chapter 79

ELI.

"Ariella... What did he mean by that?" I asked her quietly. My heart was pounding on my chest and Ariella was just looking at me as she cried. "Is that true?"

I heard Blaire clear her throat. "I think we should leave you two alone to talk first. We'll just be outside," she added and then pulled David's twin by his hand and they hurriedly went out of the room. I watched them go as my brain could still not process that it wasn't David.

When the door shut, the room got quiet. The only noise around us was Lawrence's breathing as he was still sleeping on the floor. I asked Ariella again. "Ariella... Tell me the truth. I want to hear it from you. Is it true? Have you become a vampire yourself?"

Ariella nodded and then broke down into tears again. I was stunned. I wasn't prepared for her answer, but as she was crying so hard I had to pull her up and calm her down. I embraced her and wiped the tears from her eyes. But she was still crying. It felt like she was pouring everything out from her too. "I'm sorry... Eli... I'm sorry."

"Why are you saying sorry?" I asked, heartbroken, that she had really become a vampire. "I know that you just did it to escape. Right? I heard that the castle where David locked you in had a terrible curse."

"It did. Only vampires could leave the castle so I had no choice but to become one, Eli. Darius infected me with his blood, and now I had vampire blood in my system."

That got me worried. She showed me her shoulder where that vampire must've bitten her. I saw that there were indeed bite marks there. But if I am being honest with myself, I hated what I saw. I hated the fact that Ariella had to do that. But I have to temper my emotions for Ariella’s sake.

"H-How are you feeling right now, Ariella? Are you okay? Did the vampire's venom give you side effects?"

"I passed out as soon as Darius infected me, but I woke up after a few hours. I don't feel anything weird or painful in my body, just a little bit lightheaded. My fangs had also started to grow into the ones that the vampires have and my eyes had turned into slits earlier. But that's it."

I shook my head in disbelief. "I didn't even think that something like that was possible."

"Yeah, me too. Darius called me a 'hybrid.' But don't worry about it too much, Eli. He told me that the vampire venom in my body could be cleansed out with the help of a witch. Blaire already promised to concoct the potion that will take the vampire venom out of me."

"Really? When will she do it?"

"As soon as we find the ingredients for that potion. I really got scared, Eli. I didn't want to become a vampire but I couldn't leave the castle---"

"It's okay. I understand, Ariella," I told her while holding her hands. "I'm just thankful that you managed to escape. I was dreading for the worst, so I am more than happy that you're here with me now."

"Me too, Eli. I was so scared when we found you unconscious in the lake... I thought that we were too late to save you. I didn't think I could make it if you're not here..."

"It's fine now," I whispered in her ear and she nodded. "All we have to do now is get away from David as far as possible. I'm sorry that I couldn't defeat him. He was very strong. I couldn't even keep up with him. I was lucky that there was a lake for me to escape to."

Ariella gave me another hug and kissed me on the lips. I could still feel her wolf inside her so that calmed me down. "We have talked about David while you were still unconscious, Eli. Blaire told me that we just have to get back to any place with ample sunlight to escape from him. You see, the sunlight-repellent spell that Blaire cast on him would have already expired by now. David will need a witch to put the spell back on his skin, but he'll be lucky if he finds another witch at this point."

"That's a great point," I said. "Yeah. The only reason David could go anywhere in this place is because there is very little sunlight in this part of the world. But if he comes back to New Forks now, he will need to hide from the sun. We'll have the upper hand by then, Ariella, because we can attack him during daylight and he won't stand a chance against us."

Ariella nodded. "That's what we were thinking too, Eli. And Lawrence is with us too, so we could now go wherever we want using his ability. Darius has very useful powers too. He could hypnotize anybody or put them into a deep slumber. We plan on putting David to sleep and locking him up somewhere."

What Ariella said confused me. "Wait, did I hear that right? Why do we have to lock him up when we could just kill David? And why are we asking for his twin's help? Are we even sure that he'll help us? How sure are you that he's not an enemy?"

Ariella sighed. "Yeah, your concerns are valid, Eli. But Darius was with me in that castle and he never harmed me. He also told me their history... vampire history, I mean. I understood a lot of things and saw the war from their perspective too. They're victims too, Eli, so we don't have to kill David. We could just lock him up until he learns his lessons."

My jaw dropped when I heard that from her. I couldn't believe my ears. "Ariella, what are you talking about? Why are you getting so lenient with the vampires? Did that twin of David suggest all those things to you?"

"Huh? Yes, he did. Not all of it, but yes, he did suggest that instead of killing David—"

"And you listened to him?" I asked incredulously.

"W-Well, yes! Eli, you need to know about their history too and learn how they were once the people of the Moon Goddess too. That way you'll understand why I want David to live... It's for the future of both our races. If we keep on killing each other nothing will change in the next generation. We should establish a peace treaty between us---"

"I killed their parents and the other vampires, Ariella. And they killed my father and so many more like your ex, Kayden and his friends. Don't you think that it's a little too late for us to call a truce with them?"

Ariella paused for a moment before replying to me. "Eli, why are you angry? I'm just saying that maybe killing each other is not the answer to this war."

"I'm angry because I don't understand you, Ariella. David had kidnapped you— not once, but twice. He took your memories and locked you in impenetrable fortresses twice too. He hurt your father. He hurt me. They are the reason you no longer have a mother. David is clearly evil, so why do you still want him to live? He should die, Ariella. That's the only way we could obtain peace."

"But I want the vampires and werewolves to live in harmony, Eli!" she insisted. Her voice was shaking now as she looked at me. There was hurt in her eyes too and my wolf had begun its sad howling. "I don't want war to continue anymore! Someone has to start understanding the other!"

"But that aspiration could kill you!" I told her too. "Ariella, this is not the time to act like a saint. Not when David is still after us!"

"So what do you want me to do? Kill David? You want me to kill him while Lawrence and Darius are with us?"

"Why do you care about them, Ariella? They are vampires too!"

"Because they are good people! Not every vampire is evil, Eli!"

I tried to hold back because I didn't want to hurt her with my words. But something in her changed and I couldn't accept it and it hurt me. "Ariella... If I go and kill Darius right now, will you get mad at me?" I asked her quietly.

"Yes! Because that's not what I want you to do!"

"Then you want me to befriend them?" I said, and she didn't reply to that. She started crying again and something broke between us. "I'll kill anyone if I have to, Ariella, just to make you safe. If you still want me, leave these vampires and come with me."