Born Anew in Blood: Bloodthirsty

Bloodthirsty

On the morning of the full moon, I wake up with a raging headache. I've had only a few migraines in my life, and they were nothing compared to this. I lie in bed for about thirty minutes longer than usual until I hear a knock at the door. I mumble something incoherent, and someone walks in.

"I figured you'd have a hard time making it to the dining hall this morning, so I brought you some breakfast," I hear Saif say. I groan at the mention of food as my stomach ties itself into knots. I burrow myself deeper into the blankets.

I realize distantly that there are more blankets on me this morning than there were when I fell asleep; he must have brought me some extras in the night. The thought of his caring gesture distracts me from the ache in my head, just for a moment.

"I know, I know," he says in response to my groan. "But at some point today you need to eat something. Promise me you'll try." I stick a hand out from my cocoon and give him a thumbs up. He chuckles. "Okay, I'll leave you alone."

He leaves, closing the door gently behind him. I lie like this for several hours, drifting in and out of a fitful sleep.

Then, sometime in the late afternoon, it's like a switch flips in my brain. My head stops throbbing, and at the same moment, my stomach screams at me to put something into it.

I sit up and walk quickly over to the desk where Saif had put the tray of food. It's miso soup; bits of tofu and green onions float in a savory broth. It is normally one of my favorite comfort foods, which I must have mentioned to him in passing one day. It's an incredibly sweet gesture.

The sight of it turns my stomach.

I pull the first hanger I touch out of the wardrobe and throw the clothes on. It ends up being a collared blue and green plaid dress with three-quarter-length sleeves. I throw my hair into a wild bun on top of my head, then hurry down the stairs to the kitchen.

I don't bother stopping to sit in the dining hall, where almost everyone else is eating. All their eyes follow me, but I ignore them as I walk to the kitchen door and fling it open.

My first thought is how modern everything is. It looks like I've walked into a five-star restaurant's kitchen rather than one in an otherwise Medieval-style castle.

A massive, stainless-steel island occupies the center of the room. Shelves full of pots and pans, plates, bowls, and various small kitchen appliances line the walls. Along the far wall are three large refrigerators.

As I walk toward them, my second thought is, How the hell have I not been in this kitchen in the month I've been here? But of course, I have had a man waiting on my every need. It's a jarring and foreign thought, but my mind doesn't have time to dwell on it. I'm laser-focused.

As I swing open the doors of the first refrigerator, I hear the kitchen door open, and two sets of footsteps enter. His scent hits me, and my pulse quickens.

"Saif, do you know if there's any venison in here?" I ask, still rooting through the contents of the refrigerator. Nothing. I close it and move to the next one.

There's a pause behind me. "How did you know it was me?" Saif asks tentatively.

"I smelled you, obviously. You always smell like charcoal and flowers. It's intoxicating," I say absently. It strikes me faintly that this is not something one would typically say to someone else, but frankly, right now, I don't give a damn.

Another pause from behind me. "What are you looking for?" Hyun-Joo asks caustically. What the hell does she want? I think, more ferociously than I should.