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The thought lingers as Victor enters his aunt’s house. Did she, the Vampire Eldress, intend to follow through with her threat to defang him if the Vampires didn't get the bloodfruit harvest? It was months ago, so surely she didn't anymore, but after Nova broke down in his arms earlier this evening, he wasn’t so certain now.
He and Nova had an emotional evening together that started with a walk around the bloodfruit orchard, led to a tearful Daywalker crying about the defanging after calling him Fangs, and ended with the pair stargazing in each other’s arms.
The door is open to her office and low light filters out into the hallway. “Victor, is that you?”
He silently groans and drags his feet towards the open doors. He doesn’t feel up for a lecture from his guardian, but he goes anyway. “Yep. Hey, Aunt Victoria. ‘Sup?”
The older woman narrows her eyes at the casual greeting and hums sternly before returning to her reading. “Were you out with Vargas and Vera?”
Victor shakes his head as he steps inside. “No, I was with Nova. We were hanging out in the orchard like we usually do. I just dropped her off in Sunnyside,” he explains.
“And how is the Daywalker you spend so much time with doing?” To most people, the question sounds cordial, but he can hear the edge of distrust in her voice.
The young man rolls his eyes and drops onto the couch across from her desk. His aunt is still wary of him spending time with the daughter of the Daywalker Commander, but he’s 16, almost 17, and can make his own choices. “She’s good. She had a lot on her mind tonight, and it got emotional, but we had a good time.” He stays vague for a reason: he doesn’t want to let his inner thoughts come out and wreck his progress with the Vampire Eldress in stepping up as a leader.
The woman’s brow lifts in light surprise. “Oh, really? Is everything okay? For someone set to be the next leader of her people, I’m surprised to hear her let something as trivial as emotions get to her.”
Victor’s eyes squeeze shut to stop himself from going full vampire. He can take the insults about him; he has for most of his life. But he won’t let his aunt speak about Nova in such a negative way. The girl’s emotions are what make her strong.
“Please don’t talk about Nova like that, Auntie. She’s a great person and I care a lot about her. She will be an amazing leader for the Daywalkers one day.” He has to restrain himself from yelling.
“Good leaders don’t let their emotions take over, Victor. I’ve told you this plenty of times before,” the Vampire Eldress states sternly over her papers. “Surely, the Commander has told her similar things.”
Victor clenches his fists as he feels his blood start to boil at the dismissive tone. Screw it, he thinks. If his aunt wants to shit talk his girlfriend, then he’ll throw it right back at her. His evening with Nova was one of the most emotionally charged but best in their relationship so far. He loves her, and he’ll defend her until the day he dies. He steps forward and stands in front of the large desk at the center of the room.
“You know what Nova has over you as a leader, Aunt Victoria?” He tries to show himself as a levelheaded person, but the words spill out before he can stop. “She actually cares about her people and looks for solutions. Her emotions help her lead with kindness and compassion. She would never harm someone who did a bad enough thing that she would threaten to take away something so key to their survival, like their lightstone. You know, like you threatened to do to me with my fangs a few months ago? Remember that?” He holds nothing back, anger flowing through his veins.
The woman gasps and stands, pushing the dark wooden chair behind her. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing!” She says, raising her voice.
“You said it yourself! I heard you, and so did everyone else! You should ‘have me defanged’ for working with a daywalker. You called me a traitor! That’s what made Nova so upset tonight! She’s been carrying that horrible idea in her head of me getting defanged and I had no idea. And now that I think about it, it’s messing with my head! If we hadn’t been successful, or even if we were and the daywalkers didn’t get any bloodfruit, would you have had me defanged when we came back here?”
“Nephew, where is this coming from?” Victoria tries to avoid the question, but he won’t have it.
“Answer the question, Auntie. If Nova and I hadn’t restored the bloodfruit orchard by reuniting the lightstone and the darkstone at camp, would you have had me defanged?” The young vampire’s eyes and darkstone flash red as his rage grows.
The Vampire Eldress takes a deep breath and straightens her shoulders. Even with her confident stance, she can’t meet her nephew’s raging eyes. “Yes.”
Victor feels like the floor drops from under his feet and he stumbles backward. All the air from his lungs feels knocked out of him at her answer. “What?”
She stiffly nods. “Yes, Victor. I would have no choice. We have a code of conduct and I cannot show any preference for a family member who betrayed the orders of their leader. It’s tradition.” Most people would miss it, but he hears the unsteady cadence in her voice.
“Are you serious?” He cries out. “Forget tradition! You would’ve actually had me defanged for making an alliance with someone who had a similar goal as us? Someone who was trying to survive just as much as we were?”
Victoria nods again and walks slowly around the desk. “Unfortunately, yes. It’s a sacrifice I was ready to make for the good of our people.”
Victor can’t breathe. Nova was right to be so worried because now he’s absolutely terrified of his aunt. But if there’s one thing his beautiful daywalker has taught him, it’s that you should never back down from what you believe in, no matter how scared you feel.
“You don’t care about me,” the young man says in a low voice. He tries to keep his voice even, but he can’t do it. “I know you got stuck taking care of me, but you’d actually do something as painful as removing my fangs so I could die a slow death to get rid of me. What the hell?” His heart is racing and he feels his palms start to sweat. He’s never felt this way before and it makes him anxious.
“I know you are angry, but you will not make accusations like that or speak to me–”
“Oh, who cares?” He raises his voice. “Did you ever think about what would happen next? Who’d be in charge then, Auntie?” He challenges. “Mom and Dad are gone, you have no children, and I have no brothers or sisters. Who’d be left in charge of the Vampires when the council decides it’s time for someone else to lead our people, and you had ordered the defanging of me, the last person in our family who could take over? It would be chaos, our people fighting for power! I would probably have died in an alley somewhere, starving to death, and nobody would care. What then?” He’s shouting now, something he’s never dared to do at his aunt before.
“Why are you shouting at me about something I never did?” The woman slams a hand on the desk and shouts back, a dark and dangerous look in her eyes. “I never pursued it further, Victor. Here you stand, fangs and all, and now you’re challenging me because the Daywalker put an idea in your head.”
“That Daywalker has a name and you know it! Just because you never did anything about it doesn’t mean you were ready to cut me off as soon as it was convenient. I didn’t feel safe with the threat of war between the vampires and Daywalkers. But now I learn that the one family member I have left was ready to sacrifice me for something so stupid.” Victor shakes his head, eyes turning red from tears. He backs out of the office, desperate to get away from this woman and this house. He doesn’t feel safe anymore. “Thanks for nothing. I’ll get out of your way since I’m such a disgrace to our family name.”
Victor takes off, ignoring the shouts of his guardian into the night. He runs like his life depends on it out of the house and through the alleyway. He dodges his neighbors, opening doors, and small children without stopping. The tight streets of Shadyside are no place to summon the wind and take off flying, especially when his emotions are so out of control. It was only recently that he got his flying skills under control and that was after many practice sessions with and without his Goldie. Flying around now would create more chaos.
He doesn’t realize how far he’s gone until he reaches the tunnel to the orchard. His mind and heart are racing but he can’t stop now; he must get away from Shadyside.
Nova. He needs Nova.
As soon as he reaches the woods, Victor calls upon the wind and launches himself into the air towards the Sunnyside part of the orchard. He knows it well enough because he was just here to bring his sunshine home. And that’s exactly where he’s going.
The sun never fully sets in Sunnyside. It will disappear behind Mount Rayburn for a few hours while the Daywalkers go to sleep and rise again in the morning. The weather is always comfortable and Nova almost always has her bedroom window open. It’s something he’s grateful for tonight.
Victor barely has control of the wind the closer he gets to the Bright’s home as his aunt’s words echo in his head. He always flies better when Nova is with him, but now, he just needs to be with her. He barely misses her bedroom window and crashes on the soft floor, making the blonde jump on her bed. “Ow,” he mutters as he drops his head to the carpet in defeat. “That hurt.”
“Victor?” Nova leaps from her seat and sets the book she was reading aside. “What are you doing here?” She hovers over him and grabs an arm to pull his upper body up while checking him for injuries. “If my dad were home, he’d be so upset–”
The vampire cuts her off and stands. “I don’t care about him. I– I needed to see you, Goldie. I–” He can’t get the words out. The conversation with his aunt has changed everything. He pulls the girl into his arms and lets out a shaky breath, burying his face in her soft, wavy hair.
Nova immediately senses something is very wrong and she squeezes him before pulling back. “Sit down.” She points to the bench in front of her bed and pushes him towards it.
As he follows her order, she crosses the room to the door, sticks her head into the hall, and looks both ways before shutting and locking the door. “I don’t think my dad is home, so we should be okay,” she explains.
“Nova.”
“Did anyone see you fly in? The sun is set and most people are asleep by now but–” She quickly moves across the room to close the window and pull her curtains shut.
“Nova.”
“–you never know who could say something to my dad and–”
“Goldie,” he whispers, his shoulders sagging in defeat. “Please come here.” He’s desperate to hold her, to feel that he’s wanted somewhere and he’s loved, not an inconvenience.
The girl crosses the room and takes his face in her hands. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying,” she observes. Her thumbs pass over his cheeks as she stands between his legs.
“I talked to my aunt about the defanging,” he admits as his eyes fall shut at her gentle touch. He rests his hands on her waist and pulls her toward him. Her warmth is addictive; he felt so cold in Shadyside and being in her presence feels safe and cozy.
Nova’s jaw drops. “Because of me?”
“Kinda, but it’s not your fault. Far from it. It’s because the more I thought about it, the more I had to know what she would’ve done.” He brushes his thumbs in circles over her lower back and looks up, distressed. “She was ready to defang me, Goldie. If we hadn’t worked together and brought our moonstones together, I would probably be dead right now.”
Realization of the unsaid statement- that he would’ve starved to death once he was defanged- dawns upon her and quickly morphs into pain on the Daywalker’s face. “Oh, Victor,” she whispers, and she sits down so he can embrace her. “I’m so sorry.”
The boy clutches his sunshine and lets the tears finally fall. The night is a cruel place; he said it himself earlier today. But he never thought it would be as cruel as his aunt was tonight. He loves his people but he hates the rules. This isn’t the ancient world, so why should their rules and consequences reflect an old way of thinking?
Nova tangles her fingers in his red and black hair and holds him tightly. She feels so angry, to a degree she’s never felt before, and it scares her. She wants to burn the city to the ground for emotionally hurting him in such an awful way. Is this how all the leaders of the Vampires think, or is it just the Eldress?
For several minutes, Victor releases years of pain and Nova sits with him, strong and unwavering. Her fingers rub circles into his temple and the back of his head, easing the tension that built as he flew across Sunnyside to get to her. He hasn’t felt this kind of affection in years, not since his mother died suddenly. The Vampire Eldress certainly didn’t hold him when he fell and scraped his knees as a little kid. It’s comforting, knowing he can be this free with Nova.
Once the tears subside, he sits up and takes a deep breath. He can’t speak just yet, so he takes in the room crashed into. The girl’s walls are decorated with pictures and paintings of nature and her friends. A tall shelf stacked with books and other trinkets stands beside the window. White, cream, gold, and red accents adorn the room. An open book lies face down on the bed on the pillows behind them. On the table next to her bed, a small round thing with a flame- is that a candle?- burns, and a familiar scent fills the air.
“Is that cinnamon?” He asks, twisting around to read the label.
Nova smiles and leans her head on his shoulder while looping an arm around his. “Yep, it’s cinnamon roll scented. Have you ever had one?”
The vampire shakes his head, unsure what a cinnamon roll even is.
“Well, we will have to change that very soon,” she decides. She pauses and bites her lip. “Do you want to tell me what happened with your aunt? Or do you want to leave it in the past?”
Victor sighs and falls back onto the end of the bed. Her space to sleep is so soft and unconfined, unlike the beds everyone sleeps in at Sunnyside. “Goldie, it was so bad. She was saying shit about you that, to anyone else, might sound polite and okay, but I could hear the judgment in her voice. I told her we had an emotional time in the orchard because you brought up the defanging, and she said, ‘Good leaders don’t let their emotions take over, Victor. I’ve told you this plenty of times before,’” he repeated in a mocking tone. “Then I point-blank asked her if we hadn’t been successful in restoring the blood fruit orchard, if she would’ve defanged me and she said yes, and that it’s tradition for someone who betrays the vampires. So I told her if she did that, the future of our people is basically done for because I’m the next in line and if I’m dead in an alley, the vampires would be fighting each other for control.”
The blonde lays back the bedspread, rolls to her side beside him, and takes his hand in hers, squeezing it gently. The expression in her blue eyes is so painful and open, but he can see her quiet encouragement to keep going, to get this off his chest.
“Then she said that you were putting ideas into my head, which was wrong, and asked why I was bringing this up when she never went through with it. My parents died when I was younger and she got stuck taking care of me. It was like I became a huge inconvenience to her, and as I got older, she made it well known.” He lets out a deep breath and squeezes her hand, taking strength from her grip. He feels like he can conquer the world with her beside him. “So I ran.”
“And here you are,” Nova says lightly, her lips turning up at the corners. “I can’t imagine staying there after learning that, and I’m so sorry you had to hear it from your aunt yourself. But I’m glad you came back here, Victor.”
Victor scoots closer and looks into her eyes. “You were the only thing I could think of when I ran. I had to get to you. Not just because of the shit she said, but I knew if you were around, I’d feel safe. You’re the best listener, you know exactly what to say to cheer someone up, you’re warm and really pretty, and I think that’s why I love you so much…” His voice trails off and his eyes widen in shock when he realizes what he just spoke out loud for the first time. He jerks up, flustered. “And I can’t believe I just said I love you at the worst time ever, and-”
Nova’s cheeks turn pink as a huge smile covers her face. She sits up and covers his rambling mouth with her hand, giggling. “Maybe I should call you Word Vomit instead of Fangs,” she teases.
“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” he jokes against her palm before he moves it away from his face.
“Not so much trauma involved in that one, don’t you think?” She winks before leaning against him, going quiet. A few moments later, her soft voice reaches his ears. “Hey Victor?”
He swallows nervously and glances down. “Yeah, Goldie?”
She shifts to meet his waiting eyes, and he doesn’t think she could ever look more beautiful than she does right now. “I love you too. You’ll always be safe with me. You protect me when we fly, and I protect you when we’re still. Deal?”
All the air leaves his lungs for the second time tonight as a smile breaks out on his face. He jumps to his feet and lifts the girl into his arms, spinning them around her bedroom. Hearing the words, “I love you,” leave her lips makes him want to fly out the window and shout it for all of Sunnyside and Shadyside to hear. However, the last thing he wants is for Commander Bright to know that he’s in his daughter’s bedroom, so he’ll settle for burying his face in her hair and kissing her neck. “Oh, I love you so much, Nova. Deal, forever and always.”