"Wait, what?!" Lori's voice cracked the tension of the clearing. He looked like he wanted to ignite the very air between us. "How can we possibly trust him? He's a walking security breach!"
Nightshade Ash didn't flinch. He tilted his head back, watching a stray cloud pass by, and tapped a thumb against his lower lip. "Trust is a heavy word," he hummed, his tone dangerously calm. "But the moment I tasted her blood, I didn't just get a power boost. I saw something else, a vision from her I guess."
Lori's flames flickered and died. Beside him, Jasmia's breath hitched.
"Besides," Nightshade added, a sharp smirk cutting across his face as he rested his hands behind his head. "This whole setup is fascinating. You should be thanking me for deciding to help. Also..." He pointed a long, pale finger at the obsidian blades in my hands. "I want your sword."
I tightened my grip on the hilts, my eyes narrowing. "Touch it and you'll find out if you can 'undo' a severed hand."
Lori stepped forward, his expression stern but resigned. "If Tsukia is okay with it... fine. But I'm watching you, Nighshade. Every second. Your Absolute Undo is the only reason you're not a charcoal remain right now. We need an emergency brake for her power."
The heavy atmosphere lifted slightly, carried away by a sudden, biting wind. We began the walk back, Nightshade leading the way with an unpredictable, giddy energy that made Lori mutter under his breath about "unstable fetus."
The walk back from the river was heavy with a silence that felt like a physical weight. Lori walked in the lead, his shoulders tense, his hand never straying far from the hilt of his practice blade. Every few seconds, he would glance back at Nightshade, who was strolling behind us with a bored, effortless grace, whistling a tune that sounded centuries old.
"You're tracking mud into the kitchen," Jasmia grumbled as we stepped through the heavy basement doors.
"I'm tracking 'character' into the kitchen, darling," Nightshade retorted, flashing a dimpled grin that didn't reach his cold, gray eyes.
I didn't join in. I headed straight for the sink, turning the cold water on full blast. I scrubbed my neck where his fangs had pierced the skin. The marks were already fading thanks to Jasmia's healing, but the sensation lingered—a ghostly, cooling pressure that made my pulse jump every time I thought about it.
"Here," Lori said, sliding a plate of toast toward me. His voice was softer now, the protective anger replaced by a weary concern. "You used a lot of energy today. Eat."
"I'm not hungry," I whispered, though my stomach betrayed me with a quiet growl.
Nightshade leaned against the doorframe, watching me with an intensity that felt like a thermal scan. "You should listen to the fire-boy, Tsukia. Your cells are screaming for glucose. That 'Black Leak' of yours is a hungry beast."
"Don't call it that," I snapped, finally grabbing a piece of toast just to give my hands something to do.
"Call it whatever you like," Nightshade shrugged, pushing off the wall. "But remember, a weapon is only as good as the hand that holds it. And right now, your hand is shaking."
He disappeared down the dark hallway toward the guest quarters without another word.
"I really hate him," Jasmia whispered, leaning over the counter once he was gone. "He looks at us like we're science experiments."
"He looks at me like I'm a meal," I muttered, staring at the crumbs on my plate.
Lori placed a hand on my shoulder, "Go get some rest, Kia. We'll double the wards tonight. He won't do anything while I'm awake."
I nodded, but as I retreated to my room, I couldn't shake the feeling that wards wouldn't matter. Nightshade Ash didn't break doors—he simply undid the reason they were locked.
I laid in the dark for hours, watching the shadows stretch across the ceiling, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
[10:00 PM – The Basement]
A gentle, rhythmic knock echoed through my room. I pulled the door open, my hand instinctively hovering near my belt.
"Are you awake?" Nightshade's voice was a deep, husky vibration in the dim hallway.
"I'm standing here, aren't I?" I snapped, though my heart gave a traitorous jump at the sight of him. The silver moonlight from the small high window caught the white-gray of his hair. "What do you want?"
"To learn," he said simply. "Can I come in?"
I hesitated. My room was my only sanctuary, a place where the "disaster" didn't have to hide. "One minute," I muttered, stepping aside.
He walked in, his presence immediately making the room feel smaller. He sat on the edge of my bed, scanning the dark corners. "A mysterious, shadowed room for a mysterious, shadowed owner," he joked quietly.
I sat across from him, hugging a pillow to my chest like a shield. "Get to the point, Nightshade. You said you saw her."
"The woman with the wings," he whispered, his eyes locking onto mine. "The iridescent chakra on her forehead... it was blinding. When I drank your blood, I didn't copy a technique. I was pulled into a memory that wasn't mine. I've never had that happen before."
The sincerity in his voice was a physical weight. He knew. He really knew.
"So you weren't lying," I said in relief.
"Why would I?" he asked, looking genuinely curious. "By the way... did I mention I'm half-vampire?"
I blinked, my mind racing. "Vampires? I thought those were just lore. Like... myths."
"I'm standing right here, aren't I?" He chuckled, a sound like velvet. "It explains the 'blood' habit. You have very unique blood, Tsukia. I've never tasted energy that dark. It's... addictive."
My pulse spiked. The air in the room felt thick, heavy with the scent of his ozone-like magic. I tried to find a response, but my throat was dry. "Do you... do you have to do that every day?" I asked, trying to break the tension.
"I eat normally," he said, pouting his lips slightly before smiling. "But I have a 'rampage mode.' When the thirst hits, it's irresistible."
He leaned in closer, his gray eyes scanning me from top to bottom. "I have a theory you aren't from this region. Memory loss?"
"Most likely," I whispered. "And that woman... she's the key."
"Let me try again," he suggested suddenly.
"What? Why?"
"Clues," he said, his voice dropping an octave as he pinched my cheek. "You can't control the 'black leak' yet. Maybe if I go deeper, I can see the source. Don't you want to know who you are?"
I looked at him—this stranger who had pinned me to the dirt only hours ago. I didn't trust him, but I was starving for the truth. I nodded slowly.
He moved with a predatory grace, taking my hand and pulling my sleeve back. His fangs appeared, sharp and white against his lips. When they sank into my arm, the sting was sharp, but the cold, numbing sensation of his magic followed immediately.
He drank, his eyes closed, a strange, shimmering aura beginning to radiate from his skin. I held my breath, watching the veins in his neck pulse. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. His pupils shrank to pinpricks, and he began to tremble.
"I saw..." he gasped.
My heart hammered against my ribs. "What? What did you see?"
He looked at me for a long, agonizing second, then broke into a smirk. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Total blank."
The tension shattered. I felt the heat of pure frustration rush to my face. "GET OUT!" I yelled, shoving his shoulder with all my strength.
"It didn't work today, I guess!" he chuckled, standing up and smoothing his hair.
I grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the door, my teeth clenched. "You are the most annoying creature I have ever met."
"But I'm the only one who knows your secrets," he called back as I slammed the door in his face.
I leaned against the door, my arm still tingling where his teeth had been. I hated him. I really did. But as I touched the marks on my skin, I realized my heart hadn't stopped racing.
And it wasn't just because of the fear.