29. Orexigenic
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
OREXIGENIC
Saya Claymore
Hunger reminds me I’m human, in a way. Still, as I open the top cupboard in Serun’s kitchen, my frown deepens at the can of creamy mushroom soup.
Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to have a nightwalker who doesn’t need human food to choose something for me. With an irritable sigh, I grab the can, peel the lid open, slop the soup into a bowl, and slide it into the microwave.
With many more buttons than the one I had at Cherry Bloom, I ignore them and just nuke the soup for four minutes. Like a cat watching birds fly freely outside, I stare at the warming soup, counting down the seconds.
My stomach grumbles, warning me once more that I need to eat.
In the corner of my eye, Penumbra lurks in silence. They’re always in the corner of my vision down here. They do not want anyone to see them fully, but I sense their presence like I do Serun; a tingling sensation prickling up my arms.
Olivia grabs the empty can and slouches against the counter beside me. “What does mushroom soup taste like again?”
Serun invited her here to eat, and he wants her to follow us while we are on our date. I didn’t ask why. I’m not entirely sure Olivia knows why, either.
“Salty,” I reply, watching the timer drop to under a minute. “And creamy, with chunks of disgust.”
Her focus lifts from the can. “You don’t like it?”
“No, but it is all I have left until Serun returns and we go on our…” Tightness lodges in my throat, and the word becomes trapped. It’s something so mundane, yet my heart speeds up a little, and I’m gripped by excitement.
The timer on the microwave goes off, and I grab the towel hanging from the oven door.
Wrapping it around the steaming bowl, I lift it and close the microwave with my elbow, then set the bowl down on the island.
Penumbra moves, prowling in the shadows by the window, their taloned hands twitching in the corner of my eye.
As I search for a spoon, Olivia places the can on the counter and says, “That blood you gave me yesterday. Do you by chance know whose it was?”
My tongue rolls along my top teeth, gliding across my fangs before I lie. “No, I don’t.”
“It was from Darkovish Feeding Ground. The one rumoured to no longer exist because of the red moon?” She says it like a question, perhaps unsure if it’s true.
Olivia straightens, and her hands rest on the edge of the counter.
“Damn, it was the best blood I’ve ever tasted.
I doubt blood like that comes by often.”
Nerves prickle across my hairline near my ears, and I suppress the shudder that wants to rise at the idea of my blood being particularly desirable.
I stir the soup, breaking up the brown skin formed on the surface. “Did you know about the red moon before becoming a nightwalker?”
She shakes her head. “My first master taught me. He told me that every decade, the red moon rises, and creatures swarm the vicinity.”
“And you can only see the red moon in that location?” I grimace at the slimy mushroom congealing in my mouth. “Makes sense, I suppose, considering I’ve never seen it before…” I take another bite to hide my mistake. No one can know I was there.
“I thought my old master was telling fables, but after hearing of how the creatures were strong enough to slaughter an entire feeding ground, I believe it enough.” Olivia drums her fingernails on the marble counter. “Where did Lord Serun find you?”
“In a village near Mire,” I lie quickly. I’ve been practising that falsehood as I knew many would ask. I am a curiosity, and I know nightwalkers are observant.
Olivia cocks her head to the side, a wave of messy curls falling down her shoulder. “I assume you don’t actually want to be here because Serun caged you?”
I shrug. “It’s more his actions…Although, he seems to make up for them enough that I enjoy his company. Enough to entertain this da—”
It’s just a word, Saya.
Olivia barks a laugh. “Don’t be coy. You’re curious about what his cock looks like, too, huh?”
I smile, only for it to plummet. Straightening, I clutch the pendant hanging around my neck. What if I get close to Olivia then lose her too?
Before I can think more on it, the doors open—silent, only seen and not heard. Olivia remains oblivious, asking me about my meal. Except I cannot focus now. Shadows curl across the edges of the frame, and Serun, in his creature form, stands behind her.
His shadows split into claws, and his red eyes drill into the back of her skull as if the mere sight of her is a threat.
“It must have been good—you’ve devoured it,” Olivia says, leaning down to sniff the bowl.
She’s right. I left no particle uneaten. Still, my stomach still grumbles, demanding that I eat more. “It was okay. I’d rather eat something else.”
“Then shall we roam the Undercity?” Serun says, his voice low—a whisper in my pricked ears that burrows into the skin.
Olivia jumps and whirls around, but as she does, Serun breaks into wisps of shadows, a low chuckle rising behind me. He grabs my empty bowl and sets it in the sink.
“I find it odd that you cling to your humanity, newborn,” Serun says.
Olivia snaps her attention to me, her eyes widening at Serun now standing beside me.
“Yet, perhaps that is the reason I accepted Saya’s request to keep you alive.
” His hand fits perfectly over mine, his claws consuming.
“Follow us and watch our surroundings. This is Saya’s first time roaming, and I want it to go smoothly. ”
Smoothly?
“Will they try to attack me?”
Serun chuckles low. “No, but some may become overexcited by your presence and try to get closer than I would like.”
“I’ve heard that you kill anyone who tries to touch you,” Olivia says, voice shaky.
Guided by Serun, we move around the counter, and as the doors open with shadows, he responds, “I’ve killed for far less.”
His words should be alarming, but as we leave the manor and excited murmurs begin to stir on the other side of the tunnel into the Undercity, my fingers slip between his, tightening.
They are all strangers. Faces in a crowd that follows Serun.
To them, I may very well be an extension of him.
A pretty, shiny item that the Nightwalker Lord has claimed as his.