After Eden [Book #1 of The Fall Trilogy]

Ten ☾ ☽ Before I Sleep

"But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." - Robert Frost

Ten  ☾ ☽ Before I Sleep

Okay, I was a bit grossed out myself.

There was no doubt about it that blood still gave me the heebie-jeebies, and the sight of it left the hairs on the back of my neck standing up and goosebumps running across my arms. It was thick, sticky, and grotesque looking. I pushed down a gag as I pondered on the image for too long.

But it was delicious.

One sip had left an explosion of sweetness on my tongue and had my tastebuds tingling. And for a second, I completely did not mind that I would never be able to consume ordinary food again without vomiting. Blood had left my brain hazy, overwhelmed by a flood of dopamine.

I swiped my tongue across my bottom lip, attempting to savor the taste for a moment longer, but when my eyes finally fluttered open, I realized I should probably high tail it out of the dinning hall. The whole student body was watching me with a horrified expression as I clutched the bottle of animal blood in my hand. I gave a sheepish smile before awkwardly making an exit out of the glass double doors.

I walked quickly across the courtyard, where some students were enjoying their lunches on the plush green grass, drinking up the sunlight. I cupped my hands over my eyes and attempted to stay in the protective shade of the academy's looming buildings.

Another thing I had learned about my kind- sunlight.

I greatly thanked whatever all good being in the sky there was because despite the myth, vampires did not burn and crumble to dust at the slightest hint of sun. However Juno did remind me more than once that vampires were creatures of the night and made to hunt in the safe confines of the darkness. We were just a little more sensitive to sun than most.

I quietly slipped into one of the many buildings hosting various classes. I estimated that I still had at least twenty minutes before my fourth period class, astronomy, would be begin, so like the curious teenager I was, I found myself wandering down the grand but narrow and dimly lit corridors, mindlessly taking in the gothic and medieval architecture while sipping on my drink.

It wasn't too long before the corridor I was traveling down widened up into what looked like a lobby or a reception area. A Persian rug was spread across the floor with high end, expensive, leather chairs and couches placed among the room. The walls were jam-packed with old painted portraits of what looked like politicians, generals, kings, and queens of the late medieval era and early modern era. I paused in the middle of the vast space and looked around, taking in all the faces of people who were most likely very important during their life span.

One stood out in particular. His canvas was quite larger than the rest and he occupied his own wall with a golden plague stamped on the wall underneath it. Curious, I strolled over towards the portrait to read the tiny printed lettering.

Peter Alexeyevich
House of Romanov
1682-1721

The portrait was of a fairly young man with dark brown locks that curled around his shoulders and a thick mustache. He was dressed in a general's uniform with a blue sash that draped across his shoulders while clutching a sword in one hand and a map in the other, leaning against a white stallion with dark storm clouds in the background.

"Peter," I repeated, not able to take my eyes of the painting.

"The Great," a cold voice added on.