Chapter 584: Blood and Women.
Liza and Elizabeth were sitting in the inner garden of the vampire palace when night had already settled completely over the kingdom. The place was silent, surrounded by dark rosebushes, precisely pruned trees, and paths of black stone that reflected the soft light of red lanterns suspended between iron arches. At the center of that scenery, the two women shared a small ornate metal table, upon which rested a bottle of dark wine and two almost full glasses.
Liza maintained a straight posture, with the cold elegance of someone born to occupy a throne. Her long white hair fell down her back and over her shoulders like a pale cascade, creating a striking contrast with the black dress that molded her body with severe sophistication.
The fabric, fitted at the waist and wider at the legs and sleeves, was crossed by red details that resembled living filigree, as if the dress itself had been embroidered with threads of blood.
Upon her head, a black crown of metallic thorns rose in aggressive shapes, adorned with small ruby details that reinforced her regal presence. Her eyes, though in the original painting they might have seemed golden, were an intense and deep red, the red of an ancient bloodline, lucid and dangerous.
Elizabeth, seated across from her, seemed younger, but no less noble. Her hair was long and pale, somewhere between very pale blond and white, falling in soft waves over her shoulders and chest.
Her red eyes shone with more warmth than Liza’s, though the contained serenity on her face made it clear there was also steel beneath that delicate beauty. She wore a refined black dress, fitted at the bust and waist, with a dark skirt that fell in restrained volume, combined with black lace gloves that gave her an aristocratic air. A red bow adorned her neckline, fastened by a ruby jewel, while a small crown tilted upon her head suggested the weight of the position she carried, even without occupying the main throne. With a glass of wine in one hand, Elizabeth seemed at once a princess and a survivor.
For a few moments, neither of them spoke. The discreet sound of the wind passing through the dark leaves of the garden filled the space between them, along with the faint clink of glass when Liza turned her wineglass between her fingers. She was the one who broke the silence first, without taking her eyes off the wine.
"Most of the traitors who blindly followed Vlad’s orders and the madness of that period have already been fully executed."
Elizabeth lowered her gaze to her own glass before answering. There was no happiness in the information, only acceptance.
"I did not want it to come to this," she said, her voice low but firm. "But there were too many radicals. People who do not accept that vampires are in a delicate situation, especially with humanity. For many of them, a momentary outbreak was enough for the entire kingdom to show its claws."
Liza nodded silently, taking a small sip of wine before speaking again.
"We have lived in peace for too long." Her tone came out calm, but loaded with exhaustion. "Peace enough to weaken the judgment of many. The hunger of vampires is not being satisfied only with animal blood and the blood bought from the Human Empire. That keeps the body functioning, but it does not calm the instinct. It does not satisfy the oldest part of our nature."
Elizabeth raised her eyes to Liza, carefully observing the queen’s expression.
"Is that why you asked Kael to come to a meeting?"
Liza placed the glass on the table with care, then leaned back slightly in her chair.
"Yes." The answer came simply. "I want to see him with my own eyes. I want to understand what kind of man became the King of Witches. And, more than that, I want to know if he can ask Queen Eleonor for help in creating something that truly helps our people."
Elizabeth tilted her head, following the reasoning.
"Something to replace blood?"
"Not replace it completely," Liza corrected. "But satiate. Ease it. Reduce the internal pressure that leads many of us to act on impulse or desperation. Blood, in the end, can be created. Refined. Altered. The issue was never only biological. It is magical as well."
Elizabeth remained silent for a few seconds, absorbing that. The night seemed denser around her, as if the garden itself understood the gravity of the subject.
"If it works, that would change everything," she said. "It would change the relationship with humanity. It would change the internal position of the clans. It would even change the way the ancients see the kingdom’s future."
Liza released a short, tired sigh.
"Exactly why I need to try. I cannot rebuild the throne only by executing traitors and putting nobles back in their places. If the foundation continues rotting, the kingdom will collapse again. Perhaps not tomorrow, perhaps not under my reign, but it will."
Elizabeth watched the queen then with softer attention. There was something lonely in the way Liza carried those decisions. The weight of the throne seemed even greater after almost losing it.
"Have you considered that perhaps some clans will not accept this? Not even if it comes from the Queen of Witches?"
Liza let out a low laugh, without humor.
"I do not expect immediate acceptance. I expect usefulness. If it works, even the proudest will have to recognize results. The people may hate the origin of a solution, but they do not ignore something that keeps their children from going mad with hunger."
Before Elizabeth could answer, discreet footsteps sounded along the stone path. A maid of impeccable posture approached in respectful silence, carrying a small silver tray. Upon it was a letter sealed with dark wax and the crest of the witch continent.
The maid stopped at a proper distance, bowed, and extended the tray.
"Your Majesty. A response from the Witch Continent."
Liza raised an eyebrow, but maintained her composure. She took the letter calmly, broke the seal, and opened the paper beneath the red light of the lanterns. Her red eyes moved quickly over the contents, wasting no movement. Elizabeth watched her in silence, waiting.
For a few seconds, Liza’s face remained unreadable. Then she folded the letter again and placed it on the table beside her glass.
"He accepted the meeting."
Elizabeth slowly released the air, as if she had not even noticed she was holding her breath.
"Then he is coming."
Liza nodded.
"Yes. And that means that very soon, we will discover whether the King of Witches is merely another name surrounded by stories... or someone capable of changing the fate of an entire kingdom."
While Liza and Elizabeth remained beneath the silent night of the vampire palace, very far away, Kael was facing a completely different kind of diplomatic pressure.
He was lying on the wide sofa of the Ainsworth mansion, his head resting on a dark cushion and an expression of absolute surrender on his face. Sylphie lay over his chest, occupying the space with the naturalness of someone who had waited more than a hundred years to claim that place. Irelia was leaning against one side of him, elegant even at rest, but with her fingers intertwined with his as if that were a silent affirmation. Amelia, on the other side, remained partially inclined over his shoulder, pretending to read one of the reports spread over the table, though her eyes returned to Kael every few seconds.
The situation seemed peaceful.
It was not.
Kael knew that from the silence.
Not the comfortable silence from before, but that dangerous silence that appeared when three women were thinking the same thing and waiting for him to have enough sense to guess. As always, he chose to pretend ignorance for a few moments, just to see how far it would go.
Sylphie was the first to speak.
"I am going with you."
Kael closed his eyes.
"I knew it."
Irelia raised her face slightly.
"I am going too."
Amelia turned a page of the report without truly reading it.
"I am as well."
Kael remained motionless for a few seconds. Then he slowly opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling of the room, as if searching for some answer written among the decorative reliefs.
"What a surprise."
Sylphie lifted her chin from his chest, staring at him with very serious green eyes.
"Do not use that tone."
"What tone?"
"The tone of someone who thinks he is going to say no and survive the conversation."
Irelia let out a low laugh.
Amelia placed the report on the table delicately.
"She is correct. Your chances are small."
Kael looked at the three of them, one by one.
"I am going to a political meeting."
"With the Queen of the Vampires," Sylphie said.
"And with Princess Elizabeth involved," Irelia added.
"Both described in reports as figures of notable beauty, aristocratic presence, and considerable influence," Amelia completed, with cruel calm.
Kael slowly turned his face toward her.
"Why was that detail in the report?"
Amelia maintained her serene expression.
"Relevant diplomatic information."
"Notable beauty is relevant diplomatic information?"
"When it involves you, yes," Irelia said.
Sylphie nodded firmly.
"Extremely relevant."
Kael fell silent.
Then released a long, tired sigh.
"I am going to investigate a conspiracy that manipulated the Vampire King, caused a massacre, nearly destroyed political treaties, and may involve an organization dangerous enough to control an entire monarchy."
Sylphie kept staring at him.
"And beautiful women."
"That is not the point."
"Maybe not for you."
"It should not be for anyone."
Irelia rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes shining with contained amusement.
"Kael, you need to understand there is a history."
"I hate when you use the word history."
"Because it always works," Amelia said.
Sylphie placed a hand over his chest and spoke in a falsely innocent tone.
"You meet a powerful woman. The powerful woman has some mortal, political, or cosmic problem. You decide to help. At some point, she starts looking at you in a dangerous way. Then all of us have to pretend surprise."
Kael opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
"That is an absurd simplification."
Irelia raised an eyebrow.
"But is it wrong?"
Kael looked to Amelia, hoping for some help.
Amelia merely tilted her head.
"I would say it is summarized, but functional."
"Betrayal," he murmured.
Sylphie smiled, but there was real jealousy behind the joke. Not childish jealousy, nor insecurity enough to doubt him. It was something more intimate. She had spent a century away, returned to a world where Kael already carried bonds, titles, responsibilities, and important women around him. Even understanding all of that rationally, part of her still wanted to grab him by the collar and declare that he would stay away from any red-eyed vampire queen in an elegant dress.
Kael noticed.
He always noticed.
That was why his expression softened. The hand that had been on Sylphie’s waist rose to her white hair, stroking it carefully.
"I am not going there because of Liza."
Sylphie looked away for an instant.
"I know."
"I am not going there because of Elizabeth."
"I know."
"I am going because people died. Because something wrong is happening in the Vampire Kingdom. Because if there is some organization manipulating kings and pushing entire races toward massacres, it will not stop with the vampires."
The mood of the room diminished a little.
Irelia, who until then had seemed only to tease him, became more serious. Amelia too. Both already knew this side of Kael. It was enough for him to mention the dead, and the joke began to share space with a much deeper concern.
Sylphie rested her forehead against his chest.
"I know," she repeated, this time lower. "But I still want to go."
Kael stroked her hair for a few seconds.
"Out of jealousy?"
"Also."
He let out a short laugh.
"I appreciate the honesty."
Sylphie raised her face.
"But not only because of that. I spent too much time away from everything. Away from you, away from them, away from the real problems of the world. If you are going to enter something dangerous, I do not want to stay behind waiting for news like before."
Irelia nodded slowly.
"Neither do I."
Kael looked at her.
Irelia held his gaze, more serious now.
"The Ainsworth family is involved. My grandfather received part of the information, and the mansion can be used as neutral territory. If the meeting happens here or under my family’s protection, my presence makes sense."
Amelia crossed her legs elegantly.
"And I can help with the political reading of the situation. Vampires do not speak only with words. They speak with precedence, silence, posture, who serves the wine, who stands, and who sits first."
Kael looked at her for a few seconds.
"That was actually useful."
"I know."
"I do not like when you have good arguments."
"We know that too."
Sylphie smiled against his chest.
Kael looked back at the ceiling, clearly realizing that defeat was inevitable. The problem was not only their jealousy. If it were only that, perhaps he would still try to argue. The problem was that each one had a legitimate reason to go. Sylphie had strength and did not want to be left behind. Irelia had a political connection to the mansion and the reports. Amelia had diplomatic knowledge and enough perception to notice subtle traps.
And besides all that, the three of them were on top of him, surrounding him from every side.
That made any authoritative posture difficult.
"Did you realize you are literally trapping me on the sofa to win an argument?"
Sylphie smiled.
"Does it work?"
"Unfortunately."
Irelia tightened her fingers around his.
"Then agree."
Amelia completed:
"Before we need to present more arguments."
Kael closed his eyes for an instant.
"Fine. You are going."
Sylphie opened a satisfied smile.
Irelia looked elegantly victorious.
Amelia simply picked up her cup of tea, as if the result had always been inevitable.
"But," Kael said.
The three looked at him.
"We are establishing some rules."
Sylphie narrowed her eyes.
"Rules?"
"Yes. First, no one starts a diplomatic war because the Queen of the Vampires smiled suspiciously."
Irelia looked at Sylphie.
Sylphie looked at Amelia.
Amelia looked at Irelia.
Kael sighed.
"I am talking to all of you."
"Fair," Amelia said.
"Second," he continued. "No one threatens to turn the mansion garden into a murderous forest if Elizabeth is too polite to me."
Sylphie looked away.
Kael looked directly at her.
"Sylphie."
"I have not promised anything yet."
"Promise."
"I will consider it."
"That is not a promise."
"It is the most I offer before meeting the beautiful vampire women."
Irelia brought a hand to her lips to hide her laugh.
Kael pointed at her.
"Third, no passive-aggressive comments about notable beauty in the middle of the meeting."
Irelia raised an eyebrow.
"And if it is diplomatically necessary?"
"It will not be."
"You do not know that."
"I do."
Amelia tilted her head, thoughtful.
"And if Queen Liza tries to seduce you politically?"
Kael looked at her.
"What does it mean to seduce politically?"
"To use charm, verbal intimacy, strategic praise, and calculated vulnerability to obtain advantage."
Sylphie immediately rose.
"She can do that?"
Amelia nodded.
"It is quite common in vampiric courts."
Kael covered his face with one hand.
"Why did I ask?"
Irelia moved a little closer, clearly amused by his suffering.
"Because, deep down, you knew you needed us."
"I needed peace."
"You chose a very wrong life for that."
Sylphie lay back down over him, now with a determined expression.
"Then I will stay at your side during the meeting."
Kael moved his hand away from his face.
"As a bodyguard?"
"As a jealous wife."
"That is not an official function."
"It will be when I become the next World Tree."
Amelia seemed to consider it seriously.
"Technically, it would be difficult to contest."
Irelia nodded.
"A divine title has diplomatic weight."
Kael stared at the three of them in silence.
Then began to laugh.
There was no avoiding it. The entire situation was too absurd. He was about to negotiate with the Queen of the Vampires about a political crisis involving mental manipulation, massacres, and racial hunger, while three women seriously discussed the possibility of Sylphie using her future cosmic title to justify official jealousy.
His laughter made Sylphie smile, even while she tried to remain serious.
"Are you laughing at me?"
"I am laughing at my life."
"It is almost the same thing."
"A little."
Irelia placed her hand over his.
"Seriously, Kael. We are going because we care. The jealousy exists, of course, but it is not only that."
Amelia nodded, her tone calmer as well.
"You do not need to enter a room full of vampires carrying everything alone."
Sylphie touched his face.
"And if some beautiful queen tries to look at you too much, I will deal with it afterward."
Kael looked at her.
"Sylphie."
"What? I said afterward."
Irelia and Amelia laughed.
Kael sighed, but the smile remained on his lips. He knew the meeting would be dangerous. He knew Liza probably had not called him only out of hope or goodwill. He knew Elizabeth, Vlad, the massacre, and the ancient clans formed a web that still hid enough venom to kill many people.
But in that moment, with Sylphie on his chest, Irelia holding his hand, and Amelia sitting at his side with a gaze far too calm for someone about to enter vampire diplomacy, Kael felt something rare.
Not peace.
That would be an exaggeration.
But company.
And perhaps, for someone like him, that was already almost enough.
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