Chapter 275: I refuse to be Cured.

Time slowly ticked by even as Aira stood by the side, watching as Savira attended to Liora who sat patiently on the bed.The room was dimly lit by the flickering flame of the single lantern that sat on the wooden table.

Savira collected her blood and even some strands of her hair and she allowed it, even as Aira noticed the faint expression of relief on her sister’s face coupled with expectation that she couldn’t hide.

It was clear that she was hopeful, even though she remained calm and simply stared at Savira—the old vampire healer who instantly got to work, her wrinkled fingers moving with practiced precision as she handled her ancient tools that looked as old as time itself.

Aira stared at her, surprised that the woman hadn’t even spoken when she went to meet her and asked her to come see her sister. She had expected questions, suspicion, or at least a tone of curiosity, but Savira said nothing. She simply nodded, almost like she already knew what was wrong, like she had sensed it before the words were even spoken. The silence of that moment still lingered in Aira’s mind, unsettling and mysterious.

’Liora probably stole the ritual from her!’ she thought to herself even as she continued to stand by the wall, arms folded in front of her as she waited.

It was past midnight, but at that point time didn’t matter, with Aira willing to wait longer if it meant that her sister would be cured of whatever was wrong with her.

The minutes stretched into hours, the silence occasionally broken by the sound of bubbling liquid or the faint hum of some ancient chant that Savira murmured under her breath. Time continued to tick by for a longer time before Savira finally opened her mouth to speak, as she stopped fumbling with the cylinders and glass bottles in front of her which she had been messing with.

Doing things Aira couldn’t possibly understand but relieved that when she was done, she poured a black liquid in a vial bottle and closed it, moving closer to them with it in her hand. The black liquid gleamed faintly like oil, swirling as if it had a mind of its own. Aira’s eyes followed the small vial closely, her heartbeat quickening.

Aira was too impatient to allow her to speak as she went ahead and spoke first. "Is that the cure?" she directly asked, even as Savira walked closer with a walking stick in her hand, her red eyes blazing with such strength Aira found it difficult to think she actually needed it.

"Your sister did a vampire ritual—one that gave her a weird mixture of unearthed bloodline ability to create something unique!" she directly said without answering Aira’s question.

"The ritual changed her blood disposition, which is why the side effects are so brutal. For her to continue to have the ability, her body needs constant nourishment in the form of human blood!" Savira continued, her expression becoming more severe. Her voice echoed slightly, the authority in it cutting through the silence like a blade.

"...it might even graduate to vampire blood when human blood is deemed insufficient! These kinds of ancient rituals are avoided for such reason since only desperate vampires with sufficient resources or backup plans would dare to do such a thing!" she continued, and at this point Aira could not let her continue. She was a respected old woman because of how many centuries she had lived, but she needed her to get to the point.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Aira asked her, stepping away from the wall and moving closer to stand right next to her sister who looked even more anxious than before. Liora’s pale fingers were gripping the edge of the bed so tightly her knuckles turned white, her lips trembling ever so slightly though her expression remained composed.

Liora had noticed the way she had been ignored by the old woman, and any other time she would have taken offense, but she herself hated the weakness she had—something she wanted to get rid of as fast as possible. Her gaze flicked toward the vial, then to Savira’s face, her eyes glimmering with quiet defiance and desperation.

"I’m sure she’ll tell us exactly what she found out!" Liora told Aira, who looked way more agitated than her as she impatiently waited for Savira to speak.

"What I’m trying to say is that I can fix the problem, but to do that, I’ll also have to fix the cause of it!" Savira said, and the words were barely out of her mouth when Liora strongly frowned.

The hope that had been in her eyes slowly died, even as Aira seemed to breathe out a light sigh of relief. The flame in the lantern flickered violently for a moment, throwing shifting shadows across Liora’s face—one half illuminated, the other shrouded in darkness.

’A solution was clearly better than no solution at all!’ Aira thought to herself, even as she turned to Liora only to notice that her sister seemed to be in a very bad mood. Her chest tightened as she saw the way Liora’s jaw clenched.

"Are you trying to say that to stop the blood lust I have I have to get rid of my powers!" Liora said, understanding it without Savira having to explain more than she already did. Her voice cracked slightly, betraying the turmoil beneath her calm expression.

Savira nodded, even as she stretched out her hand with the black vial in it. "If you drink it, it would fix the problem, but your ability would also be gone!"

"If you also ever try any ritual again whatsoever, you will die!" Savira plainly told her, with an apathetic expression on her face that showed that she was merely stating things as they were. Her red eyes glowed faintly as if reflecting the truth of her words.

Liora was shocked and looked stunned, even as Aira began to speak, her voice low and somewhat calming, like she was trying to appease Liora.

"This is good! You’ll lose your powers, but at least you won’t continue being a murderer that goes around—"

But Liora didn’t let her finish as she got up on her feet, a fierce expression on her face as she turned to meet Aira’s gaze as she spoke. The sudden motion made the lantern flame dance again, her shadow stretching tall and sharp across the wall.

"I’ll rather be a murderer!" she said loudly, clear enough for even the guards outside to have heard her voice.

"You are aware of the kind of world we live in! Vampires and even the Zygons that are killing people!" Liora continued, her voice steady even as Aira still looked stunned from the confession she had just heard. The tension between them was palpable now, the air charged with anger and pain.

"Without my ability I’m good as dead!" Liora said, useless but she didn’t say it. Thefrown on Aira’s face was deep as she focused on her sister.

"Do you know how many people you’ve killed? How many you will still—"

"I will kill more if it means getting revenge!" she said, fixing her gaze on Aira without saying anything more as she turned to Savira, who had been quiet with her stick between her legs as she stood watching. The old vampire’s expression was unreadable, her ancient eyes cold yet strangely knowing, as if she had seen countless sisters have this same argument across centuries.

Liora didn’t collect the black vial in her hand as she spoke. "You may leave! Thank you for coming!" she said, even as Savira, without showing any hint that she had been spoken to by Liora, turned around and left. Her footsteps were slow but purposeful, the sound of her stick tapping against the stone floor echoing long after she was gone.

But not before leaving the vial on the table with some final words.

"I only made one and that’s all I’ll ever make. You can break it if you want!" she said as she closed the door behind her, even as Aira stepped closer to the table with her eyes fixed on Liora, blocking her before she could get there. Her intentions were obvious, her body tense and her eyes filled with pleading determination.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence that filled the room was heavier than before, filled with everything they couldn’t say aloud—the pain, the guilt, the fear. The black vial sat between them like a curse and a promise.

"You’re unstable! You don’t know what you’re doing. Take some time to think about it!" Aira told her, aware that she was being hypocritical since she herself had been willing to sacrifice vampire children just to get the power she craved.

But vampires were different from innocent humans, were they not?

The thought burned at the back of her mind, unwanted but persistent. Her words hung in the air, trembling, desperate.

But Liora simply stared at her with visible annoyance on her face. "You think in my place you would do better? We both know that your ability was the only thing that saved you when you got injured!" she said, walking past Aira as she headed out of the room, making it clear that Aira should leave and the discussion was over.

Her footsteps were quick, angry, her energy vibrating off her in waves that made the lantern flame waver.

"Take the vial with you!" Liora added as she angrily slammed the door shut.

The sound echoed through the corridor like thunder, leaving Aira alone in the room, staring at the black vial glinting on the table—like a quiet heartbeat waiting to be claimed.