“How come you are exhausted vampires don’t sleep,” I chuckled as I tried to lighten up the mood of everyone.
“That’s a valid point,” Fergus laughed.
“But I’m famished, I need to drink blood, a pack or two won’t hurt and most importantly, I just want to lie down, my leg aches,” he added.
“Let’s go to our rooms then,” Aidan said.
“I will make sure the other vampires, take turns while keeping guard, we can’t take chances,” Fergus said.
We walked to our rooms, the weight of everything heavy on us. Aidan's eyes reflected the growing realization of our complex situation.
What a day, I just hope this nightmare comes to an end soon, my life has been literally been put on pause, I haven’t been to work in a long time, I miss attending to patients. I have also dragged Sienna into this mess,I thought.
After my shower, I stepped out to find Aidan lost in thought by the window. The silence between us was heavy, so I decided to break it with something lighter.
"So, Aidan," I said, stepping into the room, "how did you and Fergus become best friends? You two seem... intense together."
Aidan glanced over at me, a small, amused smile curling at the corners of his lips. I could tell he hadn’t been expecting that question.
"Best friends?" Aidan chuckled, though it was more of a half-laugh. "I’m not sure best friends is the word I'd use, but sure, I’ll bite."
I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate.
"We met over five centuries ago," Aidan began, his voice quiet and thoughtful. "I was still figuring out the whole vampire thing and kind of reckless, didn’t understand the full extent of my powers. I was causing chaos in the streets, all full of bloodlust, thinking I was invincible."
I smiled, picturing a much younger Aidan running wild.
"So, one night, I’m in the middle of averypoor decision," Aidan continued, his voice taking on a hint of mischief. "I’m fighting this group of hunters, and I’m about to get taken down when this... guy just appears out of nowhere and starts fighting the hunters like he’s got a personal vendetta against them."
I couldn’t help but laugh.
"Let me guess," I said, "Fergus?"
"Yep," Aidan said, a smirk tugging at his lips. "He was a human back then, didn’t know the first thing about vampires. He then told me that I need to be skillful with my fighting techniques and then he started beating me because he wanted me to fight back so that he would teach me a few things. For some weird reason I was weak that day."
I gasped, trying to suppress my laughter.
"Wait, so he beat you up?"
"Yeah, he did," Aidan said, shaking his head in mock exasperation. "I’ll never forget the look on his face when he realized my injuries were healing."
I bit my lip to suppress a laugh, unable to resist the image of Aidan, immortal and powerful, getting knocked around by a human.
“He then paused and asked me series of questions and at the time, one hunter came from nowhere and stabbed him.”
“What!”
“It happened so fast. I didn’t want anything to happen to him and then he begged me to make his wound heal just like mine healed and then I converted him. That’s how we became best friends. After Vera, Fergus was the closest to me.”
“And Fergus’s family?”
“He had none, he was an orphan, so my family became his family.”
Aidan and I lay side by side, the room quiet except for the rain. His hand found mine, and I felt his sadness in the weight of his gaze.
“I’ve always held family dear,” he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. “That’s why finding out that my sister was the one who killed Alma... it has crushed me.”
“I would give anything to make you not to feel this way,” I whispered.