Unfathomable Idea of Time

The surprised face on both Sera and Darion was comical, and Charlotte turned back to raise an eyebrow at Vincent, whose only response was to look at the wall as though it was something extremely riveting.

Sera froze. "What? Vincent, seriously?"

"It's not as bad as it seems," Vincent said before placing a hand on Charlotte's shoulder. "She's my partner."

Sera's eyebrows rose while Darion covered his laugh with a cough which in turn made Charlotte's lips start twitching at their reactions. Darion met Vincent's eyes a second later. "Well, it seems that everyone is going crazy these days."

Charlotte didn't know much about contractors, but soon gathered the fact that vampires absolutely hated the thought of it, judging by the medic's suspicious glances at Charlotte. Making a promise was a binding process that only those who were naïve were stuck doing.

It wasn't as though she could say that she accidentally was dragged into a situation and made a promise that only pertained to her safety since she thought that Vincent was insane after getting the whole knowledge of vampires existing dumped on her.

Then again, it was Vincent's call to answer her since he was a more experienced vampire, but he couldn't seem to let her go. That was also a question that lingered in her mind, but she pushed it away, considering that there was very little that she could offer him.

Charlotte crossed her arms and brought her attention back to the verbal promises of vampires. Charlotte didn't think that there was any binding magic or all, just in terms of respect for tradition. But she honestly didn't know.

She grabbed Vincent's shirt sleeve, and he leaned down. "I need to talk with you."

Vincent slid a glance over at the other two in the room. "In private?"

Charlotte nodded, and Darion gave them both a tiny smile before standing and pressing a button on a side door which in turn opened up into another area. Charlotte dipped her head in thanks, letting go of Vincent's shirt which in turn made him slip his hand into hers.

"Take your time," Darion said with a wink.

"Shut it," Vincent muttered and pulled Charlotte along.

The door closed behind them, and the room was lit up with blue LED lights along the ceiling of the room which only encompassed plain hospital beds. It honestly looked eerie with the number of beds that were spread out in the room that contained no windows whatsoever.

Charlotte crossed her arms. "Sorry, I want more context before we go back out there so that I don't look like a fool."

Vincent leaned against the cinderblock walls and crossed his ankles. "What would you like to know?"

"Well, firstly, I assume that you are close to the medics?"

"Yes. They are well-known specialized medics that work underground away from the eyes of humans and vigilantes. If we have any questions, they are most likely to have the answer, as they tend to be the relay station for many vampires after getting treated."

Charlotte paused. "Are they specialized in vigilante specimens?"

Vincent lifted a shoulder. "I have known those two for a while now, having crossed paths multiple times. They have knowledge that most wouldn't have, so my first thought was to come here. There is an ongoing vigilante experiment that you will be able to see for yourself when we get back out there."

Blowing out a breath, Charlotte nodded. "I see. But contractors… do they truly hold that much power over vampires?"

Vincent shrugged. "Everything vampires do is voluntary. The weight of the words exchanged is only a means of being respectful to time which is an ingrained thought in vampires. It is why vampires would rather not be bound to humans since the only thing that is truly chasing us down is the idea of time."

Charlotte nodded but stayed silent, waiting for Vincent to finish his train of thought.

"Nothing is truly holding a vampire back despite it being an innate response. Being a contractor could also be seen as a prohibited romantic relationship between a vampire and human."

"Oh, that is why Darion is eying us."

"Don't mind him," Vincent said while adjusting his cuffs. "He is interested in the commotion after being stuck down here for so long."

"What? They can't leave?"

Vincent met her eyes. "It is only the terms of the agreement they have with the council."

Charlotte couldn't fathom dedicating one's life to the point where so many years go by, and past and present blur together. She pursed her lips. "So the game plan is to figure out more information about vigilantes and wait for the DNA testing, correct?"

"Yes. Nothing has changed, so there is no need to doubt or worry about anything."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I would have to doubt if you explained everything to me clearly. I just needed a minute to organize my thoughts."

"Next time, it would be best to organize alone."

Charlotte squeezed her nails into her palm before lifting her lashes at him. He wasn't helpful at all. "Of course. I will do that next time."