Taste of Eternity

I watched her, standing there in the dim basement light, hands still trembling slightly after freeing me from the chains. She had no idea what was happening to her—that her mind was slipping, already tethered to my will. I'd slipped into her thoughts, wrapped around them like a fog, ensuring she wouldn't ask too many questions or resist what I was about to reveal. It was delicate work, but in her hazy, half-aware state, she was mine to guide.

"Come with me," I said softly, reaching for her hand. She looked at me, dazed, the confusion in her eyes slipping away with each word I spoke, replaced by a calm, unquestioning obedience. She wasn't fully herself, but she didn't know that. I took her up the narrow stairs, guiding her out of the basement and into the night air, where the stars cast their cold, silver light over us.

The haze I'd placed on her thoughts made her pliable, open, and curious, which was exactly what I needed. As we walked, her eyes flickered to me, a question forming on her lips but melting away before she could say it. I turned, letting my gaze settle on her, letting her feel the weight of it.

"There's something you need to know, Amara." My voice was low, a rumble in the silence of the night. She looked up at me, her eyes wide, and nodded, as if drawn to my words.

"Something… you've never believed. Something people like you wouldn't think possible." I could see the disbelief flicker in her eyes, the faint spark of skepticism fighting through the haze, but I pressed on, not allowing her mind to resist for long.

"I'm not like anyone you've known." I leaned closer, letting her feel the chill of my presence, letting her eyes drift over the shadows on my face. I saw a flicker of hesitation—a spark of fear.

"Not… like anyone?" she murmured, half-skeptical, half-captivated. I could feel her heart racing, a quickening pulse I could nearly taste. Her blood thrummed just below her skin, sending a subtle, intoxicating scent toward me. It was sweet, and not just the kind of sweetness I'd come to expect from mortal blood. It was richer, layered, almost… addictive.

"Yes," I whispered, letting my voice lull her back under my control, her doubt slipping into the shadows again. "I'm a vampire, Blue Bell. And I'm going to prove it."

For a moment, I thought she'd recoil, but the haze held her. She only shook her head, brows knitting in disbelief, a faint laugh escaping her lips as she processed my words. I watched her, almost amused. Humans—no matter how old or wise—always thought of us as fiction.

"You… can't be serious." Her words were quiet, but she didn't back away, didn't run. Good. That would have been inconvenient.

"Let me show you, then," I murmured, moving so that we were close, her breath mingling with mine in the cold air. Her heartbeat filled my ears, a steady, inviting rhythm, calling me closer. The anticipation built within me as I brought my face to her neck, my lips brushing against her pulse point. She stiffened, but the haze kept her calm, open, and willing. I parted my lips, letting my fangs press against her skin.

Then I bit down.

Her blood was a shock to my senses, hot and rich, flooding my mouth and igniting something primal within me. She gasped, her body jerking as the pain hit, but it melted almost immediately, overtaken by a strange, drowsy pleasure. Her blood was sweet—almost unnaturally so—like nothing I'd tasted before. It wasn't just the sweetness, though; it was the depth of it, the complexity. It spread through me in a wave of euphoria, unlike anything I'd ever known from a human.

I drank slowly, savoring each taste, each swallow, as her pulse weakened ever so slightly beneath my lips. Every drop seemed to fill me with warmth and strength, like some forbidden elixir. She was docile, her hands limp at her sides, her head tilted back, her lips parted in silent surrender. The taste was… exquisite, intoxicating. It filled me with a strange thrill.

I pulled back, reluctantly breaking the connection, her blood still lingering on my tongue. Her eyes were half-open, unfocused, her breathing shallow. I'd taken enough, just enough to quench my thirst and leave her none the wiser in the morning. She would have no memory of this—only the faintest sense of fatigue, an unplaceable heaviness that would drift away with the dawn.

"You'll go home now, Amara," I said, my voice weaving through the remnants of the haze. She nodded, her movements slow, still caught in the daze of the experience, a faint, dreamy smile on her lips.

"Go, and forget everything." I watched her walk away, her footsteps steady but languid as she disappeared down the dark street, leaving me alone in the night, the taste of her still lingering in my mouth. I'd make sure this memory stayed buried deep within her mind, beyond reach, lost in the mist where it belonged.

But as she walked away, I couldn't shake the lingering taste, the memory of that strange… enchanting sweetness.