said honestly. She had never been this honest about her feelings before, not even to her foster parents. “I’m afraid that whatever I decide will be
“He left for campus early in the morning, sir.”Henry held his breath and closed his eyes upon hearing the report delivered by Raphael. He was not a man known for his patience, and Lev had managed to exhaust it all. If Lev wasn’t his blood brother, he wouldn’t bother letting him live the way he was now.Raphael stood by the gazebo in the backyard of the Deammone residence, bowing and lowering his head, waiting for further orders.Henry placed the bitter coffee cup he held on the table. “Prepare the car,” he commanded. “I’m going to the university. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the place.”“Yes, sir.” Raphael turned around and was about to walk away when Henry called him back.“Wait.” Henry glanced at the forest, then looked at the distant mountaintops. The snow had stopped, and the summer sun was slowly melting the accumulated snow.As cold and warm as Duradel could be, Henry never felt any change. And just as the weather did not affect his body, humanity felt tasteless to his hea
Although Lev said that he didn’t mind if Verona wanted to go see her biological parents, deep down, he still felt uneasy. What if those vampire hunters brainwashed her and made her hate him?And on top of all that, Lev should inform Henry about the presence of the vampire hunters. It was a significant threat that he couldn’t just let go. However, he had to think of a way to tell Henry without bringing up Verona.There were too many things to think about and take care of. But first, there was something much more important. The dinner invitation from Henry to Verona.Lev had found a way to make Verona invisible to Henry tonight, but before that, he had to meet Raphael. After safely escorting Verona back to the dorm and sending a message to Jia to take care of Verona, Lev returned home and headed straight to the building where the servants lived. He had made an appointment with Raphael and asked him to wait for him in his office.Raphael was reading the household financial report when Le
“What’s this?”Henry had just come out of his office and went down to the ground floor to meet one of The Elders when he saw the servants bustling about, carrying many dishes. He stopped one of the servants and asked what was happening.The servant’s expression changed to surprise, then concern, before bowing his head and saying, “For tonight’s celebration, sir.”The answer only confused Henry even more. He furrowed his brow and asked through clenched teeth, “Celebration? What celebration?”“The celebration of your return, Henry.”Henry turned around upon hearing someone else answer his question and found Lev walking toward him.“You can go,” Lev commanded the servant whom Henry had stopped earlier.The servant hurriedly left the two of them and headed towards the corridor leading to the grand hall.“What are you planning?” Henry asked in a growl. “A celebration for my return? Don’t be ridiculous.”Lev stopped in front of him. His hands clasped behind his back. He smiled. The cold smi
Everyone screamed as they saw Hatice plunge into the lake. Her hands reached out into the air as she tried to keep her face above water. She shouted for help and said something about not being able to swim.Vero just watched as a guy jumped in to rescue her. Everyone’s attention shifted to Hatice and the guy. The guy carried her out of the lake, and Hatice gave him a tongue kiss as a thank you.She acted like that and she hoped Lev would pay attention to her?Vero took advantage of the situation to slip away. Limping, she walked away from Hatice and all the drama.Her leg hurt, it seemed sprained, and she looked a mess. She should have gone back to the dorm to change clothes, but she was already more than halfway there. And the distance to the dorm was now further than the distance to Lev’s house.Vero stopped for a moment to catch her breath and alleviate the pain in her leg. Her whole body was still trembling. She couldn’t believe what she had just done, but she felt a sense of sati
Lev took her down the hallway. Two servants followed them, and Vero hid her face, feeling embarrassed that everyone had to see her being carried by Lev.“Lev, put me down,” she whispered, occasionally glancing at the servants trailing behind Lev. Even though they walked with their heads bowed, Vero still felt uncomfortable.“We’re almost there,” Lev said nonchalantly.“I can still walk.”“Yeah, sure. Don’t complain to me if your legs are broken tomorrow.”“That’s too much—”“We’re here.”The two servants following Lev rushed forward to open the door. Lev carried Vero inside, and Vero was stunned by the sight in front of her.“This is your room?” Vero asked, tilting her head to see the black ceiling, partially slanted and made of glass. From there, Vero could see the enchanting, starry night sky.Almost everything in the room had a black hue. From the king-size bed, wallpaper, and slender pillars on the balcony, to the carpet spread beneath a matching set of sofas.“Yes,” Lev breathed.
Faintly, the sound of a piano and violin could be heard. The spotlight shifted to a bluish-gray shade, and the singer's hands moved rhythmically, captivating the guests with her bewitching voice.And by bewitching, it meant that her voice truly rendered them unconscious.Initially, the guests acted strangely when the first verse was sung. Those who had raised their hands and joined in singing suddenly fell silent and sat upright in their chairs. Afterward, one by one, they dropped their heads onto the table.“What happened?” Vero whispered to Lev, who had returned to sit beside her.“Vero, I want you to listen to me and do exactly as I said.”The music grew louder, and the singer’s voice became more powerful. She continued singing cheerfully as if nothing was happening before her.Or perhaps the spotlight had blinded her eyes, preventing her from seeing what was happening to the guests?Vero gripped Lev’s hand. Her palm was as cold as ice, and her stomach felt twisted by an invisible
Lev clenched his fist. His jaw tightened. “Just one sip,” he said.Henry smiled from ear to ear. “Why is it, brother? Are you afraid that she’s running out of blood? Can’t you control yourself?”Henry walked to the edge of the stage, turning his back to all the party guests. He turned his back on the vampires, who were enjoying their feast, and the singer, who continued to serenade with her melodious voice. “I know you’re better than them at self-control. Because you are a Deammone. We are the Deammones, Lev. We’re not lowlife vampires like them.”In one wide step, Henry narrowed the distance between himself and Lev. In his movement, he grabbed Verona’s hair, pulling her to sit while tilting her head, exposing her neck to Lev. “Drink her blood.”Seeing Henry treat Verona roughly, Lev bared his fangs. “Get your hand out of her.”The threat didn’t scare Henry, but that didn’t mean Lev couldn’t harm him if he wanted to.“As you wish,” Henry muttered as he released his grip on Verona’s ha
He was proposing.“Lev...” She was at a loss for words.The water enveloped them like a cold blanket, but all Vero could feel was the warmth in her chest. Her heart swelled with happiness as she gazed into his eyes, half-thinking that it was just another one of his prank routines.But no. The laughter that had formed on his lips earlier now shifted to seriousness. His gaze locked onto hers.“So... yes or yes?” he said softly.Her mouth cracked open. She was about to laugh, but when she saw the beautiful lips of his, she leaned closer and crushed her lips against his.Dim stars emerged as the sun slowly set. Vero’s body trembled from the cold air and the water that pierced her skin. But she didn’t want this kiss to end. She was reluctant to let go of his embrace.“You’re cold,” Lev whispered against her lips. “Let’s go up.”Vero protested as Lev ended their kiss and led her to the edge of the lake. He lifted her onto land first before climbing up.“That was a su—such an unusual proposa
Her heart spread doubt throughout her body as Lev’s fangs slowly pierced and tore through her skin. Vero wrapped her hands around his waist, her fingers digging into his back, suppressing the pain and fear.Not fear for herself, but for him.In the next moment, she could smell and feel the blood saturating her shoulder and neck. Her eyes tightly shut, forgetting even to breathe as her mind was consumed by something else.What if the drug failed? What if her blood became more toxic and killed Lev right now? What if—“Verona.”Her eyes snapped open. Lev was staring at her, no longer sucking her blood. Red stained his lips and chin, and her mouth cracked open, but no sound came out. Only a tremor remained.Slowly, Vero withdrew her hand from his back, moving it to his cheek as her worried eyes explored his face.“How?” she asked.“I—” Lev licked his lips. “I’m not sure. Can I taste it again? Just to make sure.”“Okay.”Vero wanted to embrace him, but he grabbed her hand and held onto it.
The last thing she remembered was how sadness had drained the color from Lev’s face, leaving him as pale as a winter morning in Duradel.Consciousness slowly faded away from her, and Vero knew this was the end of her life. Celsi had unintentionally, with sincere intention, plunged her into death.Or so she thought.“Verona.”She heard Lev’s voice in the distance, calling her name with hope, even a hint of force, and faintly, she felt something caressing her face.“Verona, you know I can’t go on a day without you. How dare you close your eyes and not react to my calling?”Sometimes she forgets how arrogant Lev is.Verona opened her eyes as she formed a weak smile on her lips. “What a crafty vampire you are,” she muttered under her breath.She looked into his widened eyes, catching a sliver of shock and relief in his irises. He was about to bend down and sweep her into a hug when someone shouted from the other side of the room.“Lev, what did I tell you before? No touching until I exami
Lev said he will be coming to her room tonight. So, when someone knocked on her door, Vero immediately open it with a grin split on her mouth.“Hi, Le—“ She stepped back, surprised to see Celsi standing behind the door instead of Lev.It was not that she was scared of her or anything. It was just because her appearance that made her looked like a little creepy ghost.“Celsi?” Vero crouched down so she could have a better vision of Celsi’s face. “What are you doing here? You wanna play, sweetie?”Celsi returned her smile. “Can I come inside? I want to play tea party with you.” Then she stepped aside so Vero could see the little trolley that she brought with a bunch of dolls inside.Vero stood and opened the door wide to let Celsi in. “Sure!”Celsi paused in the doorway and examined Vero’s room. “How can you live in this cramped space? It’s even smaller than my closet.”Vero’s temple twitched at hearing those words, but she could only laugh. “Not everyone has the privilege of having a p
If you knew you had forever, what would you do?For some people, they would go to various places, accumulate wealth, have fun...But there’s only one thing Vero wants if she has forever: to spend as much time as possible with Lev.“Are you sure?”Daire observed the small tube containing a black liquid that Vero handed to him. He held it up to the light and gently shook its contents. The liquid resembled black mercury, with fine particles emitting light.Vero sat in front of him, with Lev standing behind her. His hand stretched across the back of the sofa, as if protecting her from something. Although Vero couldn’t see his face now, she could sense the unease radiating from him.Although Lev didn’t immediately agree with Vero’s idea about the potion and her desire to become a vampire, he eventually relented.And here they were now, in one of the Deammone pavilions that served as a temporary residence for the Thancred family.Daire held the bottle and carefully placed it in his jacket p
Lev felt guilty for venting his frustration about The Elders to Verona. They had just met after being apart for two weeks, and he cursed himself for wasting their first meeting in so long.He acted that way for a reason. Something he couldn’t tell her because it wasn’t his nature to express his feelings to anyone.Perhaps he should start practicing that now, so their relationship could go smoothly. Besides, he had planned something for his long-term future, and Verona was a part of it.After placing a bouquet in the middle of the forest, where Henry’s body was found, Lev headed towards Dormitory B. There were no residents here for the time being, so he could come and go freely at night to visit Verona.Upon reaching her room’s door, Lev knocked and waited. No response. He knocked again. Silence followed.Lev reached into his pocket and took out his phone. He dialed Verona’s number, and the call connected on the third ring.“Where are you?” he asked, his tone slightly annoyed and impat
“What did you say?”Vero, who was previously on the phone lying down, immediately sat up in bed. Her heart pounded as she heard her father’s words. “Say it again. Does the bottle contain a liquid that can neutralize my blood?”“Yes, darling.”“But where did Elijah get it from?”Her father cleared his throat. “He stole it from Etana’s storage room after hearing about her plan to sacrifice you to the vampires. Etana had conducted some experiments to create a drug that would make human blood toxic to vampires. However, she ended up finding a substance that could neutralize the toxins in her blood.”Vero was stunned. “Why did Elijah give it to me?”“He thought that if you drank it, your blood would return to normal, and the vampires wouldn’t recognize you as a vampire hunter.” She could hear the buzz of a hairdryer in the background. It seemed like her mother had finished showering. “But looks like you don’t need it anymore. Because—well—your lover, and others... already know about you.”
Since the Thancred Residence is still under construction after it was destroyed, the meeting of The Elders was moved to Castellar’s place. And there was nothing about Castellar that Vero likes, from the house, the servants, and Castellar himself.Raphael informed Vero about some important things regarding The Elders because he thought that Vero would have a lot to do with them in the future. Well, that couldn’t be denied. Especially after all the vampires in Duradel found out that she was Lev’s lover.Vero and Lev walked side by side, following Daire Thancred as they entered Cristoval Castellar’s residence. He was the only Elder who didn’t have a family. No wife and children, and it seemed that he greatly enjoyed his solitude.Although his house wasn’t as big as Deammone’s or Thancred’s, everything here looked more expensive and luxurious. From the furniture to the decorations on the walls. There was no doubt that Cristoval was a cunning vampire who enjoyed collecting luxurious items.
The rain was pouring nonstop in the past week.Every drop of water is evidence that nature was working hard to help Duradel recover from the devastating fire three months ago.Many houses were burned to ashes, and several residents lost their lives. The once lush and green forests surrounding the city now turned into a bleak expanse of black charcoal that was distressing to behold.It was there that Lev and Raphael discovered the bodies of Henry and Etana after the fire had consumed them both for several hours.Once again, Lev had to lose a family member to the fire. And because of Etana.Raphael had told everything, the story of Henry and Etana, to Lev and Verona. Besides Raphael, no one else knew the true story between the two of them, and he swore to keep that secret until his dying day.All of that answered the big question in Vero’s mind about why Henry decided to take Etana with him to his death. Perhaps it was because Henry knew that Etana would never stop due to the pain she h