Vero struggled and screamed with all her might in her throat. She tried to free herself, but the person was too strong. As the door closed, the person twisted her body and pressed her against the wall, so they stood face to face. “It’s me.” Vero was shocked to find Lev before her. The fear that had consumed her earlier made her unaware that Lev was the one who had dragged her here. Without thinking twice, Vero cupped Lev’s face and kissed him. And it felt so wonderful when Lev returned her kiss. All the longing that had haunted her in the past few days disappeared in an instant, replaced by relief and an indescribable feeling. Lev wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly until there was no distance between them. In the darkness of the room, their desire increased, and every sense in Vero’s body awakened. Lev’s lips felt moist and pleasurable against hers. When Vero opened her mouth, his tongue slipped in and played skillfully inside her mouth. The scent of his body f
After several passionate kisses and the unease that entangled her heart, Vero left the hotel room. She tiptoed like a thief, peering down the hallway, making sure there was no one else but her.Behind her, Lev whispered, “Hurry home.”Vero didn’t look back, but she smiled upon hearing her lover’s farewell greeting.As she closed the door behind her, a longing overwhelmed her, causing her chest to tighten. Although they had just met, it felt like their encounter was too brief to heal anything within her.When Vero approached the hotel room where Josh was last seen, the guy suddenly appeared from the corridor leading to the emergency stairs. He was out of breath, and his eyes widened.“There you are!” he exclaimed. “I thought those bloodsuckers kidnapped you!”He stretched out his arms, wanting to embrace Vero, but she pushed him away while glancing toward the door of Lev’s room. Lev could come out of hiding and tear Josh’s hands away, just as he did to Vincent, if he saw them hugging.
Josh gripped Vero’s arm and dragged her closer to the prison bars so she could see more clearly who was inside.On the floor, lying there with their hands in shackles, were her foster parents. They looked extremely thin and worn out. There was something staining their faces and clothes. It looked like dried blood.Vero gasped. Her mouth opened wide, and she felt a tightness in her chest. She struggled to breathe, her throat constricted.“W-what did you do to them?” She was too shocked to scream hysterically. Her legs went weak, and Josh’s grip was the only thing keeping her upright.Now she understood why she couldn’t reach them all this time.Her shock and fear quickly turned into anger. She jerked her hand away from Josh and attempted to attack Etana, but Josh held her back. This time, he hugged Vero from behind, holding her tightly so she couldn’t move. Etana stood still in her place.“You bitch!” Vero screamed. “You will pay for this!”Etana took a close walk to her. The torchligh
“Is she one of Duradel’s students?”Moldark nodded, “Ye—yes!”“Who sent the girl to your house?”“Caroline.”Henry glanced towards Vincent’s now completely turned-to-ash body. “Raphael,” he called. “I want you to call Caroline. Tell her to come and see me with all the files about the student named Windward.”Raphael bowed deeply but said nothing. Then he turned and left Henry alone with Moldark.“Your wife said Lev blocked Vincent when he was about to suck the blood of this girl. What happened?”Moldark took a handkerchief from the pocket of his shabby suit. He wiped the beads of sweat from his face as he recounted the story.“Mr. Lev Deammone... he—he came to my house when the girl arrived and took her away. Vincent hadn’t had a chance to suck her blood yet. But Vincent already saw her! And you know Vincent wouldn’t stop until he gets his prey.”Lev wouldn’t do something like that unless there was something between him and this girl.Or maybe...For the first time in hundreds of year
“Me? Who?” Vero asked.Ms. Caroline looked at her expressionlessly. Her hands were clasped in front of her stomach as she lifted her chin. “Just follow me.”Vero turned towards Crystal Creek, searching for Josh’s presence. Josh would definitely look for her if she suddenly disappeared. Should she go in first and tell Josh?“He doesn’t like to wait. So I hope you can be quick,” said Ms. Caroline, sounding impatient.Vero sighed and nodded. “Alright.” She would tell Josh where she was going later.Initially, Vero thought Ms. Caroline would take her to Dormitory Building B, but Ms. Caroline kept walking along the path by Caravons Depth.“Where are we going?” Vero asked.“You’ll find out soon enough.”Vero glanced at the lake and remembered the holy water that Etana had given her. She wouldn’t put that liquid into the lake. Instead, she would inform Lev about Etana’s plan to ignite a war.Vero’s distracted attention made her unaware that Ms. Caroline was leading her to Noblebranch. At the
When Vero opened her eyes, everything around her was moving, and she felt dizzy. It took her a while to realize that she was in an upside-down position. Her legs were tied and suspended by a rope attached to the ceiling, while her body swung freely in the air.The next second, she felt pain in various parts of her body, and her skin felt sticky. The smell of blood filled the air.“She’s awake.”She heard a voice that was unfamiliar, and she struggled to locate the source of the voice. Then she found five people sitting around a round table. One of them was Henry, and she didn’t recognize the other four. One thing was certain; they were all vampires.Henry stood up from his chair and approached her. He stopped a few steps away from Vero. Their eyes met, and Henry looked at her with disgust.“Ask what you want to ask before I kill her,” Henry hissed. Not sure who he was talking to.“Please, let me go,” Vero pleaded, squirming. Her hands were tied to her body. “They framed me. I’m not on
“Finally, after all these years of waiting and planning everything... I can meet you again, darling.” Etana swung the sword in her hand, directing it towards the light that broke through the glass roof. She tilted her head and crooked a triumphant smile, then her eyes glanced at Lev. “Remember this sword, kid?”“Who are you?” Lev asked, squinting his eyes while hissing. Lewin, who had been trying to stop him all along, loosened his grip. He was equally surprised, just like the others.Etana grinned. A cunning and satisfied gleam appeared in her eyes. Then she pointed her sword at Henry, who was still sitting on the floor. “Ask your brother what kind of relationship we had in the past.”Lev shrugged off Lewin’s hand from his arm in one swift motion, turning to look at Henry. “Henry?” he called.“Get out,” Henry said, uncertain to whom. One thing was clear; Etana wouldn’t leave so easily just because Henry asked to do so.“You are The Queen,” Donis De Goire said. “You’re the one who kil
“Where are we going?”“We’re gonna play hide and seek.”“With you?”“No. With humans.”Celsi’s eyes widened with excitement, sparkling like bright red candy balls upon hearing the word ‘humans.’ She always wanted to experience ‘playing’ with humans because their mother had always forbidden her from being with humans unsupervised.“Where’s Mother?” Sant asked.They walked down the corridor, holding hands, heading towards the staircase that led to the ground floor. The hem of Celsi’s white dress swept the gray carpet beneath her. She loves wearing long dresses and letting her long black hair flow down to her waist.The humans in Duradel said Celsi resembled a ghost. She had once escaped supervision and wandered into the town at night. Fortunately, she hadn’t harmed any humans when their parents found her.“Mommy is in her room. Drinking blood,” Celsi replied.Sant nodded. “Okay.”After dealing with the vampire hunters here, he would visit his mother and explain the situation. She wasn’t
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