Chapter 10 – Hunger

  “Wait… what are you trying to say?” Yuna asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

  “You’re slower than I thought,” Vincent replied, shaking his head.

  “Unbelievable! And here I am wasting my precious time listening to you and entertaining this ridiculous story!”

  “I’m sorry… but it’s true, Yuna. It’s not a lie.”

  “Look, I don’t deny there’s a resemblance, but we can’t be the same person.”

  “You are Kassandra—or rather, her vessel.”

  Why? Why did this always, always happen to her? Since childhood, Yuna had constantly felt that the events surrounding her were anything but normal. Of all the bad things that had happened, the only joy she fondly and intensely remembered was when her sister joined the family. But everything else, absolutely everything, had been tragedy upon tragedy.

  “So now I’m a vessel? That’s just what I needed to hear!” she shouted, collapsing onto the couch as her energy gradually drained away. “I don’t crave blood or anything like that, unlike you people.”

  Vincent approached her, stopping a few meters away and leaning against the large window frame in his office. From that spot, the sunlight illuminated his translucent skin, accentuating the intensity of his deep hazel eyes. Yuna’s heart gave a powerful thump at the sight of him from afar. Both the attire and the man himself were captivatingly beautiful and magnetic. The eldest Nakama couldn’t deny that the man standing before her was breathtakingly elegant and utterly Adonis-like.

  “Humans… you still believe in myths.”

  “So you don’t drink blood to survive?” she asked, genuinely surprised.

  “How do I explain this?” he muttered to himself, pausing to choose his words carefully. “Vampires come from the originals: Devon, Kassandra, and Alexander. We don’t need to feed on human blood. Just like you can choose between fish, meat, or fruit, we can feed on the blood of other animals. The difference lies in how much power one type of food provides compared to another. I won’t deny that those myths have some truth. There are some who, to keep living, must feed solely on human blood and cannot come into contact with sunlight. Those are called the Impure Blood.”

  “Impure Blood?”

  “They are the lineage that kidnapped the princess, breaking the rules and, as a consequence, were cursed by the elders with the worst punishment imaginable: their lives depending on human sustenance, and their skin burning upon contact with light.”

  “So Devon’s lineage is cursed?”

  “Him too,” Vincent confirmed, sitting in the chair across from Yuna.

  “Then why is he after me?” she asked, squirming uncomfortably.

  “We don’t know yet. Kassandra was the reason his lineage fell into despair. We believe he seeks revenge. That’s why you need to stay here.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

  “Do I look like the joking type?” he countered, staring at her intently.

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  It was true—Vincent didn’t seem like the type to make jokes. Still, Yuna couldn’t suppress the small smile that crept across her face as she pictured the six-foot-tall, copper-haired man performing a stand-up comedy routine.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked, noticing her expression.

  “I can’t stay here. I have a life and responsibilities,” she replied, trying to change the subject.

  “Stay at least for the night. Your sister hasn’t woken up yet,” Vincent proposed after a long pause.

  Though the invitation wasn’t to her liking, she couldn’t refuse. Her sister hadn’t regained consciousness, and there was no way she would leave her alone. So, begrudgingly, she nodded in agreement.

  Meanwhile, in the vast English gardens of the estate, within the pagoda, Patrick sat desolate and utterly crushed. How was it possible that she was still alive? But was it truly her, or just realistic illusions born of his heart?

  “What are you doing out here?” Annie asked as she approached the archway of the pagoda where Patrick sat.

  “…Someone who’s died in your arms…” he began after a long silence, staring at his hands in helplessness. “…can’t come back to life, right?”

  For the first time since they’d known each other, Annie understood the immense burden her companion carried. The source of his feelings—the emotions that tore Patrick’s soul apart more each day. Carefully, she moved closer and sat to his right. Gently, she placed a hand on his broad shoulder.

  “The best gift you can give someone who’s passed… is to forget them,” she said softly, stroking his back.

  “…I’m losing my mind,” Patrick murmured, tears streaming down his face as he covered it with his hands to hide his vulnerability.

  Seeing him in such a state—fragile and broken—it was the first time Annie had seen Patrick so consumed by misery. It tore at her deepest core. She couldn’t bear to see him like this. Why couldn’t he forget her? Why couldn’t he just love her? Love her as much, or even more?

  “Can’t you let her go? Renounce your pain?” she asked when her own tears began to fall. “And give me a chance?”

  Unaware of the atmosphere at that moment, oblivious to everything around them, their hearts synchronized. Their emotions became one, and their gazes locked onto each other. Patrick slowly extended a hand toward Annie’s flushed face. He gently wiped away her tears, and time seemed to stop for them. Their heads inched closer, and just as their lips were about to meet, a voice interrupted.

  “We have a problem!” Sussy shouted breathlessly, freezing in her tracks as she realized the situation. “Am I interrupting something?” she asked, embarrassed.

  “What’s wrong?” Patrick asked, standing abruptly.

  “Kassandra’s sister…”

  Patrick’s heart sank with worry, and even Annie noticed how his expression changed upon hearing the news.

  Fifteen minutes later, everyone was gathered in Nasai’s room. The atmosphere was heavy with sadness. Yuna’s trembling hands gripped her dress tightly, trying to hide her shaking, but her face openly revealed her distress.

  “There’s something strange about her,” Sussy remarked, placing her hands on Nasai’s torso. “What exactly happened there?”

  “She was pierced by Virus,” Patrick reported with a neutral expression.

  “What?” the eldest Nakama exclaimed, startled.

  “Relax. She has no internal damage,” Sussy said as she removed her hands from the still body. “But I sense apathy in her consciousness.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “A normal person would have woken up by now. But part of her seems… infected. I don’t know when she’ll wake up,” she explained as best she could.

  Upon hearing those words, Yuna couldn’t hold back her tears. Life had already taken so much from her. Her sister was all she had left. If she lost her too, what reason would she have left to exist?

  ━━━━━━???━━━━━━

  Simultaneously, in the heart of Sorine, Nick was tending to the white roses in his garden when one of the thorns pierced his finger. The sudden sting jolted his heart, forcing him to sit abruptly on the ground. The unexpected movement caught the attention of Belle, who had been inside the house.

  “Are you okay?” she asked with concern, crouching down to assist him.

  “Why do I feel so uneasy all of a sudden?” Nick murmured to himself, pressing a hand against his chest. “It’s like... something’s about to happen to her…”

  “She is protected. Don’t worry,” Belle reassured him softly.

  “What I fear most,” he replied, his voice laced with tension, “is that she’s in danger right now, and I might not even know it.”