Chapter XXVIII

In the Dark

S tanding before a window looking into the night, Jeremiah cradled Tae-min in his arms. He couldn't keep his eyes off the charming infant. He was tied to this life, this newly beating heart, and to see him fidget, breathe, and blink was akin to watching a blanket of stars shine upon a part of the world untarnished by light pollution.

Passing his thumb over his son's dark hairline, Jeremiah smiled warmly to himself as the infant yawned up at him and a sleepy smile spread across his chubby face. Jeremiah laughed. Tae-min's cheeks were so round he wanted to bite them and feel them squish. You really came from me, he thought, enfolded by nothing but pleasantries at the idea that this living being was in fact a product of his body and blood.

Tae-min was unique, would grow into his own person, be so unlike the others around him, and Jeremiah was strangely proud to be the only person in this vast universe to have a connection with this boy no one else could understand.

Not even Min-jae.

Thinking back on his time carrying Tae-min in his womb, Jeremiah recollected his dreams and the sensations that'd traversed through his veins and heart. Without a doubt, he knew his son's soul had shown itself to him in the form of comfort and assurance, as if Tae-min had vowed their meeting was inevitable and equally anticipated.

Are you happy to be here? Jeremiah wondered.

A gummy smile came to Tae-min as the query sat with Jeremiah, and he couldn't help but take that as an answer. "I'm glad you're here, too," he said aloud, raising the infant to kiss his forehead.

At the sound of footsteps, Jeremiah turned to the doorway and waited for whoever appeared. Everyone who'd ventured from afar to welcome Tae-min and congratulate him was gone now; the late night now sitting at three in the morning. The boys were still awake and up to their own things, Hamilton was off in another part of the castle, and Min-jae had dozed off in a chair across the room. He wasn't much of a sleeper at home, but with the farmhand duties that kept him busy throughout several hours back at home, it wasn't a surprise to see his weariness had finally caught up with him.

Waiting as a shadow stretched in the hall as the figure drew nearer, Jeremiah met Demiesius' gaze the moment the elder appeared. He looked like his usual self: collected and unmoved, and he stepped up alongside Jeremiah at the window.

There was nothing said as Demiesius took in the up close and quiet nature of who was his grandson. Prior to this evening, the thought of something as such being real or coming about at all had been far from Demiesius. He'd thought his family was finished growing, had spread his appreciation for all that had their own placement amongst him, but there seemed room for more.

To ponder on the sheer amount of time it took for something such as this newly born boy to enter the world was astonishing. As a man who'd walked the streets of a time such as 779 BC, Demiesius from long ago wouldn't have been able to fathom this being real, and his amazement always crept up on him when an event so phenomenal initiated a stagger in his now still heart. He had the absolute love of his life, his sons, and beautiful girls who were just as much his granddaughters as this small boy was his grandson .

The pride perched on Demiesius' shoulders was cosmic and shone bright, and that pride unfurled more and more the longer he stood beside Jeremiah.

"Would you like to hold him?" Jeremiah asked. "Last you held a baby was Lysander, and I can bet you thought that'd be the last time, eh?"

"You wouldn't be wrong in your assumption," Demiesius said, gladly accepting as the small boy was placed in his grasp. Unlike with each of his own boys when they were babies, Tae-min didn't writhe or whine to be returned to his birth parent. He seemed comfortable enough in the elder's grasp so long as either Jeremiah or Min-jae were nearby. "He is wonderful, my son," Demiesius said.

"Isn't he?" Jeremiah folded his arms, never taking his eyes off Tae-min.

"You plan to remain in Korea now that he's born?" Demiesius asked. He understood and respected the decision Jeremiah had made months ago to separate himself from the area, but he couldn't say he would be very content if the distance stayed. At the end of the day, however, it would be Jeremiah's decision to do with his future as he pleased. "There is and will always be more than enough room for you if you wish to come back. The west wing of the castle may as well belong to you, and we would respect your space if this were somewhere you could envision raising your family."

"..."

"You needn't exert yourself with the decision," Demiesius added. "You have grown and have become a man of your own. I know I kept you in these walls for many years, and you returned to us on your own volition, but if at last stepping away to build much more of what sort of future you want is what you desire — I will respect your wishes. So, too, will your dad understand your stay in Korea. Over these months, I can see it has become a place of meaning to you despite what it has also stripped from you. Saengsacho has given you more than what it has taken."

Jeremiah swore in the confines of his mind, hating when what emotions he'd lugged through the years showed themselves. Since he was a boy, personal conversations were difficult things to have with Demiesius. He'd always found himself waiting for his questions and concerns to turn into lectures he hadn't been looking for. Demiesius had hardly listened, and Jeremiah's heart twinged at the recollections of the heated arguments once sprouted between them.

Always feeling small beneath Demiesius' shadow had crumbled his self-esteem, more so at the freedom that was granted to Dominick. Jeremiah hadn't been able to come and go as he pleased. Making his own decisions was taken from him, experiencing what he wanted hadn't come along for several decades, more so without supervision…like he'd always been viewed as a child no matter the truth of his age.

Standing beside his father at this moment, with a child all his own now existent in the world, Jeremiah understood the pressure that must have burdened Demiesius' shoulders back then and currently.

To have considered himself a loving husband and man eager to start a family with the one he loved, Demiesius Titus was an immortal given a massive blow to the heart no other could have fathomed but Hamilton. And they'd been lost; lost to time and to each other.

While Jeremiah had spent his childhood and years of growth feeling burdened under the protection of his father, never had he known how much excruciating pain the elder must have been in up until the return of Hamilton. In the years since, he surely remained a husband and a father who was attentive enough to step in when needed.

The only way Demiesius thought to save what was left of his family from furthering that ache back then was to protect it. He'd kept Jeremiah near to save from losing him as well, from opening another harrowing wound. He'd been a man overwhelmed by fears and by the desire to preserve what was before him.

Jeremiah's anxiety shot through the roof at the idea of what he had now being taken from him unexpectedly. Without Min-jae, without Tae-min, he couldn't imagine carrying on. Nothing would have purpose anymore; not himself, nothing .

What am I thinking? Jeremiah bit back on his lip, looking over his son who looked to be battling sleep in Demiesius' arms.

"I don't want anyone to think I'm desperate to get away from this place," Jeremiah said, moving his eyes out toward the trees he used to walk amongst. "This was…this is my home, and it's somewhere I know I'll always hold a place. I know it like the back of my hand and have made countless memories; most of which I'll always treasure. But I think it's about time I start off. As you said, Saengsacho has taken much from me, but it's also given me something I can no longer imagine living without. If I could make the decision myself to give up being one of the strongest beings in the world, and it meant I could have this guy right here…"

Jeremiah passed a soft stroke of his finger against the top of Tae-min's hand, and his love for this extraordinary boy exploded through his heart.

"I would sacrifice anything to have him," Jeremiah confessed. "Anything."

Besides, there was more than the family he'd gained that he loved about the tiny village. Jeremiah had come to appreciate the silence and surroundings. Saengsacho was quaint and quiet, far from any true disturbance, and had all the charm no city could ever harness. He loved the smell of the sea breeze as it blew up the rolling hills, the freshness of the air, the sheer beauty, and the delightful community in which Min-jae positioned himself as a respected member.

The people of the village loved and appreciated Min-jae, and he knew the idea of leaving it behind was something Min-jae would struggle with. The Korean dhampir brought value to the land, and if there was anything Jeremiah knew for certain even without Min-jae having to state such, it was that Min-jae wanted to be able to raise their child under the heart of Saengsacho.

Jeremiah wanted that, too.

"If that is the decision you stand by," Demiesius nodded, transferring the resting boy back into Jeremiah's hold, "Then I will respect it. But, my son, if there is one thing I would ask of you before we part ways, I would ask that you travel with me."

"Where to?"

Clasping his hands behind his back, Demiesius paced before bringing his eyes to Jeremiah again. "The dhampir boy I am sure Min-jae informed you of; Bethania has taken up caring for him since he awakened. I believe it would do both of you some good to meet. It need not be for long, but he is a boy who now struggles with what he is after understanding all he's done."

"And you think him knowing there are dhampirs who live quiet lives would help him?"

Demiesius stopped and shrugged a single shoulder. "I will be honest; this was a request made by Bethania. She had not wanted to disturb you during your pregnancy but asked that I inquire when you had the time after you gave birth."

Jeremiah thought of the idea of a dhampir living in a world without their biological parents, their vampire parent most of all. Knowing what he did about this dhampir, the boy had fallen under the veil of carnage once already, and although it'd been spread that his life had ended after the fact, Jeremiah wondered if there was a fear he might someday slip into that state of rage. Without the ability to bring his mentality to the surface again, surely the elders wouldn't bother risking their lives to save him a second time with how difficult it'd been to wrangle him the first .

"How has Bethania managed so far?" Jeremiah asked, curiosity coming through.

"As the only one of us who ever held faith that Florin would awaken someday," Demiesius said, "She strives to be all he needs in terms of a mother figure. Florin suffers from memories of what he'd done, and his mental state is fragile, but he keeps near to her. Bethania is, at the very least, all he has."

"I can imagine she will be good for him," Jeremiah nodded, bringing Tae-min to rest against his chest, one hand nestled beneath the baby's bottom as the other caressed his back. "Better she be of guidance to him than Nabadias or Eros if you ask me. Nabadias speaks far too much of his mind to bring comfort to someone in need, and Eros is tolerant, but I couldn't imagine him having a soft side."

"You would be surprised," Demiesius huffed, but he held off on expanding.

Ever since he and Elder Eros stepped into Saengsacho to confront Kyung-hwan, tension took shelter in Eros after the senseless blood that'd spilled and spattered across their faces. Demiesius had tried to probe his brother for clarity, but it wasn't always that Eros opened the windows to his soul. Even now, Eros hardly showed himself since then, but Demiesius knew it was only a matter of time before he reemerged. He knew his brother well. Everything always took time to unveil.

"Anyways," Jeremiah said, looking toward Min-jae. "I'll go with you and leave Tae-min with Dad. Min-jae looks like he still needs sleep, so I won't bother him."

After leaving Tae-min in Hamilton's eager care alongside Lysander and Gabriel who also wanted to watch over their new nephew, Jeremiah made himself decent in proper clothing from his old bedroom and followed Demiesius.

Upon reassembling from their mastering, the two appeared in the front entry of a palace tucked away in the shadows of central Germany. It was a place Bethania had called home for hundreds of years now. Located south of a small, quiet town whose population whispered of distant phantoms and spread half-truths of a centuries old ‘Nachzehrer'; Bethania found solace remaining in a place that wished to avoid her home at all costs.

On the outside, the palace was otherwise gorgeous and surrounded by towering spruce trees. With tawny walls and white trim, the steep rooftops were lined here and there by carvings of horned cherubs, and the manicured vegetation that sprouted all over was tended to. The rumors of phantoms and Germanic vampires were also probably kept alive due to the neglected cemetery that took up half a kilometer of space before reaching the palace by road. With graves dating back to the early 1600s, no maintenance dared near out of fear of being disappeared by a being hellbent on feasting upon the flesh.

Bethania always managed to laugh at the tales spun of her.

Between her and the remainder of her fellow elders, she liked to think of herself as the most compassionate.

"Welcome to my home," Bethania said, appearing from the dark corridor alongside a spiraling staircase. The manner she seemed to materialize from the darkness certainly made her look much like a ghost emerging from nowhere. Fitted finely tonight in a black pantsuit with her mass of curls held in a puffy tail, Bethania smiled warmly toward Jeremiah. "Congratulations," she acknowledged. "I hear you are a mother, now."

"I prefer ‘dad'," Jeremiah smiled, an image of Tae-min coming to him. "But thank you. I hear you have become somewhat of a mother as well."

Bethania chuckled to herself and nodded for them to follow. The halls were long and lit by warm bulbs, an old and new appeal showing itself. "I am not all too sure what your being here could bring my sweet Florin, but perhaps it would do him some good to see someone like him; a dhampir who has known struggle has built a life for himself regardless of said struggle."

Struggle, Jeremiah thought as they walked. There surely were struggles he'd dealt with through the years, and the burden of them had taken their toll from time to time. The feeling of neglect, blood restriction, and mental distress were all things he felt far from now, and Jeremiah doubted he'd ever be swallowed up by them again.

However, knowing Florin's ordeals stemmed from loss, being beaten down, slaughtering an entire people, and being confined in a type of solitude Jeremiah couldn't imagine remaining in…

Their struggles were nowhere near similar. The only thing they had in common was sharing blood between a vampire and a human.

"Even though it has been quite a bit of time since Florin was freed from his resting place," Bethania said, "He is still heavily affected by the conditions he'd been left in for so long. His eyes are sensitive to light, and I haven't been able to coach him into going outside during the day. I tried yet again the other morning, but he said the glare of the horizon was blinding. I've been helping his vision adjust in dimmer sources, so I hope to get him back into at least seeing properly again. The two of us went on a stroll through the nearby town, and you should have seen the looks people were giving him. I guess it is strange to see someone walking around at night with sunglasses. "

When they reached the doors looking out onto a massive stone veranda, Florin could be seen laying at the edge of a rectangular water fountain. It sounded like rain, something Demiesius guessed might be something he was drawn to since he'd been laid near to one. Not only was the sound familiar, perhaps it brought him a sense of comfort.

"He's like this for most of the night," Bethania informed. "Unless I bring him away so I can introduce him to other things, if we are not together, this is where he can always be found. I am almost sure he would sleep like a baby if placed underneath a waterfall."

The moment the doors to the stone veranda opened, Florin's eyes began to flutter and he turned his head in their direction. Seeing Bethania had become the norm for him, but when he laid his gaze upon the two next to her, he worked himself into a sitting position.

He recognized Demiesius, but he met Jeremiah's strange colored eyes with perplexity. He looked confused as he took in the sensation of being approached by someone he could tell was a dhampir but with far less potential.

"Hello, Florin," Demiesius said in English. Bethania had taken the time to help in teaching him the language, and he spoke it quite well now. "I apologize for bothering so late in the night, but Bethania and I thought it would do you some good to meet another of your kind."

As he remained seated, Florin looked Jeremiah over in puzzlement. He considered the aura peeking out at him was too small to possibly belong to a dhampir. "This is your son?" he asked, Romanian accent quite thick but touched with a minor softness. "He is like me? "

"He is."

Jeremiah touched his father's forearm. "May I have a moment with him?"

Florin looked toward Bethania upon hearing the inquiry, as if he were frightened of being left alone with anyone while she wasn't close enough to run to.

So mild and on edge, Florin looked even smaller when he pulled his feet onto the edge of the fountain's barrier and swept his lengthy, light brown hair over his shoulder.

Jeremiah couldn't help but think he was stuck. Knowing the tale of the battle waged between Florin and the elders, he was only sixteen when they'd clashed. For him to have been laid to rest at that young of an age, Jeremiah wasn't surprised to see he still looked and carried himself much like someone stuck in a sixteen-year-old's headspace from the 15th century. Without someone like Bethania to look after him, Florin was hopeless.

After a second, the two elders disappeared into the palace, Bethania having reassured yet again that Florin would be in good hands, leaving the two dhampirs alone.

Florin continued to look a bit nervous, but when his worries began to slowly disperse, his inner jitters loosened and he placed his feet on the ground. "I had never met anyone like me before," he said, voice a near whisper. "I used to think I was the only one of my kind."

"I'm sorry about your family," Jeremiah said, helping himself to a seat beside Florin. The boy didn't even look like he knew how to sit next to someone without tensing up. "I couldn't imagine what you must have felt back then...or even now. It must be a lot."

"It is." Florin's eyes drifted to his hands and he picked at his nails. "To lose everything when I was sixteen was..."

Jeremiah licked his lips and closed his hands in his lap. "May I ask about that time? I don't mean to be rude, but I have been curious about your situation ever since I was little. Although, it was a different story I was told."

"You may ask."

"Do you remember what it felt like after — after feeling your father was gone?"

"It is not a reaction you may be assuming," Florin explained. "At first, I could feel he was no longer here. I knew he had died and what consumed me first was the sorrow. I loved my father, my mother loved him, and the pressure of our combined sadness was unbearable."

Florin's gaze hesitated, but he looked up at Jeremiah who watched him with curiosity and pity.

"First, I cried," Florin continued. "I cried so much and I got angry. I wanted to know who'd done it, why they'd done it, and the angrier I got, the more I wanted the people who'd done it to pay for what they'd taken from my mother and I. After searching for mere minutes, I found a man who smelt of my father's blood and ashes. Knowing I was his son, that man threatened me, called me the spawn of the Devil, and threatened to kill my mother as well."

Florin looked down at his palms. "Whenever I see my hands," he said. "I can still envision that man's heart in my grasp and taste his blood from when I bit into it. Suddenly, my anger turned to hunger, hunger for both revenge and blood. When my mother and I were the last people in the village, I couldn't bring myself back nor could she bring me from such deep darkness."

"I am sure that is when the elders appeared, yeah? "

"Yes," Florin nodded. "They tried to talk to me first, but I couldn't — I couldn't stop."

Jeremiah licked his lips, and said, "Since they chose not to kill you—."

"They put me away," Florin fidgeted where he sat. "I've come to know my mother begged them not to kill me, but the only way to stop me from causing more harm was to lock me away. I knew I was asleep, but I didn't care. In my dreams, I had my parents. They loved me in my dreams, and it was like no time passed as we lived as we'd always wanted. But, then…"

Jeremiah caught sight of the tears falling from Florin's eyes. They landed like droplets of rain on the grayish stone under their feet.

"I woke up," Florin said, wiping his cheeks. "My mother wanted me to see more of what life could offer me outside of a dream world."

While it was fascinating to think the hundreds of years spent in slumber were still rather happy for Florin, Jeremiah wondered how much good Florin would be able to find now that he hadn't anything of his bloodline outside of himself. If it was true that his mother came through to encourage him to awaken, perhaps there was more for him to see, to experience.

"Even though I have never known you personally," Jeremiah said, watching the boy clear his face, "I am glad to know you're doing well. Recently in my life, it has come to my attention that there is a potential for things to turn out a lot like they had for you. It's a scary thought, but even if the day comes where I would have to be put away, knowing it wouldn't be forever gives me some reassurance."

"You wouldn't want it," Florin declared. "For a good time before my mother and father showed themselves to me in my dreams, I was so lonely, and that loneliness, the solitude…made me yearn for death. I wanted to die before my parents appeared to me."

"Well," Jeremiah tried to offer a smile, placing a kind hand on Florin's shoulder. The boy flinched, but he let it be. "I want you to know you're no longer alone. Dhampirs like you and I are not so uncommon anymore. My family is filled with them, and if you ever feel like you need to talk to someone like yourself — I wouldn't mind lending you my ear. Then again, you're probably better off with Bethania as a guide rather than me. Sometimes I still feel lost, and she's a lot more intelligent and can probably give you more of what you need than anyone else. Solace and hope. She's a wonderful person."

"Thank you," Florin nodded in kind, a faint smile on his lips.

Jeremiah stood from the edge of the fountain, giving a nod before starting off to return to Demiesius.

"Pardon," Florin called before Jeremiah could step into the palace, and when Jeremiah met his eyes, Florin bit his bottom lip, and said, "Take care of yourself. No matter if you think you can take it, you don't want what I've been through. Our kind may not die so easily, and we can bear centuries in the dark, but I tell you — loneliness is what kills us the most. If someday you sleep and no one is there to greet you, you will hope someone has the power to wake you."