And for Magdalena to offer to take them for me. She was always the stronger one. I knew in my heart of hearts that she could handle more than I could. If she was willing to take on my burdens to let me live a normal eternity, I could find her that soul to sacrifice.
I went to my room and spent the rest of the night pacing, trying to piece things together. None of it made sense, and yet, it all did. This was why the villagers feared me. Why I was only allowed out with supervision.
I cried. I cried for the life I took, thinking I was doing good. Whoever that person was, I prayed to a God I didn’t believe in to save him. To take pity on his soul and help him. Please, this evil in me needed to be stopped before it hurt more people.
The next day I was greeted by the same group of people that had escorted me the first few times I had gone to the human village. We dressed in all red, and silently, we trudged through the forest.
The humans were all out like they had been each time before. There was music, laughter, and the smell of warm food to greet us. I was permitted to walk around the village at my leisure tonight.
My heart was racing, my stomach completely soured, and swishing around nervously. My palms, always cold, felt hot and sweaty as I hid them in my cloak.
I walked through the stalls of people showing off their wares. The humans smiled kindly at me, but I could see the fear in their eyes. I could feel their hands shaking under the tables, and I could smell the terror as I passed them. Every person I made eye contact with only made my decision to rid myself and the world of the monster inside me stronger.
I walked alone at times, and at other times Jaime or another court member would walk with me. I’d ask questions in English about the villagers. I wanted their backstories.
After hours of looking for someone that could break my curse, I was beginning to panic. These villagers were innocent. I couldn’t kill one of them to save myself. I couldn’t!
I needed to get away from the party. I found a dark alley and hurried down it. I could see the forest, only a few hundred feet away. What if I just ran away? That home didn’t mean much to me anymore now that I couldn’t remember it. I could try to start fresh somewhere else. I could control the beast inside me if I didn’t try to bring it out. I’d gone two months without it, hadn’t I?
I made it to the trees. I stared at them for a long time. The realization of what I was doing hit me then. It was fight or flight, and I was running. That wasn’t fair. To the people who loved me, the innocents I could potentially harm, or… myself.
I heard a twig break, and I spun around. My eyes went wide, and my heart stopped.
I gulped as my stomach twisted so hard I thought I would vomit all the blood I had drunk tonight.
There it was, my solution.
He stared at me cautiously, the devilishly handsome man with the mismatched eyes and the dangerous smile.
He said I used to call him Desi.
Slowly, I stepped forward. His eyes darkened for a moment, and he took a steptowardme. We reached each other in moments, and then, I pulled my hand from beneath my cloak and lunged.
There was a slicing sound followed by a squish. I gritted my teeth and buckled down, but he had tons of muscle on me. I was shoved back, and when we locked gazes, he was staring at me with a mix of confusion, hurt, and anger on his face. He shook his head as he removed the knife from his belly and glared at me with almost disbelief in his eyes.
“Did you just fucking stab me?”
40
I stared at him in horror at what I’d done. He ripped his shirt over his head and was using it to wipe the blood off his abdomen, which was already healing.
He was a vampire too.
“I—I—” I stumbled, trying to process everything. He glared at me, his eyes, one green, one blue, looking more annoyed than anything.“I didn’t know you were immortal.”
“Oh, well, thinking that the knife would kill me makes it all better.” He tossed the black shirt, now damp, on the ground in front of my feet. “Not fucking cool.”
“What are you?” I demanded. “Your eyes…” I swallowed hard, trying to wrap my brain around what I just saw. His wound sealed up as if it had never happened.
He grinned, and that’s when I saw them. Fangs. “Why, I’m just like you, dearScout.”
“Why do you keep calling me that? That’s not my name.” My voice trembled.
He laughed. He was gripping the knife in his hand tightly. He put his hands behind his head and laughed again. “I can’t believe this. I come to help you, and you fucking stab me. Why?” He swung his arms out, and I flinched. He rolled his eyes and then turned to examine the knife. It was nothing of note. Just a pocket knife that Jaime had given me to protect myself.
“Stay away, Desiderio,” I warned. I put my hands out. “I’ve got gifts that I will use on you.”
His eyebrows went up. “Gifts? What, like superpowers? That’s news to me.” He took one solitary step forward, and I spread my fingers as if I was going to cast a spell. He froze and then laughed.
