Chapter 179: Guarded

Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Guarded

Chapter 179: Guarded

It was a little after four in the afternoon.

Vera Sable left Cyrus Calder’s apartment and forced herself to walk normally.

That required more concentration than she wanted to admit.

She had barely made it down the hallway when someone appeared from the opposite direction.

Daphne Whitlock.

The apartment building’s landlord was dressed neatly as usual, though most of her attention was focused on the phone in her hand.

Vera had no desire to stop and talk.

The hallway was not especially wide, so the two women simply passed each other without speaking.

At the exact moment they crossed, however, Daphne caught a faint scent in the air.

She slowed.

That smell seemed familiar.

She had encountered something similar before, though she could not immediately remember where.

Daphne turned her head.

Vera was already farther down the hallway.

Her pace looked slightly unsteady for half a second before she disappeared around the corner.

Daphne stared after her.

What was Vera doing here?

More importantly, why had she just come from the direction of Cyrus’s apartment?

The thought remained unfinished.

Daphne looked back at her phone.

A message she had sent hours ago was still sitting there without a reply.

Cyrus had not shown up at St. Alder all day.

He had apparently called in sick, but Daphne still did not know whether he was genuinely unwell or merely avoiding school because of the dean’s warning.

She knew Cyrus was hardly the most straightforward person in Grayhaven.

That did not stop her from worrying when there was a real chance something had happened.

She had thought about him throughout the day.

Now that she was finally back at the apartment building, she could simply ask him in person.

That was easier than continuing to guess.

Outside, Vera reached her car.

She got behind the wheel and pulled away from the building with practiced steadiness.

Only her reflection in the rearview mirror betrayed her mood.

Her expression changed every few moments.

Annoyance.

Embarrassment.

Disbelief.

She had gone to Cyrus’s apartment expecting the visit to be completely under her control.

The plan had been simple.

Prove she had not reported him.

Use the medication shortage as leverage.

Get another taste of his blood.

Leave satisfied.

Technically, she had achieved the part involving his blood.

Unfortunately, she had also experienced much more than she ever intended.

Thinking about the chaotic aftermath made her grip the steering wheel a little tighter.

For most of her life, drinking blood had been ordinary.

Human blood, packaged blood prepared by her family, medical blood products, all of it had become so routine that there was barely any excitement left in it.

Cyrus had ruined that.

His blood tasted different.

Too good.

And today it had carried something else along with it.

Whatever unstable Frostborn reaction he had been dealing with had affected her too.

Vera had initially assumed she could manage it.

That confidence had not lasted.

She clenched her teeth.

The worst part was not even losing control.

The worst part was Cyrus looking directly at her afterward and calling her small fry.

Right to her face.

She had been too exhausted to argue.

Even during their negotiation afterward, he had managed to frighten her into handing over the suppressants she had brought with her.

That irritated Vera almost as much as everything else.

How had she actually fallen for that?

Cyrus had barely done anything.

He had simply walked toward her with that calm expression, and her body had remembered enough of the previous experience to immediately decide retreat was the smarter choice.

Vera clicked her tongue.

Her physical condition really was pathetic.

She returned home and went straight into the shower.

Warm water ran over her hair and shoulders as steam slowly filled the bathroom.

For several minutes, she stood beneath it without moving.

Then memories from earlier surfaced again.

Vera’s face warmed.

"Seriously, what a lunatic."

The words disappeared beneath the running water.

Cyrus normally looked almost unnaturally restrained.

Cold expression.

Quiet voice.

Barely any visible reaction even when the women around him deliberately tried to provoke him.

That made what happened after his control finally slipped feel even more absurd.

Vera frowned.

Rhea and Daphne had apparently managed to overpower him before.

Why was she the one who ended up losing so badly?

That question bothered her.

She looked down at herself.

Despite how exhausted she had been when leaving Cyrus’s apartment, there were almost no visible marks remaining.

That was strange.

Bloodborn healing was not normally this fast.

Vera inspected herself again.

Nothing obvious.

If she had not personally experienced the afternoon, even she might have doubted it had happened.

Then an old piece of Bloodborn folklore surfaced in her memory.

Bloodborn could occasionally acquire faint traits from someone whose blood they consumed repeatedly.

Vera had never taken that claim particularly seriously.

Rare-bloods were uncommon enough.

Finding one person willing to provide a large and steady blood supply over a long period was even less realistic.

Most Bloodborn never had the conditions required to test the theory.

Today, however, Vera had seen something difficult to explain any other way.

Cyrus’s Frostborn biology might have temporarily strengthened her recovery.

That possibility was far more interesting than she wanted it to be.

Vera narrowed her eyes.

If repeated feeding could actually improve her constitution, then perhaps she would not remain physically weaker forever.

Maybe someday she could be the one watching Cyrus panic.

The thought immediately improved her mood.

She imagined him being the one unable to argue back while she stood over him and returned the insult.

Small fry.

Vera smiled to herself.

That future had potential.

Back at the apartment building, Cyrus had not even finished half of his late lunch before the doorbell rang again.

He stopped eating.

Another visitor?

Cyrus walked to the entrance and checked the peephole.

Daphne stood outside.

After the day he had already experienced, that was almost reassuringly normal.

The two suppressants he had taken earlier were still providing enough effect that he could control his appearance again.

His hair had returned to its usual dark shade.

Cyrus opened the door.

Daphne looked him over immediately.

He did not appear pale, exhausted, or noticeably sick.

That should have reassured her.

Instead, another detail caught her attention.

There was an unfamiliar scent inside his apartment.

Daphne’s brows tightened slightly.

The last time she had entered this place, it had not smelled like this.

So something had happened here.

But what?

Her mind tried to catch the vague association from the hallway earlier.

Vera.

The strange scent.

Her slightly unsteady walk.

Cyrus standing here looking perfectly normal.

Daphne could not connect the pieces with certainty.

Without evidence, suspicion was only suspicion.

She focused on the reason she had come.

"You weren’t at school today."

Cyrus nodded.

"I wasn’t feeling great this morning."

Daphne studied him.

"You’re better now?"

"A little. I should be fine tomorrow."

His voice was calm.

Cyrus continued before she could worry too much.

"I felt dizzy when I woke up, so I decided it was safer to rest."

"Dizzy?"

Daphne’s expression immediately changed.

Her next question came almost automatically.

"What about your memory?"

Cyrus paused.

His fingers brushed over the ring on his hand.

"That part is not especially good."

The answer was technically true enough.

His memory had not collapsed today, but the possibility had become much more obvious in hindsight.

If Vera had continued feeding until he lost consciousness, the ring might have stolen more memories.

Cyrus had been so distracted by his unstable biology that he had failed to account for that.

That mistake bothered him.

If he had lost another year of memory and still ended up caught in the same disaster with Vera, the entire situation would have been an absolute loss.

Compared with that outcome, needing slightly more suppressant medication almost felt acceptable.

Daphne watched him fall silent.

Her thoughts moved differently.

Was he telling the truth?

The explanation sounded plausible.

That was exactly the problem.

Cyrus was very good at making his explanations sound reasonable.

Before reading his diary, Daphne might have believed everything without questioning it.

Now she knew better.

He calculated.

He tested people.

He deliberately shaped how others saw him when he thought it could protect his future self.

That did not mean everything he said was false.

It meant Daphne had developed enough caution to stop assuming everything was true.

Cyrus, meanwhile, looked at Daphne and reached a much simpler conclusion.

His safeguard still seemed stable.

Even if Daphne eventually intended to do something inappropriate, he believed she would wait until he had lost his memories or become sufficiently vulnerable.

If he remained aware of her and maintained records, that danger could be managed.

Documentation mattered.

The diary mattered.

Anything capable of telling his future self what kind of person Daphne was mattered.

Cyrus returned his attention to her.

"I can probably go back to school tomorrow."

Daphne nodded.

"That’s good."

Then she added, "What would you like to eat tomorrow?"

Cyrus’s expression softened slightly.

"Anything is fine."

Daphne had crossed boundaries in the past.

That had not changed.

But her current care did not feel fake.

As long as Cyrus remained careful, there was no reason to reject every kindness she offered.

Daphne seemed satisfied with the answer.

"I’ll make something before school."

"Thank you, Ms. Whitlock."

Cyrus leaned lightly against the doorway.

His suppressants were running low, but he still had enough for now.

More importantly, he had the package Vera had finally surrendered earlier.

That gave him time.

Now he needed to decide how to handle tomorrow.

Vera still controlled access to the strongest suppressants he had found.

Cyrus did not like relying on her.

After today, he liked it even less.

But if her claim was true and ordinary versions were significantly weaker, then avoiding her forever might not be practical.

He needed a better arrangement.

One where Vera did not get to set every condition.

Cyrus looked thoughtful.

Maybe tomorrow he could figure out how to get a larger supply from her.

Preferably without paying full price.

If he could somehow make it free, that would be even better.