"What have you done to her?"
My father's voice cracked like a whip, gun shaking in his grip.
"Ravić, put the gun down," I said, laying a hand on his shoulder, steady but tense.
My eyes darting between my father and my sire, taking in every twitch of their hands, every shift in their stance just in case one of them goes off.
"Dad, we need your help," I said, forcing myself to sound calm. "Please. There's no time..."
"I'm not going to say it again," my father cut in, ice-cold. His gaze didn't waver away from Ravić's. "What have you done to my daughter, monster?"
That's it. I can't take this anymore.
I step between them, planting myself in front of Ravić. He lowers his gun a little the moment he realizes it's aimed at the back of my head.
"Dad, put the gun down," I said, my voice firm even when my heart is anything but.
"I can give you vampire venom," I said, carefully, "but you need to lower your gun first."
That got to him. His eyes flickered, just for a second, before he finally lowered the gun.
"What happened to you, Rosie?" he asked, voice low and weighted with sorrow. "What have they done to you?"
Behind me, I felt Ravić stiffen, but he stayed silent, letting us have this moment.
He's taking it all in. The fact that the only one who could get us out of here was the man behind his capture, addicted to his vampire venom. My father.
"It's a long story, but please...help us," I said, taking a steadying breath. "We need to get out of here."
My father glanced at Ravić, baring his fangs.
"I'll bite you if you help us," Ravić said, not bothering to mask the disgust in his voice.
"Fine," my father snapped. "Follow me, I know a shortcut."
"Turn us in, and you'll never have vampire venom again," Ravić warned.
My heart clenched as I watched my father's back stiffen. He still hadn't changed. The threat of losing venom drove him more than the thought of helping his only child.
Ravić took my hand, giving it a firm, reassuring squeeze as we walked through the tall grass, trailing after my father into the unknown.
Few minutes later we were led to the entrance of a tunnel.
Ravić and I hesitate but my dad only waved us on.
"This is how we make our way around town, when the soldiers are around," Dad said, before disappearing inside.
I only shrugged and followed, much to Ravić's obvious frustration.
A few sharp turns and a creaking climb up the stairs brought us beneath Dad's basement. I recognized the smell instantly, having been here just months ago.
Only it's sharper now since I've changed. The stale air, laced with the metallic tang of blood, though it doesn't stir the hunger I'd usually feel. This one's wrong. Old. Rotting.
The room is in disarray. My childhood toys lie scattered beside his old hunting weapons, cluttering the corners like ghosts of two separate lives.
A black leather couch sits in the center, where Ravić immediately walked off to, placing his bag on top of the cushions and fish out a blood bag, handing it to me.
Dad's dark brown eyes widened as I took it from Ravić's hand, the sadness in them so deep it made me hesitate to drink it.
"Look, Dad," I began, chewing on my bottom lip wondering how I'm going to make it sound less heartbreaking, "this is who I am now."
"I know," he replied dejectedly, rubbing his nose and looking down at his feet. "At least you're alive."
I nod, just as Ravić fished out a bag and have a drink.
Dad turned to him, his throat bobbing at the sight, knowing what's to come before he righted himself.
"It's best that you both aren't lurking upstairs. The hunters have infrared devices that could detect the both of you easily. Stay here. I'll go get some stuff for you both to stay the night."
"You don't have to worry about that, Mr. Everen," Ravić said, licking his lips. "We're not planning to stay long. Just give us the routes, I'll give you my venom and we'll be well on our way."
"But you both just got here..."
"It's not safe," I cut in, even though part of me wouldn't have minded staying the night. Who knows when I'll see him again?
"Our friend..." I said, thinking of Laurent, "we can't risk it."
Dad nods, lips thinned before he disappeared off into a corner of his basement.
"Drink your blood, Rosie," Ravić instructed.
I looked at the blood bag I'm holding, then at my dad, walking over to us.
"Listen to your sire," Dad muttered, unfolding the blueprint on the ground.
Ravić crouched alongside him, scanning the routes of the tunnels.
"This is the only way you can make it through the border," Dad explained, his finger pointing towards a certain row of tunnels, "this one should lead you to the other side."
"That's easy enough," Ravić muttered.
"Not when you'll meet all sorts of people down there," he said. "Cannibals, there are addicts down there, hungry vampires..."
Ravić folded the map, placing it in his pockets. "Nothing we can't handle."
"That's it? You're leaving?"
"Right, I forgot," Ravić smirked, standing and extending his hand on the black couch. "Why don't you take a seat?"
The sight of my father, pliantly walking over to the couch and taking a seat disgusts me. So I twist to the other side, shut my eyes and drink my blood.
"Make it quick. I'd like to speak to my daughter," he said, right before I heard the familiar puncture of skin, followed by the sharp, fresh tang of blood circling the air.
Then came the moans. His moans.
I drained the last of my blood, then clamped my hands over my ears, wincing.
Ravić must've noticed, because a second later the sounds dulled. He'd covered my father's mouth, muffling the disgusting noise.
I never imagined that the last time I see my father would look like this. But here we are.
Standing at the tunnel entrance, our bags strapped tight and packed with enough blood to last a few days, I commit this sight of him to my memory.
Pale and unconscious, his shirt half-unbuttoned showcasing his skin and bones, the bandage wrapped around his neck. His white hair, already thinning, a far cry from the man I used to know. The greatest vampire hunter of his generation. He used to be the most handsome one too.
"He doesn't deserve that conversation," Ravić said, his voice cutting through the silence.
"He's still my father," I murmured, the words barely above a whisper.
Memories flickered through my mind. Of him kneeling to tie my shoes, his voice low and focused as he cleaned his weapons, the quiet afternoons I'd spend in this very basement while he studied his targets.
It felt like another life.
He was the one who found Ravić, feeding his addiction with a steady supply of blood. I had to turn him in, hoping it'd help him only for him to trade his freedom with Ravić's.
In a way, he's part of the reason for my transformation.
He led me to Ravić and ultimately, my fate.
"Are you ready?" Ravić asked, his hand finding mine.
I nodded, wiped away a tear and squeezed his hand in return.
"Let's go home," he said, pressing a kiss to my temple, opening a latch and climbing down into the dark.
I take one last look at my father. The man who raised me, the last piece of my humanity.
I take a deep breath, steeling myself then followed my vampire, pulling the latch closed behind me as I climbed down the stairs, vanishing into the shadows.