Chapter 222: Blood Lust

"Spit it out before I blast you with all the white energy I can muster!" Aira told her, even as Liora shook her head—only to actually flinch back when Aira raised her hands, showing her willingness to do exactly what she threatened.Liora sighed and instantly began to speak, opening her mouth though no words came out at first.

The last thing she wanted to do was tell Aira about the ritual she had carried out. Worse still were the nasty effects that had followed her ever since.

"I’m fine! Do we really have to make this a..." But she was still talking when Aira went ahead and generated her white healing energy, instantly directing it toward her.

Liora’s eyes widened in shock and horror as she opened her mouth at once.

"Fine! Fine! I’ll tell you!" She wasn’t surprised to see Aira waiting without lowering her hands.

"I did the ritual!" Liora confessed, studying Aira’s face and reaction as she continued, wanting to get the entire thing over with.

"I stole the ritual from Healer Savira’s rooms, and I did the ritual! I have powers too!" she announced, generating the red aura-like ball that she could manipulate into different objects and sizes, even changing the hardness depending on her will.

"You what?" Aira gasped, but Liora continued talking.

"...After the ritual, everything was fine—until I realized that I suddenly had a need for blood!"

Aira’s eyes widened so much they seemed to triple in size.

"...Any blood! It doesn’t have to be human!" Liora added, but it didn’t make Aira feel any less horrified. She stared at her sister as if Liora had grown two new pairs of heads.

"You actually were a heat blood?" Aira asked, even as Liora shook her head.

"I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t care! You have powers—I wanted them too. I’m your blood sister! If you could get them, then there’s no reason why I shouldn’t!" Liora told her, even as Aira vigorously shook her head, wanting to scream at her for daring to do something so dangerous, only deciding she would after the consequences of her sister’s actions had been fixed.

"We need to visit Savira! She’ll have a solution for—"

"She’s a vampire!" Liora snapped, shaking her head to show that she had no intention of doing such a thing.

"You might trust her, but I don’t! No one knows about my ability! Think of all the things we could do once I’ve mastered it!" She morphed the red aura that oozed out of her body into thin needles that hovered over her palm.

"...And you want to tell Zyren’s right-hand woman? They are our enemies!" Liora reminded her, with a look on her face that showed she meant every word.

"...You think the temple can help?" Aira asked skeptically, stamping down the envy she felt at her sister’s offensive ability—wondering if Zyren had tweaked the ritual in a way that gave her a healing one with no offensive abilities.

"Yes! There’s something called holy water. Whatever is wrong inside of my body can be fixed. It’s just like your ability, but it works better internally!" Liora told her, repeating what she had discovered, even as Aira stood there with her eyes fixed on her sister, lightly nodding her head to show she understood.

Aira didn’t speak, which made Liora feel bad now that the secret she had been hiding was out.

"I’m sorry for not telling you! I just... I just wanted to find a solution first. You already have enough problems of your own!" Liora said, gesturing toward the right side of the room that belonged to Zyren.

Aira, though, neither nodded nor agreed. Her expression stayed neutral as she stared at her sister for a long moment before she finally spoke again.

"Who did you do the ritual with?" Aira asked.his is the reason I didn’t tell you! I knew you were going to excessively worry!" Liora said.

"Just because you think our father’s and brother’s death is your fault doesn’t mean I’m your responsibility!" Liora added, and a blatant look of hurt flashed in Aira’s eyes.

"I mean... you’re my sister. We’re supposed to care about each other, but my individual choices are mine. You shouldn’t have to feel like you need to pay for them!" Liora pointed out with a genuine look of concern, aware that the second she pointed out the problem she had been having, Aira instantly stiffened almost as if she had been the cause of it.

"I’ll get healed!" Liora whispered to her, moving closer until they were only a few inches apart.

"...Then we’ll escape. I’ll get more guards, and hopefully, with your connection to the temple, you’ll also be able to gather the support of the people and priests to keep us safe from Zyren!" Liora pointed out with a small smile, lightly touching Aira’s forehead and toying with the strands of hair that framed her face—even as she fought the urge to bite into her neck and suck every inch of her blood dry.

The bloodlust was there, but Liora had largely downplayed just how strong the urge was. It was so overwhelming that, even as she spoke to her sister, it slowly eroded every bit of all the other emotions she had.

"We won’t have to worry!" Liora emphasized, even as Aira, who had many thoughts racing through her mind, simply nodded as she responded. "If the temple does not reach out to me, then I’ll reach out to them!"

"But you’re not wounded, right?" Aira asked again to confirm, and Liora nodded. She leaned forward and caught Aira in a tight hug before turning around to leave, heading toward the door without sparing a glance at Rymora, who in turn lowered her gaze and face to the floor so she wouldn’t have to look at Liora as she passed.

They both despised each other, and it was mainly for the same reason: they each felt the other wasn’t good for Aira in any form or manner.