Onbekend(80)

“Do you trust him?” Devin asked. Arianna nodded. It was his blood that changed her to begin with. He could have poisoned her then. And she could not deny the loving feeling she felt before continuing to radiate from him.

Andrew’s hand gently stroked the side of her face. Arianna closed her eyes and felt the rush of his blood through his veins. Without thinking, Arianna took his wrist and bit down.





TWENTY-SEVEN




Arianna walked back out to the party of people that hated the dearg-dul they felt feeding inside the house. The mood changed as she returned, for they sensed the new, and very powerful, baku. Arianna sat beside her uncle and tried to ignore the curious glances she received throughout the meal. She tried to follow the conversation he was having with Rafael, but her mind kept wandering to Andrew, who sat silently beside his obviously upset uncle. He didn’t fear her dearg-dul form, even as she was taking his blood. He merely smiled and thanked her when she was done. As blood was brought to the tables for a toast, a flash of dearg-dul instinctively washed over her. Arianna tried to suppress her dearg-dul form as the people around her hissed their disapproval. Arianna pushed away the glass of blood in front of her and stood up.

“I need to use the restroom,” she said, her uncle stared curiously.

Arianna walked back into the house and didn’t go down the hallway to the bathroom. Inside she turned and walked back into the family room where Andrew had been waiting earlier. He was right. It had the best views. She walked back to the window where there was a good view of the people outside.

“Not enjoying your party?” Gabriel asked, as he silently followed her. He wasn’t far behind her when she entered the house.

“Not really. This sort of thing just isn’t for me,” she replied.

“And that has nothing to do with how the people out there react to your dearg-dul form?” Gabriel knew the truth.

“How can they hate a part of me but love the other part?” Arianna wondered, not really looking for a reply. “Dearg-dul,” Arianna turned into a dearg-dul and immediately felt the seething hatred from the people at the party before reverting back to human. “Or baku.” Arianna turned into her new baku form and felt the overwhelming love. Arianna returned to her human form and looked at her uncle. “Your response doesn’t change. Why can you look beyond what I am and they can’t?”

“I wasn’t raised to hate dearg-duls, as this generation was. You know that I was a friend of your grandfather’s long ago. I may be leading the war against him, but I hate neither him, nor his followers.” Arianna nodded at the facts she already knew, but it still didn’t change the situation. “Besides,” Gabriel added. “You are not just a dearg-dul or just a baku. You are both, and you will always be both. In dearg-dul form you can walk through daylight like a baku can. I’m just guessing, but I bet you can change into baku form even during the day just like a dearg-dul can. You cross the boundaries between the two night humans. There’s nothing for me to fear or dislike. You are you.”

Arianna reverted back to her dearg-dul form and closed her eyes. She could still feel traces of her baku blood running through her veins. Opening her blue dearg-dul eyes, she stared over at her uncle. “I can feel it. You are right. I’m both at one time.” Arianna closed her eyes again and tried to change over to her new baku form. Arianna noticed, as she opened her eyes, that her uncle actually looked surprised as he stared back. Arianna felt the change. Where she had been mostly dearg-dul and a little baku before, she was now evenly split. “This is my true form, isn’t it?” Gabriel smiled and nodded.

“You are not one or the other, you’re both,” Gabriel replied.

“Took her long enough to figure that out,” Devin replied, stepping from the shadows.

“I couldn’t explain to her how to do that,” Gabriel replied. “She truly is the first of her kind.”

Arianna continued to stare at Devin. She closed her eyes and opened them again. Arianna didn’t doubt the connection she was feeling. Arianna could sense his blood without seeing him, and knew exactly how far away he was. Arianna closed her eyes and searched the party. Turner was standing outside the doorway, and Andrew was still sitting beside his uncle. Things felt different now. She could always sense her uncle before and those she had drank their blood, but now she was even sensing the slightest movements as Andrew flicked his hair out of his eyes. Arianna turned back to Devin and her uncle.

“It seems she can control it now,” Gabriel explained to Devin. “She didn’t even use any of her blood to do that.” Devin smiled.