(Faye)

The human sighed heavily as he sat on the steps, enjoying the cool evening air as the quiet breeze danced around him. The rest of the group were still inside the building, but Faye had asked for permission to sit outside, just for a moment to catch his breath. Addis was still missing, as he had been all day, and Faye heard Rosie tell Lena that he needed to stay late at the station. A part of Faye was relieved that he didn’t have to face the vampire, but another part of him was… disappointed. 

Aerovale was wonderful, Faye had to admit, and if he had a choice, he gladly would stay in this city forever. It was the type of place where Adrian would never have been able to get away with his business, and the human closed his eyes as he tried to shift his thoughts away from the vampire. He was hours away from that pain now and while he knew he had to return, it didn’t have to be now. 

Noemi had been mostly behaved on the tour, only raising her voice a few times and getting combative with another of the shelter’s vampires when they remarked on her pretending to be human. Zélia was quick to separate them however, and even though she had gotten in the other vampire’s face, Faye was surprised that she withheld from punching them. Noemi was really doing her best to behave and Faye hummed to himself as he closed his eyes.

Faye still wasn’t sure how he felt about Noemi being Soulbound to Rosie. He didn’t know much about the vampiress other than the fact that she was third to the king and one of the richest vampires in Pavivani. She ran various clothing stores, ranging from affordable to wildly expensive, and there likely wasn’t anybody in Dephus who hadn’t worn something created by the vampiress and her thralls. He wasn’t sure if Rosie was also in the business of creating the clothing or just selling them, but the vampiress made her money regardless.

He also knew she had a bit of a reputation, similar to Addis, for being cruel to humans and vampires alike. Faye didn’t really understand why, but even Lena seemed unwilling to upset Rosie, despite the fact that Lena had more power and authority as the princess and Heir Apparent. Everyone seemed to walk on eggshells around the vampiress except for Addis, whose company Rosie at least found amusing enough to humor. Faye no longer trusted Zélia as a source of information on other high vampires, but he also wasn’t sure where he could find the information he wanted about Rosie.

“You okay?” Faye opened his eyes as Noemi sat beside him on the step and he grinned as he nodded. 

“Just needed a moment.”

“I get that, it’s hot in there,” Noemi agreed and Faye frowned as he looked over to the woman beside him. She was wearing a dark red robe, a perfect match for the pink one he wore and hints of the pants peaked out as she folded her legs under herself. “The food smells fucking top tier, and I bet the beds are just as fucking nice. And these robes? I’ve never worn something this comfortable in my life.”

“Same,” Faye nodded, keeping his eyes on his friend. She was staring off into the garden and he got the sense that she hadn’t just come outside to check on him. “I wonder if they’re Rosie’s.”

“Fucking probably. She’s got her fingers in almost every pie when it comes to clothes,” Noemi laughed and Faye allowed a soft sound to escape him. “Must be nice to have money like what Rosie’s got.”

“Yeah…” Faye agreed, doing his best to smile as Noemi finally turned to see his expression. She scoffed at his half-hearted attempt, crossing her arms as she let herself fall backward on the short terrace. 

“It’s not that bad,” she finally sighed and Faye twisted on the step to keep his eyes on her, tucking one of his legs under his body. She had her eyes closed and to him, her position looked uncomfortable. “Being Soulbound.”

“Yeah?”

“I can feel Rosie’s pain and she can feel mine. We’re to the point that I can kinda sense her emotions sometimes,” Noemi admitted and Faye felt his heart start to pound with her words. He had never been Soulbound despite his years in Dephus and he had no idea how deep the connection went. All he knew was that it was some sort of vampiric bond that went beyond normal dating, something that vampires had no control over. “She’s more… worried than she ever lets on, and she knows that I’m not as tough as I come off as.”

“Noemi–”

“It’s good. It’s honest.” Noemi interrupted him again, opening her eyes as she stared into the dark night sky. Faye followed her gaze as she sighed, still not adjusting her body as she continued. “Unlike Stenn, she can’t lie to me about what she wants. Besides, Rosie’s got so much power she couldn’t care less about mine. She just doesn’t like the pain she feels from me not taking blood.”

“I guess that’s fair,” Faye finally sighed, dropping his gaze as Noemi finally sat up, this time looking at the ground as she started to chew on her lip. “What’s up, Mimi?”

“I… I think I might start drinking. The synthetic stuff, at least. I don’t think I could ever drink… human blood,” she whispered and the human nodded, trying to hide his relief. He knew that denying her thirst caused her great pain and he had held her through some of the worst of it, just like she comforted him after Adrian’s parties. He had tried to get her to drink in the past, but she always refused, feeling like she would lose what little humanity she had left if she did. “It ain’t fair to keep imposing on you.”

“Mimi, you know I don’t mind.”

“It ain’t fair to Rosie either. She said she won’t make me and she can deal with the pain, but… it ain’t fair,” Noemi repeated and Faye felt his heart twist with her tone. Was Noemi… starting to care about Rosie? “I mean, I can feel that it bothers her and she still smiles and says it doesn’t. How fucked up is that?”

“She’s just trying to be nice, Mimi,” Faye forced a smile, not sure how to react to Noemi’s words. Rosie always seemed so harsh and uncaring, like a mischievous cat that enjoyed destroying your things while you slept. Was she somehow controlling her emotions to trick Noemi into thinking she cared, or did she actually care for his friend? Did the bond really change how she treated the person she was bonded to? “Although I don’t doubt she’d appreciate it.”

“Yeah, and then I guess I can get my power if I start drinking. Maybe then I can cause some real fucking trouble for Adrian,” Noemi finally grinned and Faye chuckled as she finally stood, stretching her limbs as she bounced on her feet. “Really fuck him up for ya.”

“As long as you stay safe,” Faye agreed and moved out of the way of her playful kick, the pair laughing as she turned to walk back inside. “I’ll be back inside soon.”

“Yeah yeah, take your time. It’s not like they’ll start dinner without ya,” Faye watched as she slid the door open and stepped back in, turning his eyes back to the dim night sky as he mulled over her words. Being Soulbound sounded… interesting at least, and Faye was happy that it was working out for Noemi. A part of him wished he could experience the bond himself, but Faye frowned as he closed his eyes, leaning forward on his hands. Fat chance of that happening with Adrian’s claim over his soul and even if it did, the vampire would sooner kill him than let someone else have a claim to the human. Faye released a nasty sound as he sat, his heart sinking further in his chest. 

“It sucks to be me,” he groaned, but his mouth was soon covered by an icy hand and Faye’s neck ached as his head was yanked back. His eyes shot open to see an icy blue pair glaring down at him, tha anger and malice evident in their expression. The shiny red eyeshadow stood out to the human and he would have gasped if not for the ice slowly encasing his mouth, stealing away his voice as he recognized the person who held him. They leaned down closer to him, an evil grin on their face as their fangs glinted in the soft light. Blonde strands tickled Faye’s face as they chuckled and their voice was soft and feminine as they finally spoke.

“Not yet.”