The uncle and nephew exchange looks. To my annoyance, they look uncertain. I have just proposed a way to rid ourselves forever of the fear and terror our kingdom sleeps through every twenty-seven days. I can’t imagine anyone else who would hesitate over such a thing.

Silas sighs and turns his attention back down to his journal. He begins to leaf through the pages again, chewing his lip and scratching at his temple. At the same time, his uncle Elias has forced his gaze away and seems to be avoiding looking at me. When the younger man clicks his tongue, I look back to see that he has found whatever specific section he was searching for and turns the book so it falls open with a thump on the top of the desk.

There are more sketches on this page, meticulously drawn as detailed as possible. The faces are all different, but I can still recognize the sickly features and the pointed molars that could only belong to a vampire. Even on paper, seeing them makes my heart pound and adrenaline rush. But Silas looks at his drawings with almost a sense of sadness.

“Miss Fayne…” he says, not bothering to tear his eyes from the opened tome. “Do you know the method in which vampires come to be?”

“Of course.” I scoff. “You think I’m an idiot? I’ve fought them for almost a decade, for almost half of my life. I know what I need to know in order to kill them and avoid being killed by them.”

A hand befalls my shoulder and I tense. Elias looks at me with pleading eyes, like he’s forming mental signals to ask me to calm down and cut his nephew some slack. I breathe in again to collect my rising temper, but I am quick to shrug off his touch.

“Sorry.” I apologize.

Silas smiles weakly, but I can tell that my outburst hasn’t helped the uncertainty in which he first approached the subject.

“Vampires are no different than the races that inhabit the continent of Eboreos.” he points out, but really, all he is doing is reminding me of what I already know. “They were once humans, elves, or wildlings. Maybe they were even half-breeds. I mentioned before that they are intelligent and that is the reason. They are us, living eternally and subsisting only on the very thing that once gave them life.”

“Stop. Stop.”

I’ve had enough. I can’t stand to hear them compared to anything that can rationalize right or wrong. I have seen them. I have killed them. And they have destroyed so many precious things that I have held dear.

“You brought me here with talk of revenge, but you just want me as a bodyguard.” I sigh tiredly. “The only revenge I want is to make sure every last one of those fucking things is dead.”

I turn to leave, but I am stopped as Silas snatches up my wrist and tugs me back. His grip is surprisingly strong, but I know that I am stronger. I turn on him, glaring, balling my fist to strike. He is staring at me very seriously and he speaks in a voice that is just as terse.

“Tell me… How many other hunters do you personally know?”

The question causes me to bristle, mostly because I know the answer makes no sense to outsiders.

My fellow hunters and I are not friends. It’s not a club where everyone is chummy with one another. Hell, we barely acknowledge one another when our paths cross once a month. In our seven years of experience, Thomasin and I only knew the identity of one other hunter and it had been some time since we’d last spoken with him.

“Two.” I finally answer Silas but after a brief pause, I reiterate. “One, if you count among the living.”

Silas looks thoughtful. He likely expected a higher number, but I can see the cogs working in his mind as he tries to work with what I gave him. After a while, he relents with a sigh and his shoulders slouch.

“If your idea of revenge is wiping them out, then you won’t be able to do it alone.” he explains. “But I imagine just two of you won’t cut it, either.”

He’s right. I’m not keen on the thought of needing help, but there isn’t a chance I can pull off such an impressive feat by myself. I don’t admit it aloud, but I give the cartographer a terse and single nod in understanding. Silas frowns.

“You or your acquaintance don’t know any others?”

My expression gives way suddenly as a realization dawns upon me. I can’t help it. I smirk.

The sun has started to set by the time I return to town.

I arrive by means of a mule cart, having been offered a ride back by Silas in apology for keeping me so late. I decided to accept and though he tried to make meager conversation during the short journey, I chose to remain silent so that I could think over the plans we had been discussing not long ago.

When the cart draws close to my stepfather’s manor, I nudge him lightly in the elbow and nod my head in the direction of our home.

“Right here.”

Silas pulls back on the reins and his sturdy mule comes to a halt. I slip off the seat beside him and land on my feet without hassle. Gathering my skirts to avoid dragging the fabric through any form of mud or filth, I make my way for the front door. But when I hear Silas call out after me, I pause and whip around.

“Is… Is that really where you live?” he asks incredulously.

He looks awestruck as he eyes the manor house, his stare sweeping from the windows barred with silver to the finely architected stone walls and matching terraces. When he finally looks back at me, all I do is smirk.

“What, did you think I stole such a pretty dress?”

And on that note, I leave it at that and disappear inside as the door swings open for me upon my knocking.

The doorman looks surprised to see me returning at such a late hour but keeps his mouth shut. Of course, there are so many people that have filled the entrance hall that I wouldn’t be able to hear him even if he did say something.

Most of the faces I see are unrecognizable. I cannot attach a name to any one of the well-dressed guests as I pass them, politely muttering ‘excuse me’ and ‘pardon me’ as I squeeze through. A few of them greet me by name and I act like I am happy to see them, though I have no idea who they actually are. Lucky for me, I feign that I have to find the rest of my family amidst the party and they do not keep me for very long.

Walking into the banquet hall, I find that the polished wood table that we dine at has been removed with the intention of creating a dance floor for the party. Though I can hear the faint sounds of a lute and some sort of wind instrument, the room is far too crowded to see where the musicians have situated themselves. Everyone looks merry as they chatter and socialize. It’s nice to see so much good cheer in one place, but I feel out of place in my black dress, still in the wake of losing Thomasin.

“Fayne! There you are!”

I stop abruptly and turn as soon as I hear my name being called. Weaving his way through the throng of guests comes my stepfather, Devran. He is dressed in fine beige silks and looks as well-groomed as he always does. His goatee must have just been trimmed to flatter his chiseled jawline and his salt-and-pepper hair is short and neat. Devran pulls me into a hug without a second thought; it’s the first time we’ve seen each other since the night of the hunt, now that I think about it. I smile and return the gesture.

My mother’s second husband is far too rare a find in a place like Naver. Like the many people that live on our side of the city, he was born into nobility and inherited wealth from his lineage. But that is where the similarities end between him and the rest of the kingdom’s upper-class.

Devran is ultimately a kind man. Though the privileges that were given to him in life have often made him oblivious to certain things, he has never acted outright conceited or impertinent towards anyone. I feel that must be why he fell in love with a farmer’s widow and her surly daughter so hard and so fast.

“I was worried you wouldn’t make an appearance.” he says, his brow furrowed in slight concern.

“I made a promise.” I assure him.

He smiles and thankfully does not press me further on the matter. He does glance left and right nervously, though, then leans in to speak in a hushed voice that only I can hear.

“Be careful when you run into your mother. She’s been talking you up all night to the eligible bachelors that are in attendance.”

I blanch at the thought. It isn’t unlike my mother in the slightest, but it annoys me nonetheless. She does not know of my sexual preferences and is merely looking out for my future and happiness, but I would much rather her leave all that up to me.

Devran chuckles, then pats me on the back.

“Good luck.” my stepfather teases.

Someone taps him on the shoulder and he is immediately greeted by friendly faces and laughter. I slip away when he is occupied and continue to push through the lingering guests.

Towards the opposite end of the banquet hall, I see my mother busily conversing with a circle that has gathered around her. She still wears the same sapphire-colored ensemble from earlier in the day, sparkling and elegant like the life of a party should. Luckily, she does not notice as I pass her by and move towards the back wall of the cavernous room, where a chaise has been set up beneath a decorative old tapestry.

That is where I find Ilina, lounging on her side and looking incredibly bored despite the festivities around her. She has been dressed entirely in gold, from the silk fabric of her gown to the beads that adorn her bodice. Her skirt looks to be full and long from the way it drapes over the furniture and I assume at one point, she had her hair up in some sort of style. Now, though, it lays in limp ringlets around her cherubic face and only looks as listless as she does.

“You look like you’re having fun.” I remark sarcastically, sitting down at the edge of the chair and carefully arranging her skirt around me.

Ilina’s face brightens and she sits upright to pull me into an impossibly tight hug. I grin and hold my younger half-sister, only letting go when she squirms out of my grasp.

“You kept your promise.” she says to me, beaming.

“I did.” I confirm. “But this is supposed to be your party. Why are you over here by yourself?”

Her expression sours and her eyes shift in the direction of my mother and her small audience. I’m not surprised, but I empathize with her. I wrap an arm around her shoulder and pull her close to me, where she responds by resting her head upon my shoulder.

“It’s been like this all night.” Ilina complains softly. “Nobody has said a word to me. They just want to hear Mother talk and talk and talk…”

“Well, perhaps that is for the best.” I suggest. “Boring people only want to discuss boring things and you are anything but boring.”

This seems to settle her a bit. She smiles and closes her eyes briefly, remaining against me as I stroke the side of her head. Together, we people-watch as the party continues on around us. There’s no need to talk much - it has always been easy for us to simply enjoy one another’s company.

It came as a shock when my mom fell pregnant with her second child. I was only six years old at the time and all I really remember is how I was scared of being replaced. My stepfather was ecstatic over the prospect of having another child, one of his own flesh and blood. The two of them were hopeful for a boy, but the beautiful daughter they had instead made them forget about the prospect entirely. And as fate would have it, I actually grew to enjoy being an older sister.

Ilina was my complete opposite and with different fathers, we had our physical differences., That never kept us from getting along, though. We shared everything, from toys, to clothes, to secrets. Once I became a hunter, however, that changed. I had to keep her in the dark about the things I did at night. She would want to do it with me and I couldn’t bear putting her into danger like that. At least if I was killed, our parents would still have her.

“There are boys looking for you.”

Her sudden comment makes me freeze. I turn to look at her, eyebrows raised questioningly.

“Oh?” I practically blurt out.

My sister nods but otherwise looks indifferent to the subject. She has only just turned thirteen with the day of this celebration. She’s too young to care about things like suitors and courting and even mere jokes that are sexual in nature tend to make her react with disgust.

“Mmm. Mother’s been talking about you a lot. Telling people that you’ll be in need of a husband soon, that you’re pretty and talented, blah blah blah.” Ilina says with a roll of her eyes. “Some of them started asking for you.”

“Delightful.” I answer, voice now dripping in sarcasm. “I bet once they get a good look, they won’t be interested for long.”

“Oh, I beg to differ.”

Someone has stopped to stand before us and it isn’t until Ilina and I look up that we see a man extending his hand for me. He has a dark complexion and jet-black long hair that he keeps tied over one shoulder and tucked behind pointed ears. The clothes that he wears are exotic-looking, no doubt a fashion from one of the eastern elvish holds. When he grins with a dazzling white smile, mischief seems to sparkle in his green and gold-flecked eyes.

My sister tries to stifle an irritated sniff but fails. She eyes this eavesdropper warily, debating on whether or not she approves. On the other hand, I know this man and I know his remark is not what it seems. And as it would turn out, he was exactly the person that I needed to speak with. To Ilina’s surprise, I take his hand and he helps me rise to my feet, where he kisses me politely along my knuckles.

“Lady Fayne.” he says, so smooth and seductive that it’s more like a purr. “And here I thought you wouldn’t show your face tonight.”

“She made a promise.” my sister pipes up from behind me, sounding rather severe.

I look back and raise my index finger to indicate that things are alright and that I need to be excused for the moment being. She looks unsure but nods and slumps back into a reclined position on the chaise, while I turn to face my supposed suitor.

“Lord Ryleth.” I say, clearing my throat. “If you wouldn’t mind, could we go someplace more...private?”

Ryleth only broadens his grin and he releases my hand to cross his arms. His chin lifts and he regards me in a sly manner, but agrees. I cast one last reassuring glance back to Ilina before he leads me away across the banquet hall.