353 If I Want to Survive


    353 If I Want to Survive


    Meredith<i>. </i>


    Arriving at the main living room, I slumped into the long sofa and exhaled as if my body had been carrying stones all day.


    Not long after, a servant brought in a silver tray with a small assortment of pastries and candied fruits.


    I dispatched her quickly, then let the sweetness melt against my tongue, chasing away the tightness in my chest.


    But the silence lingered, and along with it were my thoughts.


    “Valmora, “I called inwardly. “How many vampires <i>did </i><i>you </i><i>kill </i><i>when </i><i>you </i><i>were </i><i>Serena’s </i>wolf?”


    Herugh was low and amused, like smoke curling around a me. “I can’t count <i>them </i><i>all</i><i>, </i><i>Meredith</i>. <i>The </i><i>number </i><i>would </i><i>bore </i>you.”


    I rolled the stem of a grape between my fingers, thinking. Then the question came without warning. “<i>Why </i><i>do </i><i>you </i><i>hate </i><i>them </i><i>so </i>much?”


    Her tone sharpened, no longer yful. “<i>Because </i><i>they </i><i>are </i>ticking time <i>bombs</i><i>, </i><i>you </i><i>can </i><i>dress </i><i>them </i><i>in </i><i>silk</i>, make <i>them </i><i>swear </i><i>oaths</i>, lock them


    in cages… it doesn’t matter. <i>They explode</i>. <i>Always</i>.”


    I frowned, narrowing my eyes at the gleam of light on the tray. “Exin.”


    They start wars without <i>cause</i>,” Valmora uttered with a cutting voice. “<i>They </i>don’t <i>need </i><i>a </i><i>reason </i>to <i>sneak</i><i>, </i>to attack, and to spill blood. They


    kill for the sake of it, for <i>hunger</i>, for <i>thrill</i>. <i>That </i><i>is </i><i>their </i><i>nature</i><i>. </i><i>That </i><i>is </i><i>what </i><i>they </i><i>are</i>.”


    The sweetness in my mouth turned bitter.


    Her words cut deep, echoing through me long after they had ended. But I couldn’t just swallow them whole.


    I knew vampires could be horrible, but I believed they were not all cut from the same cloth.


    “That sounds like prejudice,” I said slowly, spinning the grape between my fingers until the skin tore. “You paint them all with the same


    brush, as if none of them could <i>be </i>different.”


    Valmora’sugh slithered back into my mind, sharp as ss. “You think like a child, Meredith. That’s what makes you weak sometimes.”


    My jaw tightened. “Or maybe it’s what makes me humane. If you judge an entire race <i>by </i>its worst, you leave no room for anything else. No


    room for truth or change<i>” </i>1


    There was a small pause, then her voice came low, not mocking this time, but edged with something heavier.


    “The truth, Meredith, is that vampires don’t change. They are corrupt, so they rot. Give them time, and they will always show their fangs, L


    learned that too many times, in too many wars.”


    I urged my lips together as the sweetness on my tongue soured, my fingers still resting on the rim of the tray


    But Valmora didn’t let me linger in silence for long. Her voice urged in again, heavier this time. <fn3fb6> ???? ????s? ???????s ?? fι?dnοvel</fn3fb6>


    “<b>Your </b>softness will get you killed if you carry it into tomorrow. Do not underestimate them, Meredith. A vampire moves faster than your eyes can follow<b>. </b>Their hunger drives them. Their cruelty blinds them. When you meet one, there will be no time to wonder if they’re different. You


    13:06


    253 I Want to Survive


    kitibe if you the


    The bluntness made my heart thud hard against my ribe.


    you went to survive if you want to prove yourself to Draven and fight him then forget this notion that they can be anything but what


    they are


    I gulped down saliva as I turned her words over in my head when Dennis sauntered into the living room without warning, as if he had


    already imed the space for himself.


    Without so much as a greeting, he tilted down, plucked a slice of melon from the tray on the low table, and popped it into his mouth


    I gave him a look “You couldn’t at least ask first?”


    He smirked, dropping onto the sofa beside me instead of choosing one of the empty seats. “Why ask when you would only say yes


    anyway?


    I narrowed my eyes. “And what if I had said no?”


    Then I would have taken it faster, he replied with a grin, reaching for another piece until I pulled the tray closer to myself.


    “You are really something else.”


    “Of course, Dennis echoed proudly, lounging back with his hands behind his head. Then he nced sideways at me, a mischievous glint


    in his eyes. “But youughed just now, so I must be doing something right.”


    I rolled my eyes, though a smallugh did escape me despite myself. Dennis always had this way of barging in and pulling me out of my


    own thoughts–whether I wanted him to or not.


    Dennas leaned back into the sofa like he had no care in the world, chewing the melon withzy satisfaction.


    But something <b>in </b>me stirred–Valmora’s words still lingering–and before I could stop myself, I asked, “Dennis, how did you feel the first


    time you killed a vampire?


    He stilled for a heartbeat<i>, </i>then gave a crooked smile as he reached across to steal another slice of fruit from my te. “Honestly? I was


    satisfied”


    Just like that<i>? </i><i>I </i>pressed searching his face.


    His eyes sharpeneda inte the yfulness dimming ‘Especially after one of those bastards nearly killed me a few months before. That


    right, I wasn’t past fighting I was exerting my revenge


    I blinked, pecing the memory together That right the vampires snuck into this estate…”


    Dennis nodded slowly “Yeah Same night. That was the first time I took one down”


    My chest tightened, but he spoke with such matter–of–fact certainty that some of the unease in me began to loosen


    Then he nced at me again, his smirk returning just faintly ‘Don’t look so tense, Meredith. Draven’s been training us on how to kill vampires long before that night. I may have gotten my first taste then, but trust me, we all knew what to do.”


    <b>< </b>


    353 If I Want to Survive


    I breathed out, still clinging to his words.


    Just then, he leaned forward, his tone firm now, without a trace of his usual teasing. “When it’s your turn, don’t hesitate. Don’t give them


    any time. Snap the life out of them and make sure they stay dead. That is the only way.”


    His serious gaze locked with mine without flinching.


    <b>Comment </b>2


    You’ve arrived at thetest chapter!


    <b>Vote </b>


    17


    1


    Fandom


    Show support to the author by leavingments when sending gift.


    Swipe Left To Continue <b>> </b>


    图


    <b>Send </b><b>Gifts </b>


    View All >


    13:06