“You most certainly have, Your Grace,” Sofia said. “And the gardens are equally breathtaking.”

“That would be the lord supreme’s doing.” Kalon chuckled, pulling a crystal glass closer to my side of the table. Acheron grinned.

“I am an aspiring gardener, at best. I enjoy the tranquility of nature, so I make sure we have as much of it beneath our windows as possible,” he said, watching as Kalon poured blood into my glass. It was a thick liquid, crimson red, with an irresistible scent. My mouth was practically watering, already.

“Try this one first,” Kalon said, glancing at me. “It’s Rimian, with a hint of hot spices.”

“New menu,” Danika clarified. “We always taste new varieties before we allow them to be served at our dinners, especially with new and special guests such as yourselves.”

The servants mobilized, coming closer to the table and pouring different bloods in multiple crystal glasses, from which we could easily choose. I was still staring at my glass, my tongue increasingly restless as it yearned for a taste. I could certainly understand why the Aeternae had chosen to consume the blood of humanoids like the Rimians and the Naloreans. Much like the earthlings’, it was bound to be delicious and far more nourishing than what we got out of animals.

Briefly glancing at Tristan, I braced myself for the tasting. I knew I’d love every drop, as my senses were already on high alert, preparing my body for the reward ahead. I took my glass and brought it to my lips, feeling Kalon’s gaze drilling into me. The first sip was like dipping my toes into a warm ocean of golden sunshine.

It was sublime. The taste lingered in my mouth for what felt like an eternity. I could almost feel the donor’s emotions coursing through me. I wondered if I’d experience more, if I drank the whole glass in one go. I took a chance and did not regret it. An avalanche of aromas paralyzed my tongue, my own blood rushing as I closed my eyes and allowed the experience to take a firm hold over me.

In that sweet and spicy darkness, I caught snippets of a past, enhanced reality. Sunshine through a window, bathing me in warmth when I was only a child. The smell of the forest after a summer rain. The sound of a musical instrument playing somewhere behind me. The feel of soft linen against my skin, the hard ground beneath my bare feet as I climbed up a redwood tree. I wasn’t myself anymore. For a few fleeting seconds, I was a child again. I ran along the sharp edges of a stony ridge, the ocean breeze combing through my hair…

“Esme.” My brother’s voice brought me back.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I realized I wasn’t the only one who’d been transported to another realm, baffled by my own experience. Tristan’s eyes were so big, they were bound to pop out of their sockets soon. Derek was speechless, and Sofia’s breathing was ragged and excited. Amal and Nethissis watched us with genuine curiosity, fascinated by whatever behavior we’d probably exhibited without even realizing it.

“Hmm. I think you like this blood type almost as much as I do,” Kalon said, his voice low and raspy. His cold blue eyes had darkened, and storms were gathering around the enhanced pupils. I could see a reflection of myself in them, my lips parted and my cheeks pink.

“What… What did we just experience?” I asked, barely hearing myself as I came down from something akin to a sweet, sweet dream.

“A Rimian’s blood,” Acheron said, obviously satisfied by the effect that the blood had had on us. Danika was smiling, as well, while Valaine watched us with a mixture of amusement and concern. I couldn’t even read Kalon’s expression, but I knew I couldn’t get enough of it. “It’s a powerful thing, and certainly a favorite among the Aeternae.”

“I could… I could see through my own, younger eyes,” I said, trying to pull myself back together, my dress suddenly too tight. I fought against the urge to take it all off and walk straight into the ocean to cool myself down. “I was a child again. Not remembering moments, but living them, once again.”

“How can this be?” Derek murmured. “I’ve never…”

“You’ve never felt something like that, huh?” Acheron chuckled. “I know! It’s in their blood, Derek. We’re not sure what it is, exactly, but drinking it allows us to commune with ourselves on a deeper level. It’s incredibly relaxing.”

“All Rimians have blood like this?” Sofia asked, red roses bursting in her cheeks. Out of all of us, she’d been the most ethical about consuming non-animal blood, yet she was ravished by the effects of Rimian blood. “This life force that just fills you up?”

The Aeternae nodded. “It’s what makes them special,” Danika said. “Rimia gives us fine raw materials, but it also gives us the best blood we’ve ever tasted. The older the Rimians, the more delicious the blood, too.”

I was already in awe of it all, and I’d only tried one of the many blood specialties they’d prepared for us. One could only wonder what the others would be like. What sensations they’d send through my body, how they would amplify my mind for the briefest of moments. I’d thought I’d gotten used to living in the darkness forever as a vampire, but my soul was suddenly twisted and turned inside out, as I’d just relished the warmth of the sun on my skin through a Rimian’s blood.

Maybe I wanted the day-walking cure as badly as my brother, after all, but I just hadn’t known… until now.

Tristan

If before I’d had my doubts about why the Aeternae had insisted upon feeding on Rimian and Nalorean blood despite the risk of Black Fever emerging, they were all gone the moment I’d come down from the ample tasting offered by the Lord and Lady Supreme. This wasn’t just about feeding, though I could certainly feel my strength grow, my muscles twitching slightly, delighted by the nourishment I’d just provided.

It was about the intense experience that came with drinking someone else’s life force. It was like peering deep into my own soul, reliving my own memories, and it was incredible. Beautiful, disturbing, and impossible to reproduce with human or animal blood. At least they weren’t drinking the Rimians and the Naloreans dry. That would’ve raised some troubling red flags.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this,” Acheron said after a long pause, still very much amused by our collective reaction to the blood. Amal and Nethissis had their eyes on us at all times, and they, too, were astonished. They’d probably never seen vampires soften so quickly under the influence of foreign blood. “Perhaps now you have a better understanding as to why we’re so keen to maintain the balance we’ve fought so hard to achieve.”

“We most certainly do,” Derek replied, briefly staring at the empty crystal cup in front of him. “You’ll have to forgive our reactions. This is all very new to us.”

Danika smirked. “That’s perfectly normal, Derek. At least we know you’ll enjoy your dinner tonight.”

“I’m curious, and you did say you’d tell us more about it,” Kalon interjected, watching Derek like a hawk. “How come you’re the day-walker among your vampire people?”

Sofia gave Derek a nervous glance. In return, he gently squeezed her hand, reassuring her in his own way. It was time to pull the cat out of the bag, as carefully as possible, laying out the case for the day-walking protein. We’d gotten to know these people well enough for them not to be taken aback by the core of our mission to Visio.

“About two years ago, we stumbled upon a planet called Strava, very far from here,” Derek said, circumspect in his choice of words. “There was a mad scientist ruling that world, and he’d made a habit of genetically engineering creatures he considered superior to other species. Ironically, he’d used genetic material from those same species in order to build his hybrids.”

“The first batch were my people, whom he referred to as Faulties,” Amal added, prompting a slight nod from Danika, who was still visually displeased with the term. “He experimented some more, until he designed the Perfects and, later on, the Arch-Perfects.”

“How is that possible?” Valaine asked, her brow furrowed.

“Artificial wombs,” Amal explained. “We were conceived and developed in his laboratory, without the nurturing of a mother and a father. He made sure we came out as fully adult specimens, and he educated us to fit his agenda.”

“At the time, Sofia, myself, and a few others from our crew became his prisoners, while the rest of our people worked tirelessly to get us back and to stop him from turning his Perfects and Arch-Perfects into the deadliest army the universe had ever seen,” Derek continued. “During my time in captivity, unbeknownst to me or anyone else, Ta’Zan—that was the mad scientist’s name—experimented on me, as well. He occasionally gave me a pill that allowed me to walk into the sunlight without burning, only I didn’t know that the effects would be permanent.”

“Oh…” Acheron gasped, his eyes wide.

“The pill modified Derek’s genetic structure, adding a protein that eliminated his vampiric sensitivity to light,” Amal said. “We haven’t been able to reproduce it from his blood. We need the original source of that protein, in order to design a day-walking cure for all the vampires. Ta’Zan is dead now, and he didn’t leave any notes behind.”

“Or whatever he did have written down on the topic was destroyed during our war against him, when his coliseum came down.” Sofia sighed.

“Where did he get that protein from?” Danika asked. Her expression told me she was already suspecting Visio as the source, but she likely wanted confirmation before drawing conclusions.

“We don’t know, exactly,” Amal said cautiously. “But it had to be a fit with the vampires’ genetic makeup in order for it to be added into the code, for it to function like it did with Derek.”

The corner of Derek’s mouth twitched, almost unnoticeably, as Danika and Acheron stared at one another for a good minute. “Marlowe,” Danika murmured. “Do you think he’s the…” Her voice trailed off as Acheron nodded. She looked at us. “We have reason to believe that protein came from someone we knew.”

“You’re not the first foreigners to visit,” Acheron added.

“The protein was extracted from an Aeternae, then?” Derek replied, trying to keep himself calm. These people had no clue about our detection methods, or the magic we’d used to track the protein back to Visio. For as long as we could, we were going to chalk it all up to a most fortuitous coincidence—the vampires came to visit, and, as it turned out, they also found the source of the very protein they’d been hoping to reproduce. It was a long shot, I thought, but it could still work.

Acheron nodded again. “It’s possible. A few centuries ago, a creature came to our world, claiming that he was looking to build the perfect species. He’d watched us from afar for a while and had decided to make contact.”

“Ta’Zan,” Amal murmured. “It had to be him.”

“He introduced himself as Marlowe,” Danika said.

Amal scoffed. “Yeah. I think I remember that name. He used it as an alias sometimes, just to make sure no one traced him back to Strava or his lab. He was rather paranoid about hiding his tracks.”

“He stayed here for a few weeks,” Acheron remembered. “In secret, of course. We didn’t allow him to leave the palace without an escort, but he was compliant. Didn’t give us any trouble. Eventually, we decided to give him two of our Aeternae… terrible people. A killer couple who’d murdered many innocent Rimians and Naloreans, drinking them dry like mindless animals. They were bound to be executed, but we figured Marlowe would make better use of them.”

“And that’s where he got the protein from,” Sofia concluded.

“You never met the Aeternae, did you, Amal? During your service under Ta’Zan,” Esme asked, and Amal shook her head.

“We knew he had foreign specimens in a highly secured laboratory, but he never let anyone in there. We were only allowed to assist with the Draenir pairs he’d kept in the coliseum,” she said. “To be honest, I think they died pretty quickly after he was done studying them and extracting everything he needed from them. I do remember he stopped going to that laboratory, after a while.”