Darkness (Alisa Rose #2)

-Two-

Alisa POV

I leaned my head against the cold window of the plane, staring out at the endless blue sky as the clouds whisked by. Somewhere ahead, Manila was waiting for us. Not just the city—no, that would've been easy. The Vampire Society was waiting, and I had to walk right into it like some kind of soldier on trial.

I tapped my fingers against the armrest, trying to shake off the nervous tension curling in my gut. Jace, sitting next to me, was annoyingly calm, his eyes closed like he didn't have a care in the world. Typical. He always played it cool, like this was just another day at the office, not a trip that could very well decide my future.

"Manila's a big city," I muttered, mostly to myself, but I knew he could hear me. "How many Tikbalanugo vampires do you think we'll run into while we're there?"

Jace cracked one eye open, and I saw the familiar smirk tug at his lips. "In Manila? Depends. They like the shadows. If we're lucky, we might not see any... but I wouldn't bet on it."

I snorted, crossing my arms. "Yeah, luck's never really been my thing."

His smirk grew, and he shifted in his seat, turning to face me. "Well, to be honest, they usually hang around the darker parts of the city. You know—abandoned warehouses, back alleys, places where nobody notices if a few people go missing."

I rolled my eyes. "Classic. Why is it always creepy, dark alleys? Do Tikbalanugo vampires have a thing for cliché horror movie settings, or what?"

Jace chuckled softly, his laugh vibrating in the small, cramped space. "Hey, they like their drama. You should know that by now."

"Right, because avoiding drama is totally my thing," I said sarcastically, stretching my legs as much as I could. "But seriously, we're staying on alert, right? Those Tikbalanugo vampires have been stirring up trouble lately."

"Definitely," Jace replied, his tone getting serious as he leaned back in his seat. "There's been more Tikbalanugo activity in the bigger cities. Manila's no exception. If we catch wind of anything, we deal with it fast. No hesitation."

I nodded, already flipping into battle mode. I couldn't help but think about the fights we'd already been through—the snarling, vicious Tikbalanugo vampires who were harder to kill than they looked. It was one thing to be strong, but they had that twisted magic backing them up, and that made them dangerous.

"So... what's the deal with them wanting to blend in with humans, anyway?" I asked, thinking out loud. "It's not like they can enjoy all the perks—no Netflix, no food, no sunbathing."

"It's not about fitting in," Jace said, his voice a little softer. "It's about control. Tikbalanugo vampires thrive on power. What better place to get it than in the shadows of big cities? They manipulate things—politics, crime, business—without humans ever realizing they're even there."

I huffed, staring out the window. "Great. So now we're fighting vampire city planners."

Jace laughed again, but I could tell he was serious underneath the humor. "We'll have to stay sharp. I know the Council is the main reason we're here, but if we run into Tikbalanugo trouble, we deal with it."

I shot him a sideways glance. "No worries, I've got my trusty stake and a healthy amount of sarcasm. I'm good to go."

He gave me that look, the one that said he was trying to figure me out again, like I was some puzzle he couldn't quite solve. "Just... remember, this isn't Nueva Bonifacio. Things work differently here. The Vampire Society plays by their own rules, and if you give them any reason, they'll take you out of the picture."