▪︎ Chapter 135 ▪︎ “WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!”

Lavinia pushed herself up from the ground with a groan, blinking several times as the world gradually came back into focus. 

Something felt wrong, although she couldn't immediately identify what it was. 

There was no pain, nor did she feel particularly uncomfortable, but a faint sense of incongruity lingered throughout her body, as though something fundamental had changed while she'd been unconscious.

She rubbed her eyes, brushing a few strands of golden hair away from her face. 

The gentle chirping of crickets reached her ears, accompanied by birdsong drifting through the surrounding forest, and Lavinia abruptly froze. 

Birds were singing? Her crimson eyes widened as she looked upward, only to discover that the sky was dim rather than dark.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Lavinia scrambled into a sitting position, her pointed ears standing upright as she frantically examined her surroundings. 

The other vampires were still lying where they'd collapsed, although several had begun stirring, and Valerie shifted beside her with a sleepy murmur. 

Lavinia looked toward the sky again, expecting at any moment to feel the familiar burning sensation of sunlight against her skin.

Then she remembered where they were.

“Oh.” Her shoulders relaxed, and she released a long breath before sitting back down. “Right. The Diverged Lands. Goodness, don't scare me like that.”

She'd used one of her wishes to obscure most of the sunlight here, and although the sun was undoubtedly somewhere above the enormous forest canopy, its light was too weak to harm her. 

The surroundings were illuminated in muted shades of green and gray, resembling an overcast evening despite the birds announcing the arrival of another day.

Valerie pushed herself into a sitting position beside her, her orange hair spilling over her shoulders as she blinked away the remnants of sleep. “Mm... Lavinia?”

“Morning!” Lavinia smiled, relieved that nothing particularly terrible had happened while they were unconscious. 

At least, nothing terrible that she could immediately identify.

Valerie turned toward her, only to stop rather abruptly. Her crimson eyes widened, and she stared at Lavinia with an expression that gradually became increasingly peculiar.

Lavinia tilted her head. “What?”

“Nothing,” Valerie replied, although her lips twitched suspiciously. She looked away, pressing one hand over her mouth as her shoulders began trembling.

“Valerie.” Lavinia narrowed her eyes. “What are you laughing at?”

“I'm not laughing!”

“You're doing a terrible job of proving that!”

Before Lavinia could investigate further, the others began waking. 

Rosaline stretched languidly, Celestine sat up beside Evelyn, and Evangeline rolled onto her back with an irritated groan, complaining that she intended to have a few words with God about being forced to sleep on the ground. 

Cordelia pointed out that she'd appeared perfectly comfortable, which only earned another complaint about how comfort had absolutely nothing to do with the principle of the matter.

Nearby, Adeliza and Sybil stirred around the silver-haired vampire lying between them. 

Genevieve opened her eyes, staring at the unfamiliar forest canopy for several seconds before turning toward the two vampires clinging to her. 

Her expression shifted from confusion to concern as she noticed their faces, and she gently tightened her arms around them.

“Adeliza? Sybil?” Genevieve asked softly. “Is something wrong?”

Adeliza immediately buried her face against Genevieve's shoulder, while Sybil made a muffled sound and clung more tightly to her waist. 

Genevieve looked between them, clearly uncertain what had happened, but she didn't press them for an explanation. 

Instead, she remained close, allowing them to hold her while she quietly asked whether they were feeling any better.

Gwendolyn watched the three with a warm smile before turning toward Lavinia. 

Her expression changed almost immediately, and she pressed her lips together, averting her eyes while attempting to adopt an unusually serious expression.

Lavinia frowned. “What's wro—”

She stopped speaking.

Something was wrong with her voice.

It sounded softer than usual, considerably higher, and almost embarrassingly childish. Lavinia blinked, then experimentally opened her mouth again.

“Hello?”

The voice was unmistakably hers, except it sounded as though someone had taken several years off her apparent age. 

She looked down, noticing that her black gothic dress draped rather strangely around her body, and then slowly pushed herself to her feet.

That was when she realized the problem was considerably worse than her voice.

Valerie was enormous.

Lavinia stared at the orange-haired vampire, who was still sitting nearby, before looking toward Gwendolyn and Rosaline. 

Everyone seemed unusually tall, and when she glanced down at herself, she discovered that her hands were tiny, her legs were ridiculously short, and her dress had adjusted to proportions that were entirely unfamiliar.

She extended a trembling finger toward Valerie. “Y-y-you...”

Rosaline followed her gaze, took one proper look at Lavinia, and promptly dissolved into laughter. 

She turned and buried her face against Cordelia's back, her shoulders shaking so violently that Cordelia had to steady herself.

Even Cordelia struggled to maintain her composure, covering her mouth while her eyes curved with amusement.

Lavinia looked down again, then back at the others.

She was barely three feet tall.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!”

Her high-pitched exclamation echoed through the clearing, startling several birds from the nearby trees. 

Valerie finally stood and approached, and Lavinia watched in horror as the orange-haired vampire came to a stop in front of her, towering almost two full feet above her head.

Normally, every vampire stood exactly five feet tall. Lavinia and Valerie had always been precisely the same height, which made the difference especially outrageous.

“This isn't funny!” Lavinia protested, her pointed ears drooping.

Valerie pressed a hand over her mouth. “I know, I know! I'm sorry!”

“You're smiling!”

“Because you're adorable!”

“VALERIE!”

Valerie burst into laughter, and Lavinia stared at her with an expression of utter betrayal.

Violetta approached before Lavinia could begin considering revenge. 

The purple-haired vampire glanced toward the dim sky, then toward the others, her expression becoming serious as she reminded them that they needed to return to Oakridge as soon as possible. 

Unfortunately, the sun was still above the horizon, and leaving the protection of the Diverged Lands would be dangerous until sunset.

She then looked down at Lavinia, her eyebrows rising slightly. “Are you all right?”

“No!” Lavinia shook her head vehemently, gesturing toward her diminished body. “I woke up like this! I was perfectly normal when I went to sleep, and now I'm barely three feet tall!”

Violetta crouched to examine her more closely, although Lavinia found that even more humiliating. “Do you feel injured?”

“I don't know! Everything feels strange!” Lavinia puffed out her cheeks before looking toward the sky. “Did she decide I was doing too well? Did she think I needed a little more drama in my life?”

Valerie giggled behind her, earning another irritated glance.

Lavinia crossed her arms, wondering whether the Thing in the Darkness had deliberately altered her appearance as some peculiar consequence of granting her final wish. 

It certainly seemed like something the whimsical girl might find entertaining, although Lavinia couldn't imagine why she'd chosen to make her so embarrassingly small.

And as she thought about the Thing in the Darkness, the world abruptly fell away.

There was no sensation of movement or falling. One moment, Lavinia stood in the forest surrounded by her friends; the next, she found herself floating in a boundless crimson expanse, surrounded by countless tiny flecks of blood-colored light.

She blinked and slowly turned, her irritation momentarily forgotten.

The space stretched endlessly in every direction, with no visible ground, sky, or boundary. 

Tiny red lights drifted through the emptiness like stars scattered across an impossibly vast night sky, some glowing brightly while others shimmered faintly at distances she couldn't begin to comprehend.

It was beautiful.

More strangely, it felt familiar.

Lavinia couldn't explain why, but the countless crimson lights filled her with an extraordinary sense of closeness and intimacy.

Looking at them made her happy, as though each represented someone precious whom she'd known for a very long time.

“How pretty,” she murmured, reaching toward the nearest light.

The tiny crimson speck drifted into her palm, and the moment her fingers closed around it, something shifted within her mind. 

Understanding flooded through her, so sudden and complete that Lavinia's crimson eyes widened in astonishment.

“Oh.”

She slowly opened her hand, allowing the light to float away.

Blood.

Of course it was blood.

Blood was the foundation of a vampire's existence, sustaining their bodies and allowing them to maintain their extraordinary abilities and rationality. 

Without sufficient blood, even a vampire's nearly indestructible body would begin to deteriorate, and prolonged starvation could eventually strip away the restraint that separated a rational person from a desperate, starving predator.

It was more than nourishment. Blood was fundamental to what vampires were, and Lavinia now understood that its importance extended considerably further than she'd previously imagined.

Her third wish had revived Genevieve, but doing so hadn't been entirely without cost.

Half of Lavinia's blood volume had been consumed in the process.

She stared at the crimson lights for several seconds before slowly covering her face with both hands.

“Oh, come on!”

She wanted to complain. She really, really wanted to complain, but the more she considered what had happened, the less justified that complaint seemed.

The Thing in the Darkness had granted her wish exactly as requested. More importantly, she'd interpreted it in a way that Lavinia couldn't help feeling grateful for, because Genevieve's resurrection hadn't been a singular miracle that could never be repeated.

Lavinia now possessed the ability to revive other vampires herself.

She understood something else as well.

Vampires lacked souls, definitively. It wasn't a moral judgment, nor did it mean they were somehow less deserving of existence by any means. 

Their nature simply differed fundamentally from that of humans, and Lavinia suspected witches were similar, their empty black eyes reflecting an existence that didn't depend on a conventional soul.

But the absence of souls didn't mean vampires were beyond restoration after death.

Blood was their origin, and through blood, a vampire could be reborn.

Lavinia looked toward the countless crimson lights again, gradually realizing that the vast expanse represented something far greater than an unfamiliar ability. 

She could feel the connection between herself and the other vampires, a closeness that went beyond the affection she'd already experienced since her transformation.

For the first time, she understood what being a Royal Vampire truly meant.

Before, she'd possessed theories and guesses. She knew other vampires were instinctively drawn toward her, and she knew her physical capabilities were extraordinary even by their standards. 

But standing within this endless crimson space, surrounded by countless lights that felt precious to her, she finally understood that her existence served a purpose beyond simple superiority or a focal point.

She smiled.

“So that's what it means.”

Of course, the price of resurrection was rather steep and required a few extra steps, but those had been bypassed this time, by The Thing in the Darkness.

Normally, a vampire regenerated blood so efficiently that gradual blood loss was almost inconsequential. 

Even if a considerable amount were removed over several minutes, their bodies could replenish it quickly enough to prevent any noticeable changes.

But Genevieve's resurrection had taken half of Lavinia's blood volume instantaneously.

Her body hadn't been given the opportunity to compensate, and the sudden loss had forced it to reduce its size in order to maintain its functions.

Nearly two whole feet.

Lavinia sighed, glancing down at her tiny hands.

“Well, that's embarrassing.”

Still, it wasn't permanent. Her body would recover as her blood replenished itself, although she suspected that feeding would accelerate the process considerably.

She looked around the crimson expanse once more, feeling an almost overwhelming sense of affection toward the countless lights drifting around her. 

Then she closed her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy that strange closeness for another moment.

When she opened them again, she was back in the forest.

Unfortunately, she was no longer standing.

Valerie had picked her up.

Lavinia found herself nestled comfortably in the orange-haired vampire's arms, one arm supporting her back while the other rested beneath her knees.

Valerie was smiling down at her with an expression of such obvious delight that Lavinia immediately felt suspicious.

“Aww,” Valerie cooed. “You're even cuter when you're thinking about something.”

Lavinia stared at her. “Valerie.”

“Yes?”

“Put me down.”

“But you're so little!”

Lavinia extended one tiny finger and lightly poked Valerie's forehead.

Valerie stiffened.

Her expression changed as something warm trickled from the corner of her mouth. 

She blinked, then wiped her lips, staring at the dark red blood staining her fingers with obvious confusion.

“Mm?”

More blood followed.

Valerie leaned forward and spat out a mouthful of it, then looked toward Lavinia with a distinctly displeased expression.

Lavinia used the opportunity to wriggle free of her arms, dropping toward the ground and landing on her feet. 

Unfortunately, her altered proportions made the movement considerably less graceful than she'd intended, and she stumbled before catching herself.

“Stupid balance,” she muttered, glaring at her short legs.

For a human, being slightly unsteady after a sudden change in height might have been perfectly understandable. 

But vampires possessed effortless balance and coordination, and Lavinia wasn't accustomed to needing to consciously adjust her movements. 

Everything felt subtly wrong, from the length of her stride to the distance between her hands and the ground.

Valerie wiped the remaining blood from her mouth. “I don't know what you just did, but that was mean.”

Lavinia waved dismissively. “It's mostly harmless against vampires.”

“Mostly?” Valerie repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“Your body's already repairing it!”

“That doesn't make it nice!”

Lavinia ignored the complaint and extended one hand toward the blood staining the grass.

The dark red liquid stirred.

Valerie's expression changed as the blood gathered into a small floating mass, rising slowly into the air before stretching into an increasingly thin filament. 

Within moments, it had become so fine that it was almost invisible, suspended before Lavinia's fingertip.

Lavinia smiled with sudden satisfaction.

“Oh, that's neat.”

She flicked her finger.

A sharp crack echoed through the forest, and several feet away, the trunk of an enormous tree split along a thin, perfectly straight line. 

The cut extended several feet through the bark and underlying wood, with tiny beads of dark red blood clinging to its edges before drifting free.

For a moment, everyone stared.

Then Evangeline rushed toward the tree, examining the damage with growing excitement.

“HA! I KNEW IT!” She turned toward Lavinia, grinning broadly. “I knew vampires couldn't possibly just be physical brutes who swing enormous weapons around!”

Lavinia tilted her head. “What?”

“We have magic!”

“It's blood manipulation,” Lavinia corrected, although she supposed the distinction was rather meaningless to someone watching it happen.

“That's magic!” Evangeline declared triumphantly, gesturing toward the enormous slash in the tree. “Look at that! You barely moved!”

Lavinia glanced toward the damage before shrugging. “Well, I think it's actually supposed to complement our weapons.”

Valerie approached, apparently having forgiven the earlier incident now that her mouth had stopped bleeding. “What do you mean?”

“Our swords, chains, hammers, and everything else,” Lavinia explained, gesturing with her tiny hands. 

“Imagine coating a weapon in blood and manipulating it while you attack. You could extend a sword's cutting edge, make a blunt attack piercing, or make an attack considerably harder to avoid.”

Evangeline's eyes widened as she imagined what she could accomplish with her hammer.

Lavinia smiled wryly. “If we'd known how to do this against the Behemoth, we probably could've killed it in under a minute.”

Valerie considered that before glancing toward the damaged tree. “But you can use it for ranged attacks too, can't you?”

Lavinia looked at the slash, then toward the remaining blood hovering near her fingers.

“I suppose,” she admitted grudgingly.

Valerie grinned. “You don't sound very happy about that.”

“Because I like my greatsword!”

Rosaline laughed softly. “Of course you do, Lavinia.”

Lavinia puffed out her cheeks before turning toward Genevieve, deciding that she had considerably more important things to do than defend her perfectly reasonable preference for enormous swords.

Unfortunately, walking across the clearing was another reminder of her altered height. 

Her short legs carried her forward in quick little steps, and she could practically feel Valerie smiling behind her.

She pretended not to notice.

Genevieve was sitting between Adeliza and Sybil, listening as the two recounted everything that had happened during their journey. 

Her silver hair fell in long, soft waves around her shoulders, the two neat buns framing her beautiful face, and her expression was thoughtful as she followed their explanation.

She still looked somewhat dazed by everything that had happened, which Lavinia supposed was understandable. 

Being killed and then suddenly waking up surrounded by unfamiliar vampires wasn't exactly an ordinary experience.

“Genevieve?” Lavinia asked as she approached.

The silver-haired vampire turned toward her, her crimson eyes widening slightly at the sight of the unusually small golden-haired vampire standing before her.

“Oh, hello, Lavinia.” Genevieve smiled gently, her voice so soft that even the simple greeting sounded remarkably pleasant. “Are you feeling all right?”

“More or less.” Lavinia glanced down at herself. “Apparently reviving you was a little more expensive than I expected.”

Genevieve's expression grew concerned. “I'm sorry. Did it hurt you?”

“No, no! Nothing like that.” Lavinia waved both hands. “I'll be fine once I get some blood. I wanted to ask what you remembered, actually.”

Genevieve nodded, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. Adeliza and Sybil quieted beside her, although neither loosened their hold.

“I remember being caught,” Genevieve began softly. “The werewolves found me, and I tried to get away, but there were too many of them. Every time I managed to move, they attacked again, and eventually I couldn't escape anymore.”

Adeliza's expression darkened, and Genevieve noticed immediately. She gently squeezed her hand before continuing, giving her friend a moment to settle.

“Then the sun rose. I remember the light touching me, and the pain...” Genevieve paused, her gaze lowering slightly. “It was worse than anything I could have imagined. I don't think I could describe it properly, even if I tried.”

Lavinia listened quietly, her expression becoming increasingly serious.

Genevieve continued after a moment. “Then everything went dark. There wasn't anything after that, at least nothing I can remember. The next thing I knew, I was waking up here with Adeliza and Sybil beside me.”

She looked toward her friends, a faint smile returning to her face. “I'm very glad I got to see them again.”

Sybil tightened her arms around Genevieve's waist, burying her face against her shoulder. 

Genevieve leaned slightly toward her, allowing the embrace without interrupting the conversation.

Then she reached forward and gently took Lavinia's small hand.

“Thank you,” Genevieve said, meeting her eyes. “For bringing me back, and for helping Adeliza and Sybil. I know you didn't have to do any of that.”

Lavinia felt her cheeks warming. “Aww, it's nothing! Any other vampire would've done the same in my position.”

Genevieve smiled faintly. “Maybe. But you were the one who helped us, and I'm grateful.”

Her words were simple, spoken with such quiet sincerity that Lavinia found herself momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

She wasn't accustomed to being thanked quite so earnestly, especially when the decision had felt perfectly natural to her.

Fortunately, Violetta approached before the silence became embarrassing.

“Lavinia, may I ask you something?” The purple-haired vampire glanced toward the damaged tree, then toward the small traces of blood still floating near Lavinia's hand. “Can every vampire do what you just demonstrated?”

Lavinia considered the question before nodding. “I think so. At least, I don't think blood manipulation is supposed to be exclusive to me.”

She extended the nail of her thumb and drew it across her palm, allowing several drops of dark red blood to gather above the shallow cut. 

Instead of falling, the liquid twisted into a small pointed spike, following the movements of her wrist as she rotated her hand.

“Since I've awakened as a Vampire Princess, I think the others should be able to awaken something similar eventually,” Lavinia explained. “Although I'm not completely certain how it works yet.”

Valerie leaned closer, examining the floating spike. “So we'll all be able to do that?”

“Probably! But don't blame me if it takes a while.”

Lavinia allowed the blood to settle back into her palm, the shallow cut healing almost immediately. 

There were still too many things she didn't understand, particularly when it came to the Thing in the Darkness and the nature of the world she'd created.

The girl had shown her several possible futures, each one radically different from the others. 

There had been worlds where vampires dominated humanity, worlds where humans reduced vampires to living sources of blood, and even a world where the sun had been removed from the sky entirely.

That world would continued existing despite the inevitable cold and darkness that would eventually destroy it, like all the others Lavinia had seen.

Lavinia wondered how many other possibilities existed.

Perhaps there had been a world she'd watched where human civilization survived for tens of thousands of years, eventually spreading beyond Earth and establishing settlements among distant stars. 

Perhaps there were worlds where humanity had learned to coexist with every supernatural species, or perhaps some worlds had simply never experienced the Divergences at all.

She couldn't know.

But the more she considered the Thing in the Darkness's behavior, the more she suspected that the girl wasn't simply repeating precisely the same scenario.

Perhaps she changed things between iterations, introducing new species, adjusting their abilities, or altering some seemingly insignificant detail before watching how events unfolded.

After all, wouldn't observing the exact same sequence of events over and over eventually become boring?

Lavinia glanced toward her hand.

Was blood manipulation something new to this iteration? Was her ability to revive vampires another addition, something the Thing in the Darkness had decided to introduce simply to see what would happen?

She had no way to determine that, and resurrection ability seemed particularly unusual.

It might be an ability exclusive to Vampire Princesses, or perhaps to Royal Vampires more generally. 

But unless she encountered another Royal and asked, she couldn't say for certain.

“Well,” Lavinia murmured, smiling faintly, “I suppose we'll figure it out eventually.”

Violetta nodded, although her expression remained troubled. She thanked Lavinia for the explanation before moving away, her gaze repeatedly drifting toward the direction of Oakridge.

Lavinia watched her for a moment.

The general had been pacing almost constantly since waking, occasionally stopping to speak with Evangeline or Cordelia before resuming her restless movements. 

Evangeline had attempted to distract her by complaining about the protective magic surrounding the witch tower, while Cordelia had tried engaging her in a more ordinary conversation, but neither seemed particularly successful.

Lavinia understood why.

The visions the Thing in the Darkness had shown them were difficult to forget.

The accident in Oakridge, where the grieving husband was already blaming vampires for his wife's death. 

The unfamiliar room where a blue-haired vampire sat shackled in silver. The ruined city devastated by nuclear fire, and the groups of humans hunting vampires and werewolves.

And Violetta, who had devoted so much of her time and authority to pursuing coexistence, had been forced to witness all of it without being allowed to intervene.

Lavinia thought that was rather cruel.

Not because Violetta was incapable of handling unpleasant truths, but because she was already doing everything she reasonably could. 

She'd defended supernatural personnel within the military, protected vampires from exploitation, and repeatedly risked her position to prevent unnecessary conflict.

What more was she supposed to do?

Lavinia looked toward the dim sky, wondering whether the Thing in the Darkness genuinely expected them to solve every problem humanity and the supernatural species created for themselves.

That seemed rather unreasonable.

Nearby, Celestine and Evelyn had joined Genevieve, Adeliza, and Sybil. 

Celestine spoke quietly with Adeliza, listening as the black-haired vampire described their journey, while Evelyn sat beside Genevieve and asked a few questions about where they'd lived before everything happened.

Genevieve answered patiently, occasionally pausing to make sure Adeliza and Sybil were comfortable discussing the subject. 

Her voice remained extraordinarily gentle, although there was nothing hesitant about the way she spoke. 

She seemed perfectly capable of explaining what she knew, acknowledging what she didn't, and quietly supporting her friends without making a spectacle of their distress.

Sybil, meanwhile, had apparently decided she'd spent quite enough time separated from Genevieve.

She was now curled against the silver-haired vampire, her face buried in Genevieve's stomach while her arms remained wrapped around her waist. 

Genevieve rested one hand against Sybil's back, occasionally brushing her pink hair aside as she continued speaking with Evelyn.

Lavinia smiled.

It was a lovely sight.

And considering what Adeliza and Sybil had been like when they'd first appeared, she was relieved to see them looking so much calmer.

Then something poked her forehead.

Lavinia looked up.

Valerie was crouching in front of her, wearing a thoroughly mischievous smile.

“You know,” Valerie remarked, “you're incredibly cute right now.”

Lavinia narrowed her crimson eyes. “Valerie.”

“Like an adorable little chibi!” Valerie giggled, reaching forward to gently take one of Lavinia's hands. “Look at your tiny fingers!”

“Stop that!”

“And your little feet! Oh, Lavinia, you're so small!”

Lavinia rolled her empty red eyes, although she couldn't quite suppress the smile tugging at her lips. 

She was beginning to suspect that Valerie intended to enjoy every possible moment of her temporary predicament.

Unfortunately, she was also beginning to feel rather strange.

Not exhausted in the ordinary sense, since vampires didn't experience physical fatigue the way humans did, but there was a growing heaviness behind her eyes, accompanied by an unmistakable craving for blood.

Lavinia sighed and leaned against Valerie.

“Wake me when there's blood.”

Valerie blinked. “What?”

Lavinia closed her eyes, apparently deciding that further explanation wasn't worth the effort, and promptly fell asleep.

Valerie caught her before she could slump to the ground, staring at the tiny vampire for several seconds before releasing a quiet sigh.

“Well, I suppose that explains why she's been acting a little strange.”

She carefully lifted Lavinia into her arms, supporting her beneath the knees and back. 

The golden-haired vampire looked perfectly comfortable, her face peaceful as she rested against Valerie's chest, and Valerie couldn't resist smiling at the sight.

Then she looked toward the others.

“Does anyone know what we're supposed to do?”

Ophelia glanced over, her expression softening briefly when she saw Lavinia sleeping in Valerie's arms.

She considered the situation for a moment before looking toward the dim sky.

“We won't be able to get blood from the city until sunset,” Ophelia remarked. “And considering how much she's apparently lost, I doubt waiting without doing anything is a particularly good idea.”

She turned toward Diana, who had been standing beside her throughout the conversation.

“Would you be comfortable letting Lavinia feed from you?”

Diana blinked, then nodded without hesitation. “Of course. I don't mind.”

Ophelia studied her expression. “You're sure? You don't have to agree just because I'm asking.”

“I know.” Diana smiled warmly, glancing toward the sleeping Lavinia. “But she seems amazing, and I'd be helping your friend. I don't see why I wouldn't want to.”

Ophelia's ears twitched.

Diana continued, apparently unaware of the effect her words were having. 

“Besides, if I can help someone important to you, I'd be happy to.”

Ophelia stiffened, her cheeks coloring slightly as she turned her face away.

“I—well, it's not like...” She hesitated, then folded her arms with an irritated huff. “Just don't make a big deal out of it.”

Rosaline giggled, while Valerie smiled knowingly over Lavinia's sleeping form.

Several of the other vampires glanced toward Diana, then toward Ophelia, before returning their attention to the blonde human.

Diana shifted her weight slightly, her generous figure swaying beneath her clothing as she continued smiling at Ophelia with complete sincerity.

More than a few vampires clicked their tongues.

Ophelia was already fortunate enough to have someone so considerate accompanying her, and now Diana was volunteering to help another vampire simply because she cared about Ophelia's friends.

It really wasn't fair at all.

Valerie looked down at Lavinia, who remained peacefully asleep in her arms, and gently brushed a strand of golden hair away from her face.

For now, at least, their little princess could rest.