He had thought Nerys was gone, forever. Grieving had not been easy, not while bearing such guilt. He had begged for forgiveness, upon the ones who suffered her loss. His decisions hurt them as well, for he had stolen her away. And yet…

“It was not your fault.”

Bastian snarled, remembering the words her brother whispered. He and her sister in law were far too forgiving, keeping their young daughter from the horrible truth. The news he brought hurt them greatly, and he had not understood how they could not resent he was alive while she wasn’t.

He backed a little more against the wall, trying to avoid the faint light that came into the cell, wishing to hide from everything. However, there was no escaping his thoughts or memories. Their voices still echoed in his mind, full of trust and painful resignation.

“Nerys knew she could perish, since the very beginning. Death has always lurked near, but she never feared it…”

They were proud of her resolve, believing she would always keep her values and love for humanity, until her very last breath. She had sworn to fight forever, to avenge what was stolen from them. There had not been a soul more determined than hers.

He closed his eyes, raising a hand slowly to his neck, to brush the punctures that had barely healed. The chain that hanged from his wrists rustled, his dubitative touch soon twisting into an anguished grip over the scars.

Nerys had given up. In that surrender, she had become a vampire, a beast. And now, he was at the mercy of her claws, prey of her twisted nature. She had killed humans, not only for her hunger, but for the voraciousness of her clan. Her rule over such an oppressing force was the greatest insult to her past life, for she had sworn to end their tyranny and cruelty.

He let go of his neck, feeling yet another sting of pain. The sensation made him shiver, not because it was hard to endure physically, but because it was haunting. He could have fallen prey to many monsters, but he never expected her to be the one to ensnare him. She had bitten him, starkly and intently.

Bastian fixed his gaze on the ground, staying motionless against the wall. He had barely moved since he awoke. At first, he kept still because he was weak due to her assault. After recovering slightly, however, he drowned in fear and sorrow. He could remember every second since he saw her step out of that fire. All those horrible moments were sparked by one single action, which he now regretted with all his heart.

I should have never written that damn letter…

Perhaps he was at fault, maybe he brought her demise. That, he could admit. But he could not comprehend how she could have embraced this change. She pushed everything she valued away, to join the very thing she had sworn to fight against. Now, she was his enemy.

Bastian quivered, for he had venerated her memory all this time, only for it to be tainted. The Nerys he knew was gone, and that realization hit him hard. That name now made him think of a malicious being that despised him, a strong vampire that could endure fire.

That thought would terrify any human, for fire was what kept them safe, one of their most reliable weapons. But he was more afraid than any other, because the one who had that power… was a person he had considered a dear friend; someone who trusted in him, and who he failed.

With a long sigh, he opened his eyes again, glaring slowly to his right. He pulled a little at the chain with his hands, trying in vain to loosen up the tightness of the shackles, which were beginning to hurt his wrists.

A whole week had passed, and he had been left alone. However, he still hurt, and not only because of his constrictive restraints. Her yank on the chain had been fierce, and her bite intense. The strength of a vampire was no joke, much less if it was fueled by anger.

Nerys blamed him. Now he understood that, without a doubt. She made very clear that she would make him pay. Whoever, even though he understood her anger and hate, he could not accept it.

That was why he scowled when he heard noise outside, echoing from the multiple dark corridors that composed the dungeon. An exasperated huff escaped him, knowing it could only be two things. Hopefully, those steps belonged to the jailor, who had been checking his wounds and leaving him food. Each time, he was given less to eat, for she was not lying when she said he would feel hunger.

Truly, he hoped it was the guard again, because Nerys had sworn she would be back. And he knew very well for what. She had made it clear, setting an example to precede it.

Bastian held his breath, gripping his chains tightly. He counted every faint step that neared distantly. Listening to every echo had become a routine in the past days, as he dreaded every instant and moment upon him. In his alert attentiveness, he had even picked on the sounds outside the dungeon, caused by the vampires that roamed an upper courtyard.

The steps soon grew louder, closer. He cursed silently, because he recognized their calm firmness, their intent. It was not the guard, of course it wasn’t. To be honest, he had begun to consider that he had dreamed it all, because she had taken a full week to return. But it seemed she had made up her mind, again.

He slowly glanced at the door, with a deep frown. His eyes met her sharp green ones, which gleamed past the small barred window, narrowed intensely. He did not move an inch from where he sat while she opened the door, now having a personal copy of the keys.

The tall vampire walked into the cell slowly, analyzing carefully the strange calmness in the human’s expression. She could still sense fear in him, for his heartbeat was fast. To her surprise, or both, he was the first to speak after a minute of tense silence.

“So this is how it is, I’m reduced to simple livestock, a means of sustain… Once a week, I assume.”

Her pupils were very sharp at the moment, he noted it well. He had hunted enough monsters to know how they acted, how they looked upon them like mere flesh to devour. He moved a hand carefully and silently to his right, very slowly, while she crouched down to his eye level. His grey eye narrowed as she whispered, hinting again her anger and loathing.

“Believe me, I’d rather not take your blood, for it is repulsive. However, I am forced to feed by this disease, and you would be a waste of air if you did not serve a purpose.” She did not notice what his hand was doing, too fixated on his grey eye as she menaced. “But before you fulfil that role today, I will-“

Bastian did not want to hear what she would do, and he did not wish to let her. He finally moved, fast. Nerys hissed faintly, because he swung his hand off the fountain, having let it rest there to soak. The sudden move flung drops of water onto her face, hitting her squarely.

He panted slightly, seeing her flinch, her claw quick to move up to shield her eyes. However, that jolt was all he managed to cause. He tried to get smaller against the wall, gulping, because she soon lowered her hand calmly. She was unharmed, unfazed by the water. Still, her eyes hinted pure fury, first glancing at her wet palm, then at him. She judged his futile move, piercing him with a glare. Her voice was eerily monotone, one of her eyebrows raised in perplexity.

“Really…?”

Bastian gasped, because Nerys snatched one of the ends of the chain, forcing his right hand away from the fountain. She leaned closer, snorting as he grimaced, the shackles brushing against his sore wrists.

“You thought that would stop me or make me cower?” Water did not hurt vampires; it only dazed them in big quantities. “It only pisses me off, Bastian…”

He dared let out a small sardonic snarl, which after years of knowing him, or at least thinking she did, did not surprise her. He had always been a contemptuous brat, even now.

“Well, why allow this in the cells if it is so annoying? I don’t think you have thought it much. If you did at all, that is.”

She pulled at the chain, and so him, erasing the distance between them. He winced, having a clear view of her fangs, which showed as she snarled. Her tone hinted her patience was running thin.

“Water is extremely helpful after blood loss, you moron.” Bastian braced himself as much as he could, because he could feel her cold breath, flowing with each word whispered. “Cattle can die very easily…”

He expected a bite, any moment now. The water was out of reach, and he would not be able to postpone her lunge. In that knowledge, he tried to lean towards the wall to evade her fangs. She just rolled her eyes, seeing him cower like that. She almost snorted when she let go slightly of the chain, because that made him fall back and hit the back of his head, having been trying to pull away.

While Bastian blinked in bewilderment, Nerys laid her free claw on her knee, leaning her head to a side. She whispered, her tone implying she would not punish his mischief, not yet.

“You can ponder your fragility later, Bastian.” She scowled, giving him a serious stare. “I have some questions, and you are going to answer them, now that you can.”

His breathing steadied somewhat, even if it still was shaky. He understood he would not be bitten, not yet. She waited silently for a minute, in which he limited himself to glare at her eyes. He did not acknowledge her demand, giving her a bitter look instead. And so, she voiced her first question, the one she needed answered the most.

“Where is Lyssa?” Bastian almost growled when Nerys mocked him. “Knowing you became a captain, I hope you did not direct her towards death as well…”

Nerys caught the hurt that crossed his expression, his gaze slowly averting in shame. But that emotion was soon gone, drowned under sudden anger. She blinked when he snarled and clenched a hand, accusing her.

“Why should I tell you? Surely, you would seek her and lock her away! You wish to keep on preying on humanity, serve your new kin! If you found her, you would erase the last trace of-!”

Bastian huffed sharply as a loud thud echoed. Nerys let out a long exhale, cracking her knuckles tranquilly after striking his jaw, silencing him. He panted, losing all the defiance he displayed; the only thing he could do while she spoke was fear, for she resented his words greatly.

“I would never harm her, not even if I suffered the most agonizing of bloodlusts.” Bastian cried, because her green eyes showed the care he knew, but only for her. “I still love Lyssa. It would be easy for me to hunt you all down, end your vain insurgence. I could cross your borders and make you perish like I did… Nothing could stop me. And yet, I have not sent a single soldier into the lands you still control and call home. Humanity has not feared my existence yet, for a reason. If I ever allowed my enemies to flee, rumours of my gift would have risen like the very fire I defy. Still, by killing, I have only brought order and safety. We have only slain rebels that would end innocent souls, people who merely wish to live. You hunt mercilessly any vampire you come across, deserving of your hate or not. In your eyes, there is no difference.”

Bastian shivered when Nerys sighed, because her eyes showed pure horror, while she looked at her own claws.

“Now I see that things are not as black and white as I believed. Everything is tainted in red.” Her sharp eyes met his again, and she found his scars fitting, perhaps karmic. In her mind, he was a two-faced bastard, and her voice displayed that belief. “Don’t accuse me of being a monster, not when you have been killing as well. I have seen the burns, the corpses you left behind on the fields, pierced by stakes. Many villages fell, void upon your march. Your hands are as bloody as mine. No one who fights is innocent.”

She was still kneeling in front of him, mere inches away. Her claws were eerily motionless, even if he was at reach, nothing stopping her from sinking her nails into his flesh. They were so close, and yet so distant.

“Nerys, I…” He had only wished to serve a good cause, one she had fought for ardently. “You have forgotten who you were.”

They had sworn to battle this disease, for it had to be erased from existence. That was their oath, she was the first to voice it. And yet, as he tried to reason and remind her of her past, she only seemed to shiver. He dared raise his voice, passionately, horrified by her words.

“How can you denounce our strife?! We only fight because of the horrors you now allow! Don’t you care about your family?!” Bastian did not notice how her fangs clenched, or how she was beginning to tense with a faint growl. “What would Lyssa think?! She-!”

“Enough!

“Ngh!”

Bastian stared wide-eyed at nothing, unable to let out a sound while one of Nerys’ hands pressured over his mouth. The other claw, meanwhile…

She looked carefully at her own nail, which was piercing slightly where she bit last time. A small trail of blood was falling along his shoulder, and its scent was making her eyes sharpen. Though difficult to ignore, she pushed all instincts aside, taking a deep breath. She had to get answers, and he had to voice them with a clear mind. Her words dragged, almost growled; anger flowed in her heart, while fear did in his.

“I told you to not speak my name, something you have disregarded. Worse, you dare mention them. Do not do so again, I warn you.” He should not imply she would bring them harm, not when it was he who forced her to stop shielding them. “I still remember them all, even if I have changed. You can’t understand me at all, but try to get this… I only despise you, no one else.”

She had enough of his hypocritical words, her patience was gone. He whimpered silently when that sharp nail moved, dragging along his neck, threateningly.

“Now, you did not answer my question…” She frowned and tapped slightly where he bled, to make a point. “I only need to know one thing for now. Nod if she is safe.”

Bastian trembled, feeling the burn of the wound. It had hurt before, but now it was open again. However, he knew he could not just sit there in pain and fright, not when Nerys waited for an answer. She was looming over him even if she was crouching, with a claw over his mouth, the other brushing his neck.

Nerys smiled sadly when Bastian gave her a shaky nod, closing his eyes shut. Multiple nervous ones followed that first one, as he was dreadful she missed it and would lash out. He only stopped trying to signal Lyssa’s safety when the silence was broken.

“Good.” She did not trust him, but this visit had confirmed one thing: he held no malice towards Lyssa. ”That’s all I need to know, for now.”

But it was not all she needed from him.

“Hmf-h…”

Bastian flinched, but was unable to move away. He could only tremble, for Nerys had finally leaned close, in order to bite again. A pained grimace grew on his face, his eyes still closed tight, not daring to open and see. He knew all too well what was happening; he could feel the sting on his neck, her heavy hold on him.

Her powerful fangs and claws would keep him still, yet he still tried to push her away instinctively. One of his hands was free, and he slammed it against her shoulder to push her off, in vain. That move only made her more resolute, her bite intensifying, not needing to acknowledge his attempts at all.

He had no room to lean or move away. His back was against the wall, and she was crouching right over him, blocking any chance of standing. She ignored every gasp and whimper that escaped him, all silenced by her claw, which pressured over his mouth.

Bastian struggled angrily for a few minutes, managing a few kicks and punches, which she did not seem to notice at all. Eventually, he began to feel dizzy, a sensation that was now familiar. Nerys blinked and frowned, seeing him slump and surrender in her grasp at last. He soon winced, because her bite shifted, intentionally. It was a painful move, because her fangs had remained still inside his flesh, somehow lessening the ache while she fed.

Her fangs slid out of his neck, calculatedly and precisely. He opened his eyes, confused, not only for his blood loss. Her bite had not lasted for as long as he expected, and it had not been as feral. She let go of him and let him lean against the wall, glaring down as she stood tall. The only thing she did was watch him silently, for a whole minute.

“…” She gave him a stern look, and he could only stare back at her faintly. “You have lost too much blood these past weeks, so this is enough. The jailor will leave you more bandages, maybe some alcohol.”

Bastian cried silently while Nerys stepped out of the door, not looking back as she growled.

“I’ll be back once you recover.”

Perhaps he would be thankful for that continuous supply of water, which she could deny him. On the other hand, she hoped that he did not ponder how this bite was more controlled and lenient, for she wanted him to dread her ire.

Bastian did not flinch when the door was slammed shut and locked. He was left alone to think, doubt, and regret every action that brought him this fate. His life felt pointless, for he had achieved nothing with his struggles. He had wanted to make a difference, ever since he discovered what a vampire was, so long ago.

He bowed his head down, letting the tears fall from his broken gaze. No words left him, as they would be meaningless.