A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

For a moment, silence fell. But then, Erik couldn't stop a wide, smug grin from appearing on his lips. "Oh? Is that so, huh?"

Seraphina's blood-red vampire eyes flashed angrily as she turned her head towards him. "Don't act so smug!" she snarled furiously. "It's not funny at all!" Then, her entire body followed, and she poked a gloved finger against his sturdy chest, "Do you know the hell I've gone through since your blood ran out, huh?!"

Noticing her real anger, Erik tried to get his face under control, but even after he toned down the grin, his eyes still twinkled mischievously, and his lips remained slightly curled upwards.

"Okay, okay! Not funny!" he exclaimed defensively and raised his arms. "I just can't help it, though! When a beautiful woman tells me my fluids ruined all other fluids for her, I grin! It's an instinctive response!"

Seraphina's eyes bulged slightly, before palming her face and groaning, "Ugh. Right. You're a pervert."

She turned back to lean on the railing again with a scowl, "Well, whatever. I didn't expect much sympathy from you anyway."

Erik sighed when he actually felt his guilt bone being poked. He went back to his previous position as well, and apologized as sincerely as he could. "Alright, alright. I won't apologize for what happened, but I'm sorry for making light. It must have been hard on you."

Meanwhile, he actually talked to Elora through their bond, "Elora? Anything you can do for her?"

Elora shrugged when she answered him, "With some research and time, probably. But should we? Isn't this situation exactly what we wanted to begin with?"

Erik sighed inwardly, "Yeah, but now that it's not really necessary anymore, I feel a little bad."

Regardless, Erik focused on back on his conversation with Seraphina, who had started sulking slightly, before sighing reluctantly. "It's fine… I don't know why your blood is different, but I felt my aversion to other blood increasing, and yet I kept drinking it anyway. It's my own fault I'm in this situation…"

Erik blinked, before raising his eyebrows. "Seriously? Why? Don't tell me it was just too delicious, because even though I'd feel flattered, I wouldn't buy it. My blood's not that addictive, and your will is too strong to fall for it."

Finally, Seraphina smiled slightly at the compliment, causing Erik to realize she cared far more about being called strong-willed than beautiful, like he did before.

After catching herself, the vampire scoffed and nodded pridefully, "Of course I am!" Before continuing, she pursed her lips slightly, "Although your blood does taste pretty good…" Then, she shook her head resolutely, "But that's beside the point!"

She turned her gaze back to him, "I kept drinking, because it made me stronger!"

Erik frowned in confusion, "Why were you so desperate to get stronger that you'd ignore the warning signs?"

"I wasn't desperate!" she immediately snarled, while jerking her gaze back to the horizon. Yet, noticing Erik's calm indifference, she grumbled softly, before continuing softly. "I was just… frustrated and annoyed.

She remained silent for a moment, but rather than rush her, Erik simply waited patiently. He realised she was opening up, whether willingly or by necessity, and he decided not to interrupt her anymore.

Finally, she sighed, as if deciding to come clean. "The thing is… after coming back from London a year ago, it wasn't long before my covenant with you was discovered. Naturally, they put me on leave for a month or so, while Zara Yaga tried to break it, which was an unpleasant time for me, but eventually I was allowed to resume my duties."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

She continued in a resentful tone, "But my so-called 'peers' suddenly started giving me a wide berth. Even all those slimy little boys angling to get into my pants began avoiding me. Even the Council's efforts to help me grow stronger were steadily reduced as they started focusing on others. Those assholes didn't trust me anymore! As if I would ever accept a deal that might harm the Council!"

Without looking at him, she shrugged, "And yes, I did blame you for that for a while."

"For a while?" Elora smirked inside Erik's head. "I'm sure there's still a little resentment there. It would certainly explain her anger with you." Continue reading stories on empire

Erik nodded inwardly, but didn't respond. He focused on Seraphina, who was busy venting a little.

"Anyway," she continued sombrely. "I was always somewhat of a rising star, because of my talent and affinity, but that covenant changed everything. So… I wanted to prove them wrong."

Understanding shone in Erik's eyes as he nodded slowly, with a frown, "And that's why you kept drinking my blood…. you wanted to continue outpacing your peers, even if they now got more attention from the Council."

Seraphina pursed her lips wryly and nodded, "Yeah… Just because my pride was hurt, I decided to ruin my future with a rash decision. Pretty stupid, right?"

Erik shook his head, "Almost anyone would have made the same decision in your shoes. It hits hard when you realize the admiration of your peers is a fickle thing."

He didn't engage with the assertion about her future, because frankly, she wasn't wrong at the time. Sure, now he was here to provide new blood, or help her find another alternative, but at the time she didn't know that. At the time, she didn't know if she'd ever meet him again.

Scoffing, the vampire shook her head, "Yeah, well, I don't want to be just anyone."

Erik nodded slowly, but didn't engage. "So, what happened after the blood I gave you ran out?"

An expression of disgust flickered across her face. "I went back to normal blood," she nearly spat, clearly not enjoying the thought. "I still drank it, but just enough to barely keep me in fighting shape."

She sighed again, "At that point, I was the undisputed champion among Council second rankers, but I had to start hiding away from the public, because despite being technically the strongest, I couldn't show it anymore."

Erik understood what she meant. Vampires were at their strongest when they had a belly full of blood, but if they only just drank enough to remain standing, it would severely affect their strength.

A little depressed, she shrugged, and started wrapping up her story. "Anyway. My parents tried to help but couldn't, and that was when Lady Katya stepped in."

Her voice filled with gratitude when she talked about Katya, "She didn't know the specifics, but she realized I was trying to avoid others, and decided to help by sending me on long solo missions as a warden."

Then she turned a little wry, "Of course, now I realize she was just hoping to secure my absolute loyalty for rescuing her brother, but I don't mind that. We all have our reasons for the things we do, and whatever the reason, she did help me. And now here we are."

A short silence fell as her story sank in. Erik now understood why she was so quick to find fault with him before, despite also deciding to come along with him to Africa.

She was looking for a reason to blame him, whether consciously or subconsciously, and the fact he taunted her with his blood as soon as they met likely didn't help matters. It just drove her aversion to becoming dependent on someone into overdrive.

Not that he regretted anything. In the end, Seraphina's choices were her own.

Suddenly, the vampire growled and scoffed, "I can't believe Emily convinced me to just come clean."

Then she narrowed her eyes suspiciously and turned to Erik. "Emily promised honesty would be the best way to get you to treat me fairly, but I have my doubts. So, what will it be? Another covenant? Slavery? How do I get a steady supply of your blood, preferably without you being all weird about it?"

Of course, Erik was absolutely going to be weird about it. A small, devilish grin appeared on his face, "Oh, I won't gauge you, Sera. In fact, I have only one condition…"

He opened his mouth to continue, but then, something happened.

"Erik! Grab her!" Elora suddenly exclaimed inside his mind.

But her warning came too late.