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
“What’s your name?”“Etana Selvaria.”The butler, Raphael, observed Etana from head to toe through his monocle. It was her first day working as a maid in the Deammone family’s castle, and she felt extremely nervous. Not only because she was a newcomer in the beautiful city of Duradel, but also because of the infamous reputation of the Deammone family for being cruel.However, they paid their servants a high salary, much higher than any job in her hometown. So when one of her relatives offered her this job, she accepted it without a second thought.“Follow me,” said Raphael.Raphael turned and walked away, and Etana obediently followed him. They crossed hallways adorned with carpets, luxurious wallpaper with beautiful paintings, and chandeliers emitting golden light.“Your task is to clean the west wing, the residence of the young master Deammone,” explained Raphael. “You are allowed to enter from morning until afternoon, after which all areas of the family’s residence are off-limits t
He was supposed to scare her, gave her a punishment by biting her neck, put her under his spell, and then sent her back to the maids’ pavilion. But when her blood sip into his mouth and the taste of her scent burst on his tongue, there was only one thing he wanted; he wanted more of her.Henry wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. His other hand swung the door shut, leaning her back against it. His lips were busy sucking her intoxicating blood. The pleasurable sensation made his vision blur, but it was precisely what made him unable to stop.If only Etana hadn’t moaned and dug her nails into his back, he would have continued sucking her blood until it ran dry.This was the first time Henry had lost control of his bloodsucking desires.Henry released himself from Etana and stared at her face. The girl was clearly terrified.“Sir, I—”“Shh.” Henry pressed his index finger to his lips, silencing her. Then he wiped the edge of the sheet against her neck, cleaning the bl
Alexander called Henry to the tea room in the back garden, on a bright afternoon.The last golden lights from the sunset broke through the French windows that were decorated with spring flowers. There, in the one set of iron table and chairs, sat Alexander and Yvanna, his wife and Henry’s mother.Anyone who sees them together, even though they have only seen them once, will know in no time that there was no love between them. They married for political reasons, in order to strengthen each other family’s position among the vampire nobles.Yvanna wore a red-wine color velvet dress. Her dark hair was beautifully styled and her slender hand was holding a cup of tea. On the other hand, Alexander was looking at the sunset. The expression on his face was gloomy as always.Henry pulled an empty chair between them and sat there. As soon as he positioned himself, Alexander looked him in the eye and said, “Do you know the most disgusting thing a vampire can do?”His stomach tightened at the ques
Etana pulled a nearby iron chair and put it next to Henry who lying helplessly. The tip of her sword still rested on his chest and the toe of her shoe was pressed against his shoulder.“You’ve killed my parents, destroyed our castle, and left Duradel in devastation. Wasn’t that enough for you?” said Henry between his heavy breath.Etana grunted a bitter laugh. “Do you know what kind of life I’ve been through after I ran away from here?”“That night, I was the one who asked Raphael to help you escape—““Why didn’t you yourself take me away from this cursed city?!” she yelled. “Why you ordered one of your servants to bring me out of here and leave me wandering, suffering because of the change within me that I know nothing about?!”Henry groaned when Etana twist her sword and ripped the skin on his chest. Smoke and blood gushed from there.“Every single day, I felt my blood boiling. I thought I would die from the heat inside my body. I couldn’t eat nor drink, yet I never died. I tried to
Vero ran along Noblebranch and saw in the distance, the Thancred residence started to crumble. She walked faster, and the fear grew larger in her heart, imagining Lev trapped in there and they couldn’t meet again for good.When she got closer, on the other end of the street, between the smog and dust from the crumbling mansion, she saw a glimpse of something red moving away.Was that Etana? She walked with someone. No. She dragged someone along with her.Etana's presence diverted Vero’s attention to the point that she didn’t realize she has arrived in front of Thancred residence, and that the tall iron fence slowly fell toward her.When Vero saw the giant thing fall on her, it was too late for her to dodge. She lifted her hands in a wasted effort to protect herself. And when she was only a heartbeat away from death, someone lunged at her and saved her.They rolled on the street before stopping a few meters from the collapsed fence. Vero was lying on the ground and Lev was on her. He h
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