“You said you always require consent when you drink from others. Do you always drink from others? Is that how you do ... it?”
“Are you asking me how I feed, Charlotte?” I could tell he was forcing back a smile.
“Yes. From what I’d read and been told, it seemed to me that vampires couldn’t even be around humans without going into a bloodlust.”
“There are some truths to what you’ve been told. What you think of bloodlust to be does exist within the newborns. It’s a lot to put on a person so suddenly. They just lack control, experience. But it only happens to my kind if we are unable to feed for too long. In my world, consent is required. We cannot just go drinking from anyone whenever we wish. And drinking from another is an intimate experience. Essentially, we often just purchase our blood. It comes in glass bottles.”
I blinked.
“Not as scary as you believed.”
“Where does the blood come from?”
“Other vampires. Humans. They are paid quite well.”
“Humans? There are humans in your world?”
“Yes. We live together quite peacefully.” There was a jab in there somewhere.
“When you say it’s an intimate experience, you mean ...”
“It’s pleasurable for both parties.” His eyes moved to my throat for just a millisecond. He may not have even realized. I looked back to the ceiling as he continued. “Vampires have not always been so civil. Because of our nutritional requirements, we are built like a predator. Overtime, having a willing participant proved to be more efficient for everyone involved. Something to be enjoyed even, rather than to run from.”
I swallowed hard.
“Yes, I see. That makes sense.” My throat shrunk around the words.
“Does that answer your question, Charlotte?” I could feel that he was still staring at me.
“Yes, that will do for now.”
He blew out a huff of air that sounded like a laugh. He shifted to extinguish the lanterns. It was so dark I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. I felt him lay back down beside me, and the room felt smaller. A mess of chaotic tingles crawled beneath my skin. I focused on my breathing, taking in even breaths, letting out longer ones. A soothing wave washed through me, a strange calm. My muscles softened, melting into the mattress. The knot within my chest untangled. Though before I could fully succumb to the placid waters, a thought fell from my lips.
“Alaric was your friend?” My voice seeped softly into the dark.
His silence reached out for miles, so far that I accepted he would not answer.
“Yes.” His tone was so forlorn it could have carved a chasm through me.
It had me pause a moment before asking, wondering if I should prod further.
“What happened?”
“My world failed him.” I could tell it was all I was going to get.
And his words stuck with me, surprising me. As if he did not hold blame against him. I knew what Alaric meant to me. He had tortured me, taken away my freedom, my chance at a normal life. But I wondered what he meant to Sebastian.
* * *
I gasped for a breath, breaking through the surface of churning waters. I jolted upright, hurling myself out of sleep itself. Sebastian jumped up, kneeling beside me, crouched over and ready to pounce.
“What is it?” he rasped, groggy from sleep. He glanced around the room before running his eyes over me, looking for injuries.
I rubbed my eyes, trying to bring myself back down to earth. “I’m sorry, it’s just ... Alaric visits me nearly every night. It’s almost like the absence of terror makes me feel anxious.”
“I see. Would you like to see something terrifying?”
I glanced over to him. He was dead serious. “No, thanks.” It came out like a question.
