Lev opened the door behind Verona while his lips were busy devouring hers, which felt stiff under his kiss. She’s not a good kisser, but Lev didn’t mind. As long as she responded to his touch with uncontrollable passion, it was more than enough.His other hand embraced her waist and lifted her body up. Verona responded to the lift by jumping and wrapping her legs around his waist, while her hands hung on his shoulders.Lev took her inside the cabin, not bothering to turn on the lights because his night vision and memory of the cabin were more than enough to guide him to the bed.The cabin was a large, open room with no partitions, and there was a king-size bed in the corner surrounded by large wooden-framed windows, which revealed views of hills and distant mountain peaks.Before Lev laid Verona down there, she pulled away and stared at him. Her breath was uneven, and her lips were swollen. She looked incredibly sweet.“What is it?” Lev asked. His hand moved on her back, slipping bene
A spread of snow-covered forest greeted Vero’s sight as she opened her eyes. The snowfall from last night had transformed the hills into a vibrant white painting with faint grey and deep dark-blue trees rising from the ground, bathed in the dim moonlight. She woke up shivering in the early hours of the morning. Despite being covered with a thick blanket from shoulder to toe, she still didn’t feel warm. As she turned her body to face the other side, she felt Lev’s hand resting on her waist. “You’re awake?” Vero blinked, slightly surprised to hear his voice. She thought he was asleep. “I’m cold,” Vero said while curling up deeper into her blanket. “Isn’t there a fireplace or a room heater here?” Lev fell silent for a moment. “There’s a fireplace,” he said after a while. His face didn’t seem happy as he said that, which made Vero wonder. “Would you mind if I light it?” Vero asked cautiously. Her lips started to tremble, and her fingertips felt frozen. She sat up and searched for her
Vero sneaked around, making sure no one saw her as she passed through the back door of the dormitory. The temptation to stay in her cabin and be under the same blanket as Lev was unbearable, and she didn’t know when she would have a chance like that again.However, Lev firmly instructed her to return to the dormitory and attend classes today. Lev said to Vero, "Your grades are terrible," while she argued against him. This reason left her speechless.Her grades weren’t that bad, and she wasn’t a student who knew nothing about the things she was studying, but it seemed that Lev had very high standards on that matter.When she arrived on the fourth floor, she reached into her pants pocket to look for the room key she had prepared earlier. The door to her room behind her opened, and she turned to look.“Where have you been?” Jia asked while yawning. She wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye and then stared at Vero with a flat gaze.Vero bit her lip and averted her gaze. She didn’t
That is The Queen’s Secret Palace card that Vero got from Etana. How could Lev have that thing in his hand?“It’s a—”“Mr. Deammone.” Their lecture professor stood behind Lev and called his name. Lev casually turned his head over his shoulder, while Vero felt tense due to the professor’s reproachful tone and Lev’s question for her.The professor glanced past Lev and stared at Vero. “And you,” he said with a curt expression. “If you don’t intend to attend the lecture, I hope you leave.”Lev remained silent, staring at the professor, while Vero could only bite her lip. It was a good opportunity to delay the conversation and give Vero some time to think. It’s not that she wanted to hide her meeting with Etana from Lev, but she was waiting for the right time to tell him.“I’m sorry, sir,” she said.The professor nodded towards the classroom. “Then quickly go in—”“We won’t attend the lecture,” Lev interrupted.Both Vero and the professor widened their eyes as Lev grabbed Vero’s hand and d
“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
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