𝙰 𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝙴𝚖𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎 (wlw)

Chapter Four

Anastasía watched the woman grip the skillet until her knuckles turned ghostly pale and the gullibility in her belief that the object would protect her and the child amused her— how did this feeble human manage to save her life?

In the absence of a conversation, Emese observed the woman. She was unsettlingly aloof and although she didn't know what to expect, it wasn't how she envisioned their encounter would ensue. There were supposed to be answers; the vampire was supposed to speak about last evening not stand in awkward silence.

Hugging Tamas closer to her side, Emese decided to further probe for answers. “Do you remember what happened?”

Of course, Anastasía remembered, it was forever etched in the memory of her being, last night and all the other horrible times she was hurt while imprisoned. She would carry around the traumas, however, like a secret looked in a chest with only one key to open it, a key that she would've swallowed. 

“I don't,” she replied.

Emese studied her suspiciously. "I don't believe you," she said. "I know you're aware of what happened. Why is that man looking for you? How did you get onto my land?”

The vampire refused to answer because she believed she didn't owe anyone an explanation— how she made it there, why she ran and who attacked her was none of this human's business.

Walking over to the chair, she took a seat, her attention fixed on the woman and her child. Under the orange glow of the candles, her eyes scintillated, shining like beautiful orbs, which impressed the siblings.

“Won't you answer any of my questions?”

“I'm not obliged to,” she monotonously answered.

Emese inched closer to where she sat, a scowl on her face. “You're in my home, alive and well because of the sacrifices I made. I think the least you can do is explain what happened last night. I only seek the clarity,”

“How did you fend off the man who attacked me?” rebutted Anastasía. Now that she was cognizant, it's what she needed clarity on.

“I didn't,” Emese retorted. He never got in.

Anastasia tried to understand why Dorin didn't kill the woman and the child. Perhaps there was a third member in the home who defended them against the bastard. Perhaps it was the woman’s husband. That made more sense.

Searching the vicinity, her nose flared as she inhaled the different scents that lingered. She also listened for a third heartbeat or something to confirm the presence of another but found nothing.

“Did someone assist you?”

Emese frowned. "I don't understand," Although she spoke Ashean, she wasn't entirely fluent in the language.

"Did you get help? Was it your husband? Did he ward off my attacker?"

Emese’s brows threaded together upon the realization that the vampire thought Tamas was her son and that there must've been the presence of a man who did the work of saving her. Why would she need a man? She didn't particularly need them around, they weren't as useful as people made them out to be. They were the opposite of useful and she knew this from listening to the married women at the market square. They complained about their husbands so much that she wondered if they even liked them or if they were all married to the same man. Nonetheless, she moved closer to the chair, defiance and irritation radiating from her.

“Until Tamas comes of age, the only man in this house is me,” she said, eliciting amusement from the vampire who only ever encountered that sort of brazenness from one other woman.