Selene laughed, glad to know that Uriel was okay and glad to hear his voice. Her happiness began to vanish when white light covered her vision, and the lightheadedness came, bringing the dark urge. Rubbing her temples, she focused on her breathing as she tried to suppress it.

“Selene,” she heard Jason say, the confusion mixed with concern.

“It’s the Blood Hunger,” said Uriel.

“Selene, when was the last time you had any blood?”

“It’s been a while,” she said, fear constricting her lungs.

“Jason,” began Uriel, “do you still intern at the medical center?”

“Uh, y-yeah?”

“Do you have any extra supplies in-house?” There was an urgency in his voice that Selene didn’t like. She hated causing Uriel this much grief.

“N–no.”

“You need to run down there and snatch a bag now. I’ll stay here and help.” Selene’s eyes widened. She didn’t have to be a mind reader to know his thoughts.

“Dad—”

“Go!” Uriel’s voice bombarded against the light blue walls of the kitchen. She saw Jason shoot her a concerned look as he grabbed his keys and ran out the door.

“Uriel, you don’t have to—”

“Oh, shut up, Selene. You don’t have to carry the world’s weight on your shoulders, and you don’t always know what’s best, especially for yourself.” Uriel handed over his bare wrist. “Take enough until Jason returns.” Selene tried to pout or laugh at his stern face but could not. That left her with no other choice other than to bite down into his wrist.

The sweet and salty warm blood filled her mouth. Immediately, the dizziness began to recede. When it was nothing more than a tickle in the back of her head, she stopped. Licking her lips, she wiped up the blood that painted them red before grabbing the washcloth that hung on the cupboard door behind them. Selene placed it on his wrist, tightening it enough to cause pressure. She offered him a thankful smile.

“Why are you here, Selene?”

“I needed a place to stay.”

“You could have stayed with some Dark Witches.”

“I despise Darklings. They sicken me.”

“He is not Pietro.”

“I know that Uriel. He’s Jason, a completely different and better person.”

“Why didn’t you visit us after Pietro passed?”

“How could I face you after what I had done?”

“We understood, Selene. We are the reason you are still alive. The entire council vouched for you! All of them. We understood.”

“Fine then. I was angry at you.” She bit the inside of her mouth, angry for admitting the truth.

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to die.” Her voice was small, broken, just like her heart.

“You don’t mean that.”

“You didn’t see his body.” Turning away from his gaze, she inspected his wound, trying to focus her thoughts on something else just so that she didn’t need to remember the horrific image. “You’re bleeding out. I bit too hard. Apply pressure while I get something to help.”

Selene handed him his wrist, grabbed her duffel bag, and pulled out one of her smaller versions of Fairy Dust. She returned to the kitchen, grabbed a small diamond, and quickly crushed it on the table. Sprinkling some Fairy Dust over the crushed diamond, she bit her wrist to mix in some of her own blood. She twirled her finger in the mess she had made, mixing it together, then traced a healing rune on his wrist. Uriel’s wound healed up instantly.

“Selene?” muttered Uriel, pulling his wrist back.

“Yes?”

“Did you really mean that?”

Selene looked at him calmly, corking up her vial. “Yes.”

“How did Eris feel about that?”

“He wasn’t pleased. But you already know that Uriel.” Selene averted her gaze while she twirled the little vial in her hand.

“How is Eris anyway? Still carefree?”

Steadily, Selene tried to look at him but could not force her eyes to face him. “No. He’s different.”

“How,” he asked, pausing to study her face. “Selene, what’s wrong?”

“He’s different, Uriel,” she said in a firmer tone. “And it’s so sudden. He yells and demands everything. It’s his word and nothing else. He’s become controlling, vindictive, cruel. I flinch; I try not to. I’m scared, and I don’t want to be. I fear for my life.” Her voice dropped down to a whisper.

“Does he know about Jason, or are you putting my son’s life in danger?”

“Uriel, Jason’s life was put into danger the day he was born.”

“What are you going to do?”

Selene shrugged, sitting down to lean her head on the table. “Not much I can do except hide and keep him secret. I’ve tried to end whatever this is, but your son apparently doesn’t handle rejection well.”

“It’s obvious why, Selene. The real question is, do you feel the same?”

“I—I don’t know. I’m so confused. After Pietro died, I dedicated so many centuries to not feeling anything. Then I met him, and slowly, it came back. At first, I thought I had Pietro back, but I did not because Jason was as different as he could be! He’s not obnoxious or arrogant or invasive. Jason,” Selene paused to sigh, “he’s just Jason. All I know is that I want to be a part of his life.”

“I pray you figure it out soon. You deserve another chance.”

“Maybe. You know Miranda wants to kill me for what I did centuries ago. She reminds me too much of Katherine. Selfish and vile.”

“Let’s hope history does not repeat then.”

“Yes,” she began more to herself than to him, sitting in her chair. “Let’s pray.”

The front door opened, and Selene watched Jason run into the kitchen.

“Sorry, traffic was a pain.” He sat down and handed her two bags filled with blood. Selene smiled at him graciously.

“Thank you, Jason.” Selene watched him return her smile. Uriel coughed and stood up.

“I need to get to the Academy. Selene, please visit sometime. We all miss you. Urit included.”

“Tell her I said hello, and I’ll try to visit soon.”

“Very well. Jason, shouldn’t you be headed to school?”

“Right, um, let me grab my bag. Selene, you’ll be all right on your own, right?”

“I’m a Vampyre. Being on my own is sort of the lifestyle.” Smiling at him, she let him go quickly. Uriel looked at her briefly before closing the door behind them, a discernible look across his heavenly face.

The lock clicked, and Selene was left alone with her own dark thoughts. She stood momentarily, her hand on her chest, thinking of Jason. She fell to the floor in exhaustion and wished she wasn’t confused about him.