Noise erupted like she was scouring through the cupboards, shutting the doors with force. The pitch of her voice changed with the frequency, depending on her location in the kitchen. "Oh, speaking of which, where is the doctor?"

"Please, stop. Leave Johnathan out of this." The words came out in a hurry, laced with desperation. "What more do you want? I don't know how much time Ethan has left before he needs to finalise his transition." Scrolling through Fiona's contacts, I searched for Johnathan's number and sent him various text messages. I hoped he could get to Samuel before she did.

"Don't you get it?" Edwina paused. "I needed a human, and since we share a bond, you were the perfect candidate. There was never a deal."

I pinched the skin around the scratches and avoided the desire to scrape my nails across the jagged marks, treating it like a mosquito bite. "What about the lives of the people you will destroy because of your own selfish reasons?"

"What about the lives lost from the overindulgent vampires? It was a lot easier for them to cover up their crimes back in the 1700s, but now, their freedom must come to an end. Shadowbrook deserves equal human rights and for it to be a safe place again," she replied. "There's no place for them here."

She was on one side, and I was on the other, head to head in a battle. Our morals were different, and while I thought about the perks of having a vampire-free world, people would suffer either way. Like Samuel, many didn't ask for this form of lifestyle. Many more were suffering from bloodlust, a loss of control and insanity.

I checked the unread messages that I had sent. Awful thoughts reeled in the back of my mind whether Edwina would murder him in his sleep or if he was waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He was clever enough not to run out into the firing line.

Troubled by Johnathan's whereabouts and Amelia's condition, I was restless with the inability to accept defeat. "Tell me where I can find my father."

Smashing the crockery on the floor, she heaved into the microphone. "Humanity brings weakness, Erika. You should be more like me and despise them. Your dad won't be coming back. Blame Nadine for that."

Revenge belonged to the green-eyed monster. I wasn't going to let jealousy drive me down a path of destruction.

"Whatever I feel towards Nadine, they aren't all like that. You once accepted them for who they were. You cared enough for one, don't let his mistake blind you." Rummaging through Samuel's clothes, my mouth quirked in annoyance from Edwina's betrayal.

"I fell in love. Twice. They took that away because I fell in love with a man who put vampires first," Edwina replied.

"He still loves you," the words blurted from my mouth. Holding black and white polaroid pictures of the two of them together, you couldn't tell that Samuel was a vampire. He looked handsome in all his attire; knee breeches, a full-skirted knee-length coat, a long waistcoat and a linen shirt with frills. "Otherwise, why would he keep pictures of you in his sock drawer?"

My thumb hovered over the image as the door creaked open a fraction. Radella popped her head round the door. "Ethan wants to talk to you." Her gaze shifted to the phone in my hand.

The call had disconnected and lost signal with fifteen percent battery.

I had the urge to find Samuel. We shared a connection; his blood and DNA were in my system, and the link was like a knot coming undone, unravelling inside me.

"Samuel and Amelia need help." Despite no service, I dialled their numbers, holding onto a slither of hope that the signal would come back. I tossed the snapshots back in the drawer, all except one and stuffed it in the waistband of my leggings. "We need to stop Edwina. If she gets to Samuel before Johnathan and kills them both, she will head straight for the institute."

"You aren't going anywhere." Radella searched through Samuel's stack of folded shirts and draped one over her shoulders, covering up her tassel tank top. "I'll go."

My forehead creased with uncertainty at her wild suggestion. "But you'll burn. How will you leave the building?" The only exit from the building was the elevator.

Since the creatures aren't accustomed to the light, does the sun affect them the same way?

She delved her hand into her cleavage, pulling out her lipstick. Using the full-length mirror, Radella carefully applied it to her lips. The dark purple suited her natural, warm complexion, giving her an elegant appeal that matched her bohemian, gothic style. For a vampire, her skin tone wasn't porcelain-white like other vampires. "You've risked a lot."

Her stare trailed to my bandaged hand. Streaks of blood leaked through the gauze. "If I can smell it, so can they." Grabbing one of Samuel's jackets from the hanger, she lifted it over her head for protection.

There's no doubt he'll be furious when he finds out.

As she walked into the main room, she opened the blinds and hoisted the latch on the window, allowing the muggy, dry heat into the room. "Use the matches if you have to. Nobody likes fire." She jumped from the ledge using her vampiric abilities, her long plaits flowing behind in the breeze.

A scorching heat radiated across my shoulder blades as I arched my back, grinding my teeth from the burn.

Something is wrong.

"Erika, you're bleeding." Fiona stood up, wiping her hands down her jeans. She lifted my top, inspecting my wounds with her delicate touch.

"They scratched me." Rolling back my shoulders, I jerked away from Fiona. "They scratched you, too. Why isn't it affecting you?"

A light dusting of my blood was on her fingertips. The swelling on her cheek had gone down. The red mark faded, unfazed by the scratch across her abdomen. "A perk of being a Dhampir. I heal quicker than the average human."

"It's venom," Ethan whispered, squirming in his seat. The sedative was starting to wear off. "I heard them say something about poisonous venom."

Fiona dabbed her fingers with tissue. "Who said that?"

Ethan cleared his throat. "The vampires. They're calling them the Igneous vampires."

"As in, igneous rock?" I paid enough attention in my science lesson to know about the different types of rock.

"Igneous means fire." Fiona grabbed the box of matches, striking one across the side and creating a spark of light. "Igneous rocks are formed from the main source when it's hot, and since the creature's skin is melted and deformed, they're made in the same way. Somebody created these vampires from a lab." Setting the tissue with my blood alight, she dropped it in the metallic sink.

Great. So, I'm potentially dead, and I'm poisoned.

She turned the AC up a notch and fetched Ethan water from the tank, feeding him from the disposable cup. "Maybe it's affecting you because of the vampire blood in your system. The venom could counteract with its healing properties."

Ethan sputtered and choked on the water. "What?"

"How did you know about that?" I asked, stumbling over my words. There was no way she would have known about that unless Radella had told her. Even Johnathan didn't know.

Fiona mopped the sweat from Ethan's forehead, raising him in a sitting position and patted his back with the palm of her hand.

The lamp on the desk toppled over as the ground shuddered. Sheets of paper fluttered around the room from the AC blowing at full pelt. I grabbed the remote, but according to the dial, the AC was set on number two.

I'm pretty sure number two shouldn't be this forceful.

Books tipped to the side, leaning on top of each other like a row of fallen dominoes. The torch fell and rolled on the floor, immersing the room in darkness.

Is this Edwina's doing? I know she's robust, but as a human, she has more disadvantages. She should be dead from her injuries.

A gust of air busted through the window, shattering the glass like pieces of confetti. Ethan moaned as the sun's rays lit up the room, fighting against the effects of the tranquillizer.

"Quick, help me move him." Fiona already had her arm around his shoulder, and the other supported his waist.

I shook the fragments of glass from my neckline that nicked my skin. Dragging Ethan into the walk-in wardrobe, he slumped against the wall, away from the light.

"We can't stay here any longer. He'll die if we don't do something." She swayed on her feet, contemplating the best option.

"I'm incapacitated, not deaf," Ethan said, facing straight ahead.

The warmth drained from Fiona's stricken face, turning her ivory skin ashen. She pecked his cheek, ruffling his damp curls. "I'll be back soon." Clearing her throat, she held herself together for as long as she could.

She tugged me into the office away from prying ears. "If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, you know what to do." In her hand was the bottle containing my blood. "Please, Erika. I hate to ask you, but I can't be here when it happens."

She herded me into a corner, forcing me to perform an act that I wasn't comfortable with. She was taking Ethan's choice away, whether he wanted this or not, and I was the catalyst to make it happen. If I was in her shoes, I would probably do the same thing.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I joined Ethan with the burden of Fiona's proposition as it weighed heavy on my heart, drowning in a sea of an abyss. A stray tear descended his cheek, knowing this was a hard pill for him to swallow.

I sat beside him, wiping the tear away with my thumb. Warmth spread across my cheeks as a fire ignited deep within. "Can I ask you a question?"

Asking any question was better than facing the truth.

A/N

Word Count: 1,688

Do you think what Fiona asked Erika to do is justified?

Will Erika choose to feed Ethan her blood or let him die before turning into a vampire?

Have a fangtastic day!

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