Chapter 5
Valen
Iwas still on cloud nine when I woke the next day.
Honestly, couldn’t remember the last time I’d had such a nice night.
Archer and I fucked three times before we finally called it a night and gone back to our respective parties.
There had been a lot of making out and a lot of booze, but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.
And the feeding I got from our sexual chemistry… fuck. I hadn’t felt this energetic and full of life in… well, over a century at least. The sexual energy I’d consumed in the night would easily last me a month or two. Maybe longer if I was careful not to spend a long period of time in full sun.
But as I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling of my faculty cottage, I couldn’t shake the lingering thoughts of those blue eyes and that perfect ass.
Christ, the way Archer had responded to my touch, the little sounds he’d made when I’d fucked him against that wall...
I was getting hard again just thinking about it.
I forced myself to get up and start my day. I had fencing tryouts to prepare for, and dwelling on a one-night stand with some human college kid wasn’t going to help me get the team ready for the season. Even if said college kid had been the best fuck I’d had in decades.
After a quick shower, during which I definitely did not think about Archer’s hands on my body or the way he’d tasted, I threw on some workout clothes and headed down to the athletic complex.
The fencing salle was empty this early in the morning, exactly how I liked it.
I could get some practice in before I started getting things ready for tryouts.
I selected one of my favorite sabres from the equipment room, testing its weight and balance with a few experimental cuts through the air. The familiar weight in my hand helped center me, pushing thoughts of blue-eyed strangers to the back of my mind where they belonged.
I’d been working through a series of advanced combinations for about twenty minutes when I heard slow clapping from the entrance to the salle.
“Very impressive,” came Lila’s amused voice. “Though I have to say, you seem unusually... energetic this morning.”
I lowered my sabre and turned to face her, not bothering to hide my exasperation. “Don’t you have your own friends to terrorize?”
“They’re asleep,” she said, practically floating down the steps toward where I stood. “Besides, I wanted to hear all about your mysterious disappearance last night. One minute you were talking to that gorgeous human, the next you’d both vanished into thin air.”
“We went for a walk,” I said carefully, returning to my practice routine.
“A walk.” Her tone was flat with disbelief. “Valen, you look like you’ve been fed by a five-course meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant. That wasn’t just a walk.”
Damn vampire senses. Of course she could tell I’d fed recently.
“Fine,” I conceded, executing a perfect lunge that would have taken my opponent’s head clean off. “We had sex. Several times. Are you happy now?”
Lila’s delighted laughter echoed through the empty salle. “Ecstatic! Finally, my uptight brother gets laid by… someone. That’s definitely an improvement for you.”
“He was just some college kid on vacation with his family,” I said, trying to keep my tone casual as I moved into a more complex sequence. “It was nothing special.”
“Uh-huh.” I could practically hear her smirk. “And that’s why you’ve been practicing the same combination for the past five minutes instead of actually focusing?”
I paused mid-thrust, realizing she was right. My mind kept drifting back to the way Archer had felt in my arms, the little gasps he’d made, the way his ass felt stretched around my cock…
“It was just a one-night stand, Lila,” I said firmly, more to convince myself than her. “I enjoyed it. Nothing more.”
“If you say so.” She hopped up to sit on one of the benches, swinging her legs like a child. “Though I have to admit, I’m curious about this human who managed to put such a spring in your step. Usually they aren’t that great of a feed. What was he like?”
I considered deflecting, but the truth was, I did want to talk about him. Even if it was just to get him out of my system.
“Smart,” I said, moving into a defensive stance.
“Funny. Had this way of bantering that kept me on my toes.” I executed a series of parries, imagining an invisible opponent.
“And the way he moved... there was something almost elegant about it. Like he’d been trained in some kind of formal discipline. ”
“Hmm.” Lila’s tone had shifted slightly, becoming more thoughtful. “Trained, in what?”
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “He said he was a communications major, but he moved like a dancer. And he was very fit.”
“Or maybe he did fencing,” Lila said casually, examining her nails. “That would explain the elegant movement and the fitness level.”
I froze mid-parry, the tip of my sabre wavering. “What did you say?”
“Fencing,” she repeated, looking up at me with suddenly sharp eyes. “You know, that sport you teach? The one that requires years of training to develop that kind of precise, controlled movement you just described?”
“What are the chances of that?” I said, laughing it off. He was probably an ice skater or something. He was definitely sassy enough to be one.
“How many ice skaters have you known?”
“None,” I sighed. “But I’ve been known to get on social media now and then when I’m off campus. I’m not a total hermit.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” She stood up from the bench and dusted off her jeans. “Wanna duel?”
“You know, you’re not very nice to me,” I retorted, giving her my best grumpy face.
“I asked if you wanted to duel, not about your feelings.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help grinning. “Fine. But don’t blame me when I kick your ass. I’m feeling pretty good today.”
“Oh please,” Lila scoffed, selecting a sabre from the rack with theatrical flourish. “I’ve been sword fighting longer than you’ve been teaching it.”
“By like, what, twenty years?” I moved to the center of the salle, falling into an en garde position. “That hardly counts when you spend most of your time terrorizing undergraduates instead of actually practicing. Besides, I’ve got a hundred years more life experience on you.”
“Terrorizing is such an ugly word,” she said, mirroring my stance with fluid grace. “I prefer ‘educating through creative intimidation.’ Besides, you know I’m just keeping them safe in case the Purity Front decides to get frisky again.”
We began with a few simple exchanges, testing each other’s reflexes and timing.
Lila was good, annoyingly good, but she fought with the kind of reckless aggression that came from knowing she could heal from almost anything.
I, on the other hand, had learned to fight when a mistake could actually kill you.
Swords were still heavily during my time before being turned.
“So,” she said, executing a particularly flashy attack that I parried with ease, “this mystery human of yours. Did you get his last name?”
“Nope,” I replied. “And before you ask, no, I’m not planning to look him up on social media like some lovesick teenager. I’m not that interested.”
“Again, could’ve fooled me.” She thrusted forward, aiming for my face, but I parried her away in time.
“So what’s the issue with him then? You thought he was hot, and the sex was good.
” She paused for a moment, her face curling up into a devilish grin.
“Was his dick really small?” she asked. “They make potions for that you know.”
“Illegal ones,” I replied, swatting her sabre so hard it nearly flew out of her hands. “And his dick was wonderful, if you must know.”
“Then what’s the problem?” she pressed, advancing with a series of quick cuts that forced me to give ground. “You found someone attractive, you had great sex, you fed well enough to last months. Sounds like a perfect night to me.”
I riposted with a thrust toward her shoulder that she barely managed to deflect.
“The problem is that I can’t stop thinking about him,” I admitted, the words coming out more forcefully than I’d intended.
“And that’s not like me, Lila. I don’t get attached to humans.
I certainly don’t spend the morning after fantasizing about seeing them again. ”
“Maybe that’s exactly what you need,” she said, her blade work becoming more aggressive as we moved across the floor. “When’s the last time you actually wanted to see someone again? Not just for feeding, but because you genuinely enjoyed their company?”
I parried her attack and stepped back, lowering my sabre slightly. The honest answer was never. In three centuries of existence, I’d perfected the art of meaningless encounters that satisfied my supernatural needs without creating complications. But Archer...
“He made me laugh,” I said quietly. “Really laugh. And when we were talking, I forgot for a while that I was supposed to be pretending to be human. It felt natural with him.”
Lila’s expression softened, and she lowered her own weapon. “Valen...”
“But it doesn’t matter,” I continued, raising my sabre again and falling back into position. “He thinks I’m some European college student, not a centuries-old vampire professor at a supernatural academy. Even if I wanted to see him again, which I don’t,” I added quickly, “it would be impossible.”
“Would it?” she asked, resuming her stance. “I mean, you could always—”
“No, I couldn’t,” I said, cutting her off.
“Even if I found him again, and we fell in love, it couldn’t last more than a decade or two.
When he’s thirty-five, people will think I look good for my age.
But when he’s forty-five, they’ll start asking questions.
And past fifty? Well, there’s just no way to hide it anymore.
Then I’ll have to leave him and we’ll both be broken-hearted.
He’ll get over it and find someone else, but I’ll remember him forever, Lila. ”
She stared at me for a long moment, her expression one of concern and deep understanding.
She knew exactly what I was facing because she was facing it too.
Eternity, alone. Vampires were decent company, but that’s all they could be.
It was impossible to feed off of one another and knowing someone for centuries wasn’t always a good thing.
Lila and I were good friends, but out of the hundreds of vampires I’d ever met, she was the only one I’d been able to stand all this time.
“You… You could turn him,” she offered, her voice barely above a whisper.
“No, I wouldn’t.” I dropped my sword to my side, looking her dead in the eyes.
“And besides, it’s not that easy. You and I were turned before the Elder Council put those laws in place.
Before vampires were even allowed in paranormal institutions.
There’s a reason they thought we were all actual monsters. ”
“If I turned someone without council approval, they’d hunt us both down and execute us.
And getting approval...” I shook my head.
“They’d want to know everything about him, his family, his magical lineage.
Except he doesn’t have one, because he’s human.
They’d never approve turning a mortal, no matter how I felt about him. ”
Lila’s face fell. “Right. I forgot about the new restrictions.”
“Besides,” I added, picking up my sabre again, “I barely know the guy. I’m not about to damn someone to an eternity of bloodlust and political bullshit based on one night of good sex, no matter how incredible it was.”
“Okay, okay,” she said, raising her hands in surrender. “Point taken. But maybe you could just... enjoy the memory? Instead of torturing yourself about all the reasons it can’t work?”
I considered that as we resumed our duel.
The truth was, I had been torturing myself a bit.
Picking apart every moment, every touch, every laugh we’d shared, as if analyzing it enough would somehow make it less meaningful.
But maybe Lila was right. Maybe I could just let it be what it was.
One perfect night with someone who made me feel human again, even if it was just for a moment.
“You know what the worst part is?” I said, executing a complex attack sequence that forced her to retreat toward the wall.
“What?”
“I didn’t even get his number.” I laughed, shaking my head at my own stupidity. “Three centuries of experience, and I forgot the most basic rule of modern hookups. If you want a repeat, get a number or at least an Instagram handle.”
“Well, that’s just tragic,” Lila said dryly, managing to slip past my guard with a quick thrust that would have caught me in the ribs if we weren’t using practice weapons. “Though knowing you, you probably would have stared at his contact information for weeks without ever actually calling.”
She wasn’t wrong. I had a habit of overthinking things to death, especially when it came to anything resembling emotional attachment. It was safer that way. Lonelier, but safer.
“Alright, enough psychiatry,” I said, stepping back and lowering my weapon. “I need to get the salle ready for tryouts. Are you planning to come back and terrorize the hopefuls, or do you have other people’s days to ruin this week?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t miss this,” she grinned, settling back onto the bench. “Watching you try to focus on coaching while daydreaming about mystery boy’s ass should be highly entertaining.”
I was about to respond with something appropriately cutting when the door to the complex opened and athletic students began filtering in for the day.
My stomach did an odd little flip as I realized that I’d have to put on my professional demeanor and pretend I hadn’t spent the morning reminiscing about the best sex of my very long life.
Time to get back to reality.