Alright.

So as far as reveals went, this wasn't one of Caius's best ideas.

He had done it once by acting like a tortured monster who had no self-control and preyed on his lover's compassion and—to be crass—horniness at the moment.

He had done it gently once like someone opening up about a secret shame—even though he absolutely loved what he was—hoping he'd be accepted.

He had done it once like it was a secret to be drawn out of him by someone hoping to win his trust.

And in all those ways, all sincere in their own right even if they had some kind of 'act' mixed in, Caius had never gone out of his way to portray the image of 'terrifying predator' as he did just now.

Vampire eyes are not shrouded by Darkness. Because they are nocturnal creatures, their eyes are practically made for the dark so they glow. Very brightly in fact, giving off an eerie and potentially scary feel. Their fangs also react to any bit of light—even those coming from their eyes—to give off glints and highlight their wicked piercing ability.

Why did Caius think this was the way to do this? He had no idea.

He actually took all night deciding and, somehow, despite him having it in his head that he had to be cautious, he decided a horror display was exactly what he needed.

Or maybe he just didn't want to redo the same reveals he had done previously. Maybe he wanted something fresh to try. Even if it happened to fuck everything up.

All in all, Caius had been sure of his choice of reveal. That was until he actually did it and watched Aylin just stand in place for what felt like a minute.

Finally starting to see the problem with his manner of reveal, Caius flicked his wrist and retrieved a Mana Lamp that he turned on and held close to his face so Aylin could see it better.

"Aylin, it's really me," he said as though his identity was in contest. Or that his eyes were not still red and his fangs weren't still glinting.

Aylin just furrowed her brows. Squinting at the Mana lamp.

"Yes, I know it's you," she said and stepped closer, "I called your name when I walked in here, remember?"

"Yeah, but you were quiet…" Caius started to say with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"No, I wasn't," she said.

"Yes you were," Caius insisted.

"No, I wasn't. I walked in, you turned around and then introduced yourself like I couldn't already tell," Aylin said.

Caius opened his mouth to contest that but then he realized, she was right. She hadn't gone silent. He had only thought she had because of his impatience.

'I'm really not doing this right, am I?' He asked in his head, envisioning his actions to have been spastic from Aylin's perspective.

Speaking of which, she had taken more steps closer now, looking at the hand holding his Mana Lamp up. His fingers were tipped with claws that were every bit as sharp as the fangs in his mouth.

"So… is all this for show to try and give me a scare?" She asked, looking up at his face,

"Or are you what you look like you are?"

"I am," Caius answered in a low voice that Aylin had no trouble hearing.

Aylin nodded.

While she had never met a Vampire in person, she had seen and heard descriptions of them. They get hunted a lot in the Khione Duchy. Or the North of the Acheron Empire in general. Vampires seem to naturally love the cold. It might have something to do with shorter daytime making it more comfortable to walk in. Even without Moonstone Rings.

Or it might be that cold is the opposite of hot which is associated with the sun. I.e the most natural occurring Vampire-Killer. Many even claim the cold to be a part of the domain of Nyx, the Goddess of Primordial Darkness, the creator of Vampires. And they're not wrong.

Because heat is also a part of the domain of Aether, her Divine sister and eternal enemy.

In any case, compared to other regions of the Acheron Empire, the North technically suffers more 'Vampire infestations'. Which makes knowing about them not so uncommon.

Of course, since Vampires can hide their Vampiric features—the eyes, the claws, the fangs—once they show the obvious telling signs, it might already be too late.

The moment those red eyes turned around and looked at her, Aylin remembered a conversation she had heard with a Khione Family Matron when she was eight;

"… It might already be too late."

"But isn't that true for anyone?" She had asked.

"What do you mean, Princess?"

"Well, it's not just Vampires who are threatening, is it? What about humans? Or the other races?" Young Aylin had asked.

"Vampires are different?" The Matron said.

"But how are they different?" Aylin insisted, "Anyone can hide how strong they are. I've seen— I've felt mother do it.

If 'normal people' come at me, smile at me, make me believe they are good only to turn around and attack, what hope would I have?

And how is that any different from a Vampire who's hiding who they really are?

It all just seems like a shitty situation either way so why act like one is worse than the other?

Why not just try to avoid terrible people totally? Vampire or not?"

The Matron paused and then smiled as she stroked Aylin's grey-white locks.

"Princess is growing so fast. You string your words together better than most adults."

Young Aylin had pouted. Because she had actually wanted an answer. Maybe the Matron didn't have an answer. Or maybe she decided not to humor the eight-year-old anymore. Either way, it was frustrating.

That was over a decade ago and while Aylin didn't think her younger self was wrong, she felt there was more she hadn't considered;

There are worse things than death.

A human/humanoid enemy may kill you. It may take a while but the goal will still be to kill you. But a Vampire might spare you and turn you. And once you are turned, you are compelled to obey your creator and are doomed to an eternity in their service. An eternity of sanguine servitude.

Aylin might have said she had no idea why those thoughts came to mind but that would be such an obvious lie. The reason those thoughts came to mind was right in front of her. With Blood red eyes and fangs that seemed hungry to pierce her skin.

So why did that make her hot?

Aylin had never fantasized about Vampires. She had never romanticized blood sucking. Which is significant because there were some in the Khione Duchy who did. In fact, as far as Aylin had heard, it's a kind of fetish where they actually pay to have a Vampire feed on them.

Those kinds of people are referred to as 'sickos' and hide their strange desires lest they be shunned by society.

Aylin would never have thought in a million years that she'd actually see where they were coming from. Because now she thought; If the Vampires they sought out to be fed on by, were even a quarter of the perfection of Caius, they just might not be as crazy as she had ever thought them to be.

Or maybe she was just as much of a sicko as they were. Because she stared at those fangs and the sense of danger they provided only heightened what she had always held tight in her heart.

"Oh Caius," she said with a sigh as she raised a hand and touched his cheek,

"You'll be the death of me."

Caius cocked his head to the side now, looking confused.

"Are you alright?" He asked in that silky voice of his. In his vampiric form, he looked like a wolf trying to lull a lamb into a false sense of security.

And again, it made Aylin so fucking hot.

There were questions she had. She also felt some anger that he took this long to tell/show her and then she wondered if he just hadn't trusted her. And then she was angry at the thought that he hadn't.

But all that would have to wait.

There was a reason they were here and she'd be damned if she let his reveal sabotage it.

"Just shut up and kiss me," she said and pulled him by his shirt to smack their lips as hard as she possibly could.

If his fangs happened to pierce her lips and draw blood in the process? Well, all the bloody better.

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