Of Blood and Downfall

Chapter 9.

Mavis's POV:

    Sitting on the bed, I hold the phone close to my mouth.

    "Are you sure everything has been okay?" My dad asks me on speaker, and I gnaw at my bottom lip. All I remember from yesterday is passing out when I saw Aiden's fangs...then woke up in bed completely harmless.

    "Yeah, yeah. Everything's been great, dad." I reassure him, avoiding any problems that will force me to come home.

    "Did you get any photos yesterday? I know the party was exclusive—"

    "No," I answer quickly. "I need more time."

    "No problem, baby." Someone says something to him, and he begins talking to the person. I try to cut him off and hang up, but he turns back to talk to me. "Mavis, you are sure you're okay? You sound off."

    I clear my throat, "Yeah dad, seriously. It's beautiful here and I made some friends." I don't push it but add, "Be careful, I might live here forever."

    He groans, "Don't tell me that, I will book the next flight back right now." I laugh when I hear a keyboard slap through the line. "Sam is here for his first day of the internship."

    "Hi Mav." Sam shouts excitedly through the line. "How's it been?"

    "Good, Sam. Thanks." I tell him and he laughs.

    "I miss you."

    "Me too." My eyes trail down at the flower pattern comforter. There's a brief silence and my dad's voice returns to the line.

    "I have to go but I will talk to you soon."

    "Sure, have a good day."

    "Have a good evening." Dad corrects since there is a six hour difference between Norway and New York. I hang up and fall back on the bed. Unable to connect anything that happened last night—it feels almost like a fever dream.

    Unbelievably beautiful people—vampires. I shiver at the word, and I should be afraid of it but I'm not. Everything related to vampires equals to being completely sucked dry. But I am still here with no marks on my body. That man—Karden, he is absolutely breathless and gravitating. There was something about him that tickled me senseless but I'm not able to point it out.

    I wonder if the people that tried to enter the estate know that they're vampires. If they are immortal, how does the entire world not know about them if they have been on this Earth for decades? I'm thinking irrationally though because I don't have the correct answers for anything.

    However, I will go along with being "acquaintances" because Karden has something I want back.

Karden's POV:

    Whistling to the rhythm of the music playing from the kitchen, I enter the double doors. The chefs are cooking meals for the workers since we don't eat much human food. A few years ago, Aiden thought it'd be so funny to eat three courses of food but wouldn't stop throwing it up.

    I cut right and enter through the connecting doors where we can feed from the source. Aria is too busy showering and getting ready for the day. I woke up to find myself completely famished from last night.

    Damien's mouth is latched onto a human's neck. Her eyes are closed, and her head is leaned back against his shoulder. She's sitting on a chair while Damien is leaning from behind. I glance away and come across Aiden and Issy both laughing at something they are talking about.

    They enter from the other door which exits to the dining area. Issy's smile drops when we make eye contact and she clears her throat. The human Damien is feeding from winces when he pulls away from her.