Once her arms are secured behind her back, the manservant lifts his chin. “I’m ready. You can release her.”

Haruka inhales, mechanically absorbing the weight of his energy back within his body. He mentally stuffs it into a knotted hold deep inside himself. Amelia sucks in a breath as if she’d been underwater, her eyes bulging. She bucks and thrashes her voluptuous frame against Asao to free herself, but the solid manservant easily restricts her.

“You—you have actual powers,” Amelia breathes, her voice ragged from the impact of subjugation. “I knew it. I could smell—and your blood. Incredible!”

“Amelia.” Haruka uses the weight of his deep voice to calm her. Being lower ranked, she is more vulnerable to his words after direct exposure to his aura. “You cannot break into someone’s room. I am a guest in your home and it is extremely rude… I should not need to say these things.”

“I—I apologize, your grace.” She sways in Asao’s grasp. She almost falls over, but he holds her steady. “I wanted to feed from you—to please you… to release… your… aura.” She sleeps. Asao rearranges her in his arms to properly support her. He looks down at her sagging frame and shakes his head.

“First of all, I told you.”

Haruka rolls his eyes.

“Second,” Asao continues, “poor kid barges in here and she can’t even handle you. ‘Pull your aura.’ Yeah, right. Did you need to fully subjugate her?”

Haruka takes a deep breath and scratches the back of his head. “No… However, she startled me and I’m out of practice. You came quickly—were you listening?”

“Yeah. I heard you when she first came into the room. They have my bedroom so damn far away that it took me a while to walk over here. This place is creepy.”

Haruka yawns. It has been a day. “I am grateful for your unique ability.”

“You’re not grateful for it when you’re trying to sneak wine from the kitchen in the middle of the night.” Asao smirks.

Haruka breathes a laugh. “True.”

“What the hell should I do with her?”

There is a knock on the bedroom door. Haruka smirks. Ask and you shall receive. He focuses and sniffs. “Perhaps the young manservant on the other side of the door can help?”

Sitting down hard on the bed, he watches as Asao grapples with a peacefully sleeping Amelia. The freckled manservant timidly peeks his head into the room. He’s dumbfounded as Asao speaks, staring past him to uncomfortably gawk at Haruka on the bed. Soon, Asao awkwardly hands Amelia over to him and shuts the door.

“You’ve had quite a few admirers this evening.” Asao grins, walking toward the bed as Haruka settles back down. He pulls the sheets up to make himself comfortable while his manservant sits along the side. “It’s a good thing she was second-gen,” Asao continues. “What if she’d been higher ranked?”

Haruka closes his eyes, mumbling against the sheets. “What if you help me pack up the house?”

“Haruka. How long are we going to do this? Ignoring your true responsibilities and stifling your nature? You’ve avoided talking about this for years now… This whole mess started with Yuna. Your bond—”

“Asao, please.” Haruka turns to look at him, imploring. He’s exhausted from rapidly pushing his aura outward, annoyed about the upcoming bonding ceremony and frustrated that he has irresponsibly procrastinated over the start of a major cultural document. The last thing he wants to do is have a heart-to-heart about the ghosts of his unfortunate past.

“My apologies, your grace,” Asao says stiffly. “Do you want me to stay here with you while you sleep?”

Haruka shifts his head against the pillow, his body and mind rapidly shutting down for the night. He has overexerted himself. “You don’t have to.”

“Need I remind you that the vampires of the Oxford realm are nocturnal?”

Perfectly still, Haruka opens his eyes. Blinking. Considering.

“That being said,” Asao goes on, “everyone will be awake while you are sleeping.”

Haruka turns to meet his manservant’s eyes. There is a distinct moment of pause before Asao grins and points. “I’ll sleep on that couch in the corner.”

“If you think it is best,” Haruka says, closing his eyes with a grin. “I will not argue with you.”

Three

Using his innate powers takes a heavy toll on Haruka, so he sleeps late into the next day. By the time he wakes up, gets dressed and wanders into the dining room in search of table food, it is late afternoon.

Practically everyone in the duke’s estate is asleep due to the nocturnal mandate. The house is eerily quiet. Full of sleeping, old-fashioned vampires, Haruka ponders. Like a crypt. Only a skeleton crew of attendants oblige Haruka and his manservant with a late lunch before his departure.

When they’re done, Asao stands from the table with a look of conviction set in his square jaw. “Let’s get the hell out of here before these weirdoes wake up.” Haruka agrees wholeheartedly. Soon after, they quietly leave the Duke of Oxford’s home.

They reach London at sunset. Haruka stares blankly out the window as they drive, watching the orange-and-pink gradient of the early evening sky.

“Is your awareness of this purebred growing stronger as we get closer?” Asao asks from the driver’s seat. “I hope this address is right.”

“Mm. The duke says that his business is located in Camden Lock. That information corresponds with my innate sense of him.”

“He owns a bar, right?”

“Yes.”

Asao sighs. “Alright. We’ll have to walk when we get near that area. I don’t think I can drive down the market streets.”

Haruka rubs his palm down his face. Walking in a public area filled with a myriad of humans on a frigid winter night. God help me.

It’s dark when they finally arrive at Camden Lock. They navigate the narrow cobblestoned streets and alleyways, eventually standing in front of a bar with an illuminated sign. It shines brightly in white, like a second moon against the deep indigo sky. It reads Scotch & Amaretto in relaxed cursive script.

Haruka reaches out to pull the bar door open, but pauses at the sound of his manservant’s voice. “Now… what if this purebred is some kind of crazy pervert and attacks you?”

Standing straight, Haruka genuinely considers the possibility. He can handle a lower-ranked vampire in his weakened state. Another purebred, or even a particularly strong first-generation would be much more challenging. “Most purebreds have exceptional control over their natures, and my primal aura is enclosed. I doubt he would wish to create havoc within his place of business.”

“True.” Asao nods. “I’m suddenly reminded of that one very pushy purebred we met in Montreal. Remember that? What year was that, eighty-three?”

Haruka remembers. He wishes he didn’t. He’s met more than his share of pushy, selfish and entitled vampires. “Why are you reminding me of that right now?”

“It’s better to be prepared.”

Again. Not helping. Haruka tugs the heavy wooden door open (a little harder than necessary).

When he steps inside, he’s immediately tense. The luscious smell of the purebred consumes him. The aroma is clean, woodsy and with a hint of something spiced—mahogany but somehow intermingled with cinnamon. The lighting is low, and in combination with the smell, the intimate space feels perfectly warm and inviting.

He glances around, taking in the refined details of the bar. Several tall oak tables with high stools are thoughtfully placed throughout the main floor. Jewel-toned, orb-shaped candle holders sit in the center of each table, creating soft flickers of light throughout the room. The stone walls are adorned with burning lanterns and sconces, giving the overall impression of a romantic, very trendy Renaissance castle basement… if such a juxtaposition can exist.

Even with all these wonderful elements for the eyes to behold, the farthest wall from the entrance is clearly the focal point of the room.

A full bar glows softly in the darkness. The wall is filled with multi-colored bottles of alcohol, interspersed once more with bright candle holders and other curious, antique-looking artifacts. Haruka likens the wall to an apothecary’s pantry filled with exotic potions and mysterious elixirs.