▪︎ Chapter 134 ▪︎ “Collapse has taken another step closer.”

Lavinia climbed out of the shallow river, water streaming from her golden hair as she stepped onto the grassy bank. 

Beside her, Valerie shook her head, sending droplets flying in every direction before smoothing her orange hair back into place.

“Well,” Valerie remarked, glancing over her shoulder, “that was an interesting way to meet someone.”

Lavinia giggled faintly, although her attention remained on the two unfamiliar vampires following them out of the water.

Neither seemed particularly interested in drying themselves.

The black-haired vampire stumbled onto the bank first, her long twin tails hanging heavily against her back. 

Her crimson eyes remained fixed on Valerie, and although her expression was comparatively composed, there was something deeply unsettling about the tension in her face.

Her lips were pressed together, her shoulders drawn inward, and her fingers trembled despite her apparent efforts to keep them still.

The pink-haired vampire looked considerably worse.

Her eyes were wet, her breathing uneven, and her long ponytail clung to her back as she staggered forward.

Lavinia opened her mouth.

“Are you—”

The pink-haired vampire threw herself into her arms.

Lavinia blinked.

“Oh!”

Two slender arms wrapped tightly around her, pulling her into an embrace so desperate that she could feel the other vampire trembling against her.

The black-haired vampire approached Valerie almost simultaneously.

She hesitated for only a moment before leaning against her, burying her face against Valerie's shoulder.

Valerie's playful expression vanished.

She looked toward Lavinia, then carefully wrapped her arms around the stranger.

Lavinia lowered her gaze.

The pink-haired vampire had pressed her face into her shoulder, and soft, broken sobs escaped her lips.

For a moment, Lavinia didn't know what to say.

Then she gently placed one hand against the vampire's back.

“It's okay.”

The words felt rather inadequate.

She didn't even know what had happened.

But the trembling girl in her arms clearly needed someone to hold her, and Lavinia certainly wasn't going to push her away.

The other vampires descended from the sky moments later.

Gwendolyn landed first, followed closely by Rosaline and Violetta. The rest touched down along the riverbank, their wings folding behind them as they hurried toward the small group.

“What happened?” Gwendolyn asked.

Lavinia looked toward her.

“I don't know yet.”

The white-haired vampire's expression softened when she noticed the stranger crying against Lavinia's shoulder.

The others gradually fell quiet.

For all their usual enthusiasm, none seemed certain what to do.

Lavinia gently rubbed the pink-haired vampire's back.

A pleasant scent of cotton candy and sugared vanilla surrounded her, while the black-haired vampire leaning against Valerie smelled of melted brown sugar and toasted almonds.

Both scents were lovely.

Unfortunately, they were almost overwhelmed by something considerably less pleasant.

Blood.

An enormous amount of it.

Lavinia's ears twitched.

She could distinguish the blood of several different people, the scents clinging to the vampires' clothing and hair despite their recent plunge into the river.

And none of it belonged to them.

Her smile faded.

The black-haired vampire eventually lifted her head from Valerie's shoulder.

She drew a slow breath, although it seemed to do little to steady her.

“We've been traveling nonstop,” she said softly.

Her voice was surprisingly composed.

Almost unnaturally so.

“I don't know why, but I felt like coming here was the right choice.”

Valerie brushed a damp strand of black hair away from her face.

“You came looking for us?”

“I think so.”

The vampire swallowed.

“I just... I thought we should keep going.”

Violetta stepped closer.

“From where?”

The black-haired vampire's expression tightened.

“We lost someone.”

Lavinia stopped rubbing the pink-haired vampire's back for a moment.

The stranger continued, her voice becoming quieter.

“Our friend. Before we left, humans and werewolves had been trying to capture us for days.”

Her hands curled into fists.

“They wouldn't leave us alone.”

Dark red blood began dripping between her fingers.

Lavinia glanced down.

The vampire's nails had pierced her palms.

She didn't seem to notice.

Violetta's expression grew serious.

“How long have you been traveling?”

The black-haired vampire shook her head.

“I don't know.”

She looked toward the forest.

“I can't remember properly. We just kept moving.”

Her voice faltered.

“Every night, we kept moving.”

Valerie gently took one of her hands, encouraging her to loosen her grip.

The vampire looked down as though only then noticing the blood.

“My name is Adeliza,” she murmured.

She glanced toward Lavinia.

“And that's Sybil.”

Lavinia looked down at the pink-haired vampire.

Sybil's arms tightened around her.

Adeliza hesitated.

“Could we stay with you?”

Her voice became almost inaudible.

“Just for a while?”

“Of course!”

Evangeline stepped forward and caught Adeliza's injured hand.

“You don't even have to ask!”

Adeliza blinked.

Evangeline smiled at her.

“You're a vampire. Why would we turn you away?”

The others approached as well, their expressions warm despite the obvious concern surrounding the newcomers.

Violetta exhaled deeply.

“Adeliza, what happened to your friend?”

Adeliza's expression crumpled.

She turned away.

For several seconds, she couldn't answer.

Then Sybil stirred against Lavinia's shoulder.

“Genevieve.”

Her voice was muffled.

Lavinia lowered her head.

“Genevieve?”

Sybil nodded.

“She... she went out to distract them.”

Her arms trembled.

“They kept following us, and we couldn't get away. Genevieve said she'd make them chase her instead.”

A broken sob escaped her.

“She said she'd come back.”

Lavinia gently patted her back.

Sybil struggled to continue.

“We waited. We kept waiting, but she didn't come back before dawn.”

Her voice cracked.

“And then the sun came up.”

Adeliza covered her face with one hand.

Sybil pressed herself more tightly against Lavinia.

“We couldn't go outside. We couldn't look for her.”

She began crying harder.

“We had to wait until sunset!”

Lavinia's expression grew still.

She knew what that meant.

Every vampire present knew.

Sybil's voice became ragged.

“When we finally went out, we found where she'd been.”

She swallowed.

“Her scent was everywhere. All over the ground and the trees.”

Her fingers tightened against Lavinia's dress.

“And wolves. We could smell wolves.”

A low growl escaped her throat.

It grew louder.

Harsher.

Lavinia's ears twitched.

She'd heard vampires growl before. She'd growled plenty of times herself, usually out of annoyance or embarrassment.

But this was different.

The sound seemed to come from somewhere much deeper, filled with such concentrated hatred that Lavinia instinctively tightened her embrace.

Sybil's growl broke into uneven breaths.

Adeliza wiped her face with her sleeve.

“She must've been injured.”

Her voice trembled.

“They caught her, or hurt her badly enough that she couldn't get away.”

She stared at the ground.

“And then the sun came up.”

Lavinia looked between them.

Adeliza's lips quivered.

“She was destroyed.”

Silence settled over the riverbank.

The distant forest continued rustling in the night breeze, and water flowed quietly over the stones behind them.

Lavinia looked down at Sybil.

The pink-haired vampire was holding her tightly enough that an ordinary human's spine would probably have shattered beneath the pressure.

Lavinia barely noticed the force.

Instead, she continued rubbing Sybil's back.

Rosaline approached and gently patted her head.

“Oh, sweetheart.”

Gwendolyn moved toward Adeliza.

She hesitated briefly before wrapping her arms around the black-haired vampire.

Adeliza stiffened.

Then she leaned into the embrace.

Violetta closed her eyes for a moment.

“I'm sorry.”

Adeliza didn't answer.

Violetta looked toward the two newcomers again.

Then her expression changed.

“How many people have you killed on your way here?”

Sybil went completely still.

Adeliza turned her face away.

Lavinia looked toward Violetta.

The question was unpleasant.

But she understood why it had been asked.

The smell of blood surrounding the two vampires was impossible to ignore.

Violetta's voice remained gentle.

“Killing random people won't bring Genevieve back.”

Adeliza moved.

One moment, she was standing beside Gwendolyn.

The next, she slammed into Violetta.

The two vampires struck the ground, scattering grass and loose soil as Adeliza pinned Violetta beneath her.

"THEY KILLED GENEVIEVE!”

Her scream echoed through the forest.

Violetta looked up at her.

Adeliza's face was twisted with anguish.

“THEY KEPT COMING AFTER US!”

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO THEM!”

Her nails extended.

“They wouldn't leave us alone! They just kept coming!”

Violetta sighed.

Then she reached up and pulled Adeliza into an embrace.

Adeliza froze.

Her fingers trembled above Violetta's shoulders.

For a moment, she seemed almost ready to lash out again.

Then her expression crumpled.

She buried her face against Violetta's shoulder.

The trembling didn't stop, but it gradually became less violent.

Lavinia watched quietly.

She understood what Violetta had been trying to say.

Killing unrelated humans wouldn't bring Genevieve back.

It wouldn't undo what the werewolves had done, either.

But Adeliza and Sybil weren't thinking clearly enough to make those distinctions.

Their grief had consumed everything else.

And when they encountered someone they associated with Genevieve's death, they lashed out.

Lavinia's crimson eyes drifted toward the blood staining Adeliza's fingers.

Then toward Sybil.

The smell surrounding them wasn't nearly as overwhelming as the blood she'd encountered on her future self.

But it wasn't the blood of one or two people.

There had been many.

Lavinia wondered how many of those people had actually threatened them.

Perhaps some had.

Perhaps others had simply been unfortunate enough to encounter two grieving vampires who no longer cared to distinguish between enemies and strangers.

She couldn't know.

And bringing them into Oakridge in their current condition might be disastrous.

Violetta gently pushed Adeliza upward, using the movement to rise from the ground herself.

She brushed a little dirt from her clothing.

“Adeliza. Sybil.”

Both looked toward her.

“The city where we live is primarily human.”

Adeliza's expression tightened.

Violetta continued.

“Will you be able to live among humans without attacking them?”

Adeliza nodded.

“Yes.”

Her answer came quickly.

Perhaps too quickly.

Sybil nodded wordlessly against Lavinia's shoulder.

Gwendolyn gently patted her head.

Then she looked toward Lavinia.

There was something hesitant in her expression, as though she wanted to say something but wasn't certain whether she should.

Lavinia tilted her head.

And then she remembered.

The Thing in the Darkness.

Her final wish.

The strange girl had told her she would be using it soon.

Lavinia had wondered what could possibly happen that would make her spend the last of her three wishes.

Now, looking at Adeliza and Sybil, she thought she understood.

From an outsider's perspective, perhaps the decision would seem absurd.

One dead vampire.

Two others devastated by her loss.

How could that possibly justify spending a wish capable of changing the world?

A wish that might save millions of lives?

Lavinia looked down at Sybil.

Then toward Adeliza.

But she wasn't human anymore.

And she couldn't pretend that her feelings toward other vampires were the same as those she'd once held toward strangers.

When vampires were happy, she felt happy.

When they laughed, she wanted to laugh with them.

And when they suffered...

Lavinia's expression softened.

It felt as though something heavy were pressing against her chest.

She couldn't simply look at Adeliza and Sybil and decide their suffering wasn't important enough.

Not when she could do something about it.

Lavinia sighed.

“Adeliza. Sybil.”

Both turned toward her.

“I know the humans and werewolves where you came from were hostile.”

She glanced between them.

“But things are a little different here.”

Adeliza lowered her gaze.

Lavinia continued gently.

“You can't keep killing people the way you have been.”

Sybil's fingers tightened.

“I'm not asking you to stop grieving,” Lavinia added. “You lost someone you loved. Of course it hurts.”

She looked at their hunched shoulders and withdrawn postures.

Vampires usually carried themselves with such effortless grace.

Even when relaxed, they seemed naturally confident in their own bodies.

But Adeliza and Sybil looked as though they were trying to protect themselves from the entire world.

Lavinia reached for Sybil's hand.

“Come here.”

Sybil reluctantly loosened her embrace.

Lavinia led her toward Adeliza, then took the black-haired vampire's hand as well.

Both looked at her in confusion.

Lavinia smiled faintly.

“A wish to bring back someone dear to you two isn't even a question.”

Adeliza blinked.

“What?”

Lavinia looked upward.

“I know what my third wish is.”

Valerie's eyes widened.

“Lavinia?”

Lavinia giggled softly.

“I bet she knew I'd use it here.”

She looked toward the dark sky.

“That's probably why she didn't mind giving me three wishes in the first place. It wouldn't change very much anyway.”

A soft voice answered her.

“I don't like tragedy.”

The words were barely louder than a whisper.

Yet every vampire heard them.

Lavinia's ears twitched.

The voice continued, gentle and almost pleased.

“And I'm happy that vampires are so selfless toward one another.”

Adeliza stiffened.

Sybil looked around wildly.

“A wish that could do almost anything,” the voice murmured, “and you would spend it saving someone you haven't even met.”

The surrounding darkness shifted.

A small figure appeared before them.

A girl-shaped absence, darker than the night itself, with pale gray eyes that seemed impossibly clear against her featureless form.

Lavinia smiled.

“Hello again.”

The Thing in the Darkness tilted her head.

“Hello, Lavinia.”

The other vampires stared.

They'd heard her giggle before the Third Divergence, but this was the first time most of them had heard her speak.

And now she was standing directly in front of them.

Gwendolyn's eyes widened.

“God is cute,” she whispered.

Valerie nodded slowly.

“She really is.”

The Thing in the Darkness didn't appear particularly interested in their reactions.

Her pale eyes remained fixed on Lavinia.

“Is your third wish to bring Genevieve back?”

Lavinia nodded.

“Yes.”

She glanced toward Adeliza and Sybil.

“They're not okay.”

Neither vampire protested.

Lavinia continued.

“They might seem like they're holding themselves together, but they aren't. If we take them back to Oakridge like this, people could die.”

She looked toward the Thing in the Darkness again.

“And I don't think talking to them is enough.”

Her expression became thoughtful.

The vampires she'd seen in that possible future had been different.

They'd dominated humans, using cruelty to suppress resistance and maintain control.

Adeliza and Sybil weren't like that.

They weren't trying to establish authority over anyone.

They were vengeful.

Their violence came from grief, despair, and murderous hatred directed toward those they believed responsible.

But they no longer had a clear understanding of who their enemies were.

A lone human.

An isolated werewolf.

Someone unfortunate enough to cross their path.

Any of them might have become a target.

Lavinia squeezed their hands.

“I want Genevieve back.”

The Thing in the Darkness regarded her quietly.

Then she nodded.

“Acceptable.”

Her pale gray eyes brightened slightly.

“Your three wishes have now been exhausted.”

Something appeared in the air.

A slender figure.

Lavinia instinctively reached forward.

The figure collapsed into her arms.

Silver hair spilled over her black sleeves, styled into two neat buns with long, flowing lengths cascading down the girl's back.

Her eyes were closed.

Her pale face was serene.

And a lovely scent of maple and cream drifted through the night.

Lavinia stared.

“Oh.”

The girl was beautiful.

Of course she was.

She was a vampire.

Adeliza made a strangled sound.

Sybil's fingers slipped from Lavinia's hand.

Neither moved for a moment.

They simply stared at the silver-haired vampire resting in Lavinia's arms.

“Genevieve?”

Adeliza's voice was barely audible.

Sybil took a hesitant step forward.

Then stopped.

Her crimson eyes trembled.

“Genevieve...?”

Lavinia looked between them.

Neither seemed willing to touch her.

As though they feared the slightest contact would make her disappear.

Lavinia smiled.

“Oh, come here.”

She reached forward, caught both vampires by their arms, and pulled them toward Genevieve.

The three tumbled onto the grass.

Adeliza caught Genevieve first.

Sybil wrapped herself around them both.

Then they began crying.

Not the harsh, broken sobs Lavinia had heard earlier.

These were different.

There was still grief.

Still disbelief.

But beneath it was something warm and overwhelming.

Relief.

Joy.

Adeliza buried her face against Genevieve's silver hair.

Sybil clung to her other side, repeating her name between sobs.

Neither seemed particularly concerned with whether this was somehow an illusion.

They didn't want to question it.

They only wanted to hold her.

Lavinia sat back on her heels, smiling.

Valerie approached and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“That was sweet.”

Lavinia giggled.

“I thought so too.”

The Thing in the Darkness tilted her head.

She watched the three vampires for a moment.

Then her gaze shifted toward the others.

“Collapse has taken another step closer.”

Lavinia's smile faded.

She looked up.

“Of course it has.”

Her laugh contained no amusement.

“It always seems to be getting closer.”

The Thing in the Darkness remained silent.

Lavinia spread her hands.

“But I just saved someone. How could bringing Genevieve back possibly make the world worse?”

The girl's pale eyes lowered toward the ground.

Then the forest vanished.

Lavinia blinked.

They were standing in Oakridge.

The familiar intersection lay before them, surrounded by flashing emergency lights.

Ambulances had arrived.

Police officers moved between the damaged vehicles, while a crowd of bystanders watched from behind the cordoned-off street.

And the man from earlier was screaming.

“THE VAMPIRES DID IT!”

His face was wet with tears.

“THEY CAUSED THE ACCIDENT!”

Lavinia stared.

The man pointed toward the wreckage.

“THEY KILLED MY WIFE! THEY MADE ME WATCH!”

Evangeline's expression twisted.

“We should've left him in the damn car.”

Valerie growled.

The Thing in the Darkness looked toward the gathered crowd.

Then toward the police.

Then back at the grieving man.

The scene flickered.

The city disappeared.

White walls surrounded them.

Lavinia looked around.

She didn't recognize the room.

It was stark and brightly illuminated, with little furniture beyond a narrow bed and several unfamiliar pieces of equipment.

A vampire sat against one wall.

She had dark skin and light blue hair.

Her knees were drawn tightly against her chest.

Thick silver shackles encircled her wrists and ankles.

Lavinia's expression changed.

“What...?”

The vampire didn't look up.

The scene vanished before Lavinia could approach.

Now they stood in the ruins of a city.

Buildings had collapsed into blackened heaps.

Roads were split apart, and enormous stretches of land had been scorched by nuclear fire.

Lavinia stared at the devastation.

Then the world changed again.

Humans.

Weapons.

Groups moving through streets and forests, hunting vampires and werewolves.

Some carried ordinary firearms.

Others possessed equipment Lavinia didn't recognize.

The supernatural creatures fled, fought, or hid.

The scenes shifted too quickly for her to understand every detail.

But she understood enough.

The Thing in the Darkness spoke softly.

“One step toward coexistence.”

Another scene flickered.

“Twenty steps backward.”

Then the visions disappeared.

The familiar forests of the Diverged Lands surrounded them once more.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Violetta was the first to move.

Her expression had become frighteningly serious.

She spread her wings.

“We need to return to the city.”

The Thing in the Darkness raised one finger.

“Returning now won't do any good.”

Violetta froze.

The girl tilted her head.

“So sleep.”

Every vampire collapsed.

Valerie fell beside Lavinia.

Gwendolyn crumpled onto the grass.

Violetta's wings folded as she dropped to the ground, while Evangeline, Rosaline, and the others fell where they stood.

Adeliza and Sybil collapsed around Genevieve, their arms still wrapped protectively around her.

Lavinia remained standing.

She stared at the motionless vampires.

Then she turned toward the Thing in the Darkness.

Her arms crossed.

“How are we supposed to fix everything wrong with the world?”

The girl looked at her.

Lavinia's expression tightened.

“Every time we do something good, something else happens. We save people, and someone finds a reason to hate us. We try to cooperate, and someone decides we're dangerous.”

She glanced toward her sleeping friends.

“Are we supposed to fix all of that ourselves?”

The Thing in the Darkness lowered her gaze.

For once, she didn't seem amused.

Her pale gray eyes rested on the vampires lying across the grass.

Then she answered.

“I'm not sure.”

Lavinia stared at her.

The response was so unexpected that she almost laughed.

Instead, she sighed.

“That's not very reassuring.”

The Thing in the Darkness said nothing.

Lavinia felt something strange settle over her.

Not exhaustion.

Vampires didn't tire in that way.

It was more like the world itself was gently pulling her consciousness away.

Her knees weakened.

She lowered herself toward the ground, catching one last glimpse of Genevieve lying between Adeliza and Sybil.

At least she'd managed to save someone.

Lavinia smiled faintly.

Then her crimson eyes closed.

Her consciousness dissolved into darkness.

The Thing in the Darkness remained standing among the sleeping vampires.

Thirteen figures lay scattered across the forest floor, their beautiful faces peaceful beneath the moonlight.

The girl looked at them for a long moment.

Then she sighed softly.

And vanished.

As though she'd never been there at all.

Genevieve 

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