From the time we receive our first gátki—that’s the ceremonial coat given to a youth if they survive to see their thirteenth summer—we are free to act as adults.We hunt, we herd, and we prepare the reindeer hides that will become our first lavvu, portable tents used when we move to the fells during the summer.
If a predatory bear attacked my reindeer herd at night, it was my duty to kill it.If the wolves came down from the mountain forests to sniff around the stone jars full of fish guts, I was the one to chase them away.
My family lived close to the forest.Our summer months were spent harvesting berries and smoking fish.In those days, it was easy to take a girl by the hand when the sun was high in the sky and lead her into the forest shadows.It was one of the older girls who showed me what to do to give her pleasure without the risk of putting a baby in her belly.
I found the look on a woman’s face as the first throes of orgasm began to mount inside her so enticing.Lying in the cool shade with the warm sun dappling our heated skin as I licked a girl’s plump slit is a sensation that’s hard to beat.
But underneath all my friendly campfire banter and ravenous rutting in the woods, I was a warrior, trained to be utterly lethal in battle.I thought nothing—felt nothing—when I speared a seal through the heart or slaughtered a reindeer for the pot.I would slice an enemy’s head off his shoulders with the same emotional investment you would put into chopping carrots.
That’s a vital part of me I want you to know.I’m a killer in my bones, and I think that’s what drew the Red Witch’s attention to me.
My family moved behind the village palisade when the army of death came over the hill.The tribe to which we belonged was considered one of the biggest; over five thousand people scattered over the fells and the forest.
We didn’t stand a chance against the blood-crazed queen.She had tens of thousands of devoted men willing to die for just one of her smiles.
She was on the hunt for men to amuse her, and she only wanted the best.The witch with the red hair found four such men during our battle.Lurking behind the flaps of her tent, she pointed out the warriors she wanted taken alive.Out of those four men, three are still alive, even though thousands of years have passed.
One by one, we were dragged to her tent and thrown inside.To be fair, it was not what I expected.The witch queen was loving and admiring when she laid me down and gave herself to me.She wanted men with the stamina to match her own insatiable appetite.
I guess that was me.I was young, dumb, and full of cum, as they say.And yeah, I sucked her blood when she offered it to me.Show me the man who would not.
With just one bite, she drained me of my strength and combative spirit.But one bite is not enough to make the change, and the Red Witch knew this.Sliding one pointed fingernail over the soft mound of flesh above the hood of her clitoris, the queen drew her blood for me to feed on.
It was only a brief lick, but that was all I needed to turn me into one of her undead servants.Weak and disoriented, I was thrown into a cage with another four captives from other fallen tribes, and Shadow.He was the first to get dragged to the tent and changed.
Try to imagine what we felt as the living tissue that connected our bodies to our souls began to rip away.Shadow was first, then me, and finally, Rundas.
I would rather queue for the gates of hell than wait my turn outside those tent flaps again.
Shadow’s brother, Heikkinen, was the eldest among us.He had a special knife hidden under his clothes.By the time it was his turn to go into the tent, he had a plan.
Aila finally interrupts, after having listened quietly for so long.
“So, is it possible to kill vampires with special knives?”
ChapterSeventeen
Aila
Iblurt out the question before giving it much thought.
Theron briefly squeezes my shoulder, maybe as a reminder of his immense strength.It’s a reflex action which shows me he’s thinking how to answer without scaring me away.
“Before you get any ideas, darlin’, there’s a li’l something you should know.The knife was made from meteorite metal, which was the only kind of iron we could access in those days.Most of our tools were made of stone, horn, or wood, and our swords were forged from iron that fell from the sky.As a nomadic tribe, we knew fuck-all about mining quarries.When we saw a star fall to the ground, the chief would send a team to see if any part of it had survived.”
That makes me sit up.“My God, Theron, you’re talking about ancient history!So how old are you?”
He can see that I’m teasing, but there is a serious question under all my bravado.
“You’ll have to ask Shadow when the right opportunity presents itself.Out of all of us, he kept track of time best.”
Theron sighs before continuing.Pulling the bedcovers to form a cozy layer of warmth between our skin, I settle down to listen.
I never thought I’d enjoy being intimate and vulnerable with a man again, but here I am, lying in Theron’s arms and loving it.For me, our union is a gamechanger.
Theron might be a vampire, but other than that, he ticks all the boxes when it comes to being the ideal… creature?Thing?I don’t know what to call him because he’s clearly not human.
What the hell, no one’s perfect anyway.
