Chapter 6

6

OSSIAN

T he hunger clawed at my insides, a ravenous beast demanding to be fed. It had been mere hours since the dragon had snatched me from the streets of New York, just as I was about to begin my nightly hunt. Now, in this strange realm of Dracaria, my carefully scheduled feeding time had come and gone, leaving me with an aching, gnawing emptiness.

I paced the length of my chosen quarters, my footsteps silent on the polished stone floor. This place was unlike anything I'd experienced in my long centuries of existence. The air itself seemed to hum with magic, a sensation that both intrigued and unsettled me.

Pausing at the window, I gazed out at the alien landscape bathed in the light of unfamiliar stars. The events of the past day swirled in my mind - the dragon's appearance, the journey through the portal, the revelations in the dining hall. It all seemed too fantastical to be real, despite the evidence of my own senses.

A fresh wave of hunger washed over me, and I grimaced. I needed to feed, and soon. But how? The Dracarians had been maddeningly vague about providing for our "unique dietary needs," as they so delicately put it during my venture to the dining hall before our dinner revelation.

The attendant's face had twisted in poorly concealed disgust. "We're still working on the best way to accommodate your kind," he had said, his tone making it clear exactly what he thought of "my kind." "We'll let you and the other vampires know as soon as we have an option for you. From our understanding, you can survive without feeding for a while."

I had nodded, unsurprised by the disdain and the lack of urgency. It was nothing new. Vampires had always been viewed with a mixture of fear and revulsion, even among other supernatural beings. Still, the familiar sting of rejection was there, compounded by the gnawing hunger that they clearly didn't understand or care about.

As I contemplated my options, my mind drifted back to the scene I'd witnessed in the communal room earlier. The human girl, Aria, as I'd heard someone call her, had been deep in conversation with a werewolf and fae. I had investigated some of the books in the communal area, unimpressed to find none of them were a language I knew, but my vampiric hearing had caught snippets of their discussion.

Their voices had been low, tinged with worry as they discussed the Void and the implications of Elowen's revelations. The werewolf had been muttering about the impossibility of returning home, while the fae had been none too please to be tossed into a war he didn't want any part in.

I was right there with him, despising this whole situation.

Aria had looked overwhelmed, her face pale in the flickering light of the room. "It's just... it's a lot to take in," she had murmured, her voice trembling slightly. "This Void, the idea that we can't go home... it's crazy. Yesterday, I was worried about seeing all my clients, and now we're told the fate of two worlds hangs in the balance? It doesn't feel real."

She had paused, picking at one of her nails anxiously. "And the others... did you see how quiet Lydia was when she left after dinner? She's clearly upset about her family. I can't imagine what she's going through. All of us, really. We're just... regular people. How are we supposed to save the world?"

The raw emotion in her voice had been understandable, a mix of fear and disbelief.

How quickly our lives had been upended, thrust into a reality that defied everything we'd known.

I couldn't help but agree with her assessment. This whole situation was insane, even by the standards of someone who'd lived through multiple "end of the world" scenarios.

But as I'd listened to them, pausing at the end of my hall, I'd sniffed and drawn in her tantalizing human aroma. The memory of her scent lingered in my mind - something uniquely... her. Most humans had a similar smell, some tarnished with negative emotions or poor health, but hers, it was oddly sweet. Women tended to smell sweeter, but this was something that tempted me more than usual.

Or perhaps I was just that hungry that it seemed more tempting, along with her being the only human.

Shaking off the recollection, I focused on the task at hand. I needed to feed, and soon. As I contemplated my next move, an idea began to form - one that sent a mixture of anticipation and guilt coursing through me.

But I needed to be honest with myself. If I didn't feed soon, it'd put others at risk. I already had a habit of dragging out the time between feedings, wanting to keep my existence hidden in the human world, but now, I was paying the price of my caution. The bloodlust would make itself known in a week or so, my hunger growing until I lost control of it.

And losing control… no, I couldn't allow that. Not here. These Dracarians would jump at the chance to put me down, not to mention the shifters and fae would be more than happy to handle me.

The only allies I had were the other vampires, and we were few in number compared to the rest.

Then there was Aria, the only human in our ranks. My fellow vampires had mentioned her at dinner when nothing had been given to us. How the need to feed would eventually hit, and she was the only thing available that we could target. Fae and shifters were a possible food source in a time of great need, but it would come with a fight. We preferred to stick with the easy prey, the prey we could compel.

It was wrong to view her as such a thing, but right now, I had very little choice.

We were unable to leave the Keep, which meant hunting the wildlife was impossible as well, which was always a last resort. We could survive on animal blood, but we needed more of it compared to human blood, and it didn't quite curb the craving. It was like being desperate for steak and having only an endless supply of tasteless jerky.

Not to mention I had no clue what the wildlife here was like, if it was even similar to the things at home. I'd tried deer a few times when I'd travelled, along with other things as a younger vampire, but nothing ever compared to human.

It was unparalleled.

Hours later, when the Keep had fallen silent, I slipped out of my quarters. My feet carried me, almost of their own accord, towards the communal area. I had been hoping to sneak right into the human hall, unnoticed. I was going to see if the communal area was empty, then flit into her hall and slip into her room. Vampires were gifted with many abilities, and the insane speed we could move at was one of them, it helped us be the perfect hunter.

The gnawing hunger had grown unbearable, and with no other options provided by our Dracarian hosts, I had convinced myself this was necessary for survival. But deep down, I knew there was more to it than that.

As I approached the communal area, I caught a flicker of movement.

I paused, annoyance washing over me, until her scent hit me.

Well, wasn't I in luck.

There, curled up in a chair by the flickering blue fire, was Aria. Even from a distance, I could see the tears glistening on her cheeks, hear the soft hitches in her breath as she cried.

For a moment, I considered turning back, abandoning my plan. Seeing her like this, vulnerable and grief-stricken, made my intended actions feel even more predatory and wrong. But the hunger gnawed at me, and the scent of her - that intoxicating blend of fear, sadness, and something uniquely her - drew me in like a moth to a flame. Before I could think better of it, I stepped into the room, still clinging to the hope that I might achieve my original goal. I'd wipe her mind so she'd not even recall our moment, compelling her to be my blood-bag just to stave off the hunger.

"Trouble sleeping?" I asked softly, careful not to startle her.

Aria's head snapped up, her eyes wide with surprise and a hint of fear as she took me in. "I... yes," she admitted after a moment. "It's all just... a lot."

I moved closer, calling upon the compelling power that was as much a part of me as the thirst for blood. "You should rest," I said, my voice taking on a hypnotic quality. "Let me help you relax."

But to my shock, Aria's expression didn't change. There was no glazing of her eyes, no slackening of her features that usually accompanied a successful compulsion.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice sharp with suspicion.

I blinked, taken aback by her resistance. Was it something that was just her, or was it the Dracarian magic on this place? Fuck, if it was, I was royally screwed. "I... nothing," I said, struggling to regain my composure. "I just thought you could use some company."

Aria studied me for a long moment, her gaze far too perceptive for my comfort. Would she realize what I'd been trying to do?

"You're one of the vampires," she stated quietly.

I nodded. "My name is Ossian."

"Ossian," she repeated, as if testing the name on her tongue. "I'm Aria. So you stood too at dinner, you got attacked by a shadow creature?"

"Yes, it came for me as I was… out for a walk. I flitted away, but it moved just as quickly, like shadows," I shared, and her brow furrowed.

"Flitted?" she questioned as she wiped at her eyes.

"Vampires can move insanely fast, a gift of ours. Faster than any other supe."

"Oh, right. Can you turn into bats?" she asked as she glanced at the bat symbol over my hallway.

"No, that is a myth, but I guess the Dracarians didn't care about that. Bats are always associated with vampires, well, until they started sparkling," I said, my own mouth quirking up as she managed a dry chuckle.

As we talked, I found myself drawn in by her. The way the firelight played across her features, the depth of emotion in her eyes – it was captivating in a way I hadn't experienced in centuries. And beneath the fear and uncertainty, there was a strength in her that was undeniable.

She asked me about my kind, and how old I was, which had caused her brows to attempt to leap into her hairline. I could tell she wanted to ask more questions and was using the knowledge of what I was to distract her from the big elephant in the room.

"Centuries, wow, that's crazy. Did you ever hear of the Dracarians in your lifetime then?"

"No, this is completely new to me."

"Right… It's all so overwhelming," Aria said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm in another world, surrounded by creatures I thought were myths, and apparently, we're all that stands between two worlds and total annihilation."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "When you put it that way, it does sound rather insane."

She smiled, a small, fragile thing that nonetheless lit up her entire face. "Doesn't it? Sometimes I think I must be dreaming. That I'll wake up and everything will be back to normal."

"And if you don't?" I found myself asking. "If this is all real?"

Aria's smile faded, replaced by a defeated acceptance with a hint of determination. "Then I guess we fight. What other choice do we have?"

In that moment, I saw her not just as a potential source of sustenance, but as a person – brave, vulnerable, and utterly fascinating. I reached out, brushing a tear from her cheek, curious as to how she'd react to my touch.

Aria froze at my touch, her eyes widening. We were suddenly very close, the air between us charged with an unexpected tension. I could hear her heart racing, smell the intoxicating scent of her blood just beneath her skin.

What happened next was pure impulse. One moment we were staring at each other, and the next, our lips met in a kiss that sent shockwaves through my entire being. It was brief, barely more than a brush of lips, but it left me reeling.

Aria pulled back first, her face flushed, eyes wide with surprise and confusion. "I... I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that," she stammered.

I stepped back, equally shocked by what had just transpired. "No, I... it's fine. I should go."

Without waiting for a response, I retreated, my mind whirling. What had just happened? How had a simple plan to feed turn into... that?

As I made my way back to my quarters, I found myself more intrigued than ever by Aria. Her immunity to my compulsion, whether magic related or not, her curiosity about me, the unexpected connection between us. The way she'd kissed me, even as briefly as she had. It had sparked something inside of me that had my undead heart fluttering, which was bizarre considering it hadn't so much as missed a beat in two hundred years.

She was an enigma that called to me.

And for some strange reason, my hunger had settled slightly.

How intriguing indeed.