The room door closed with a soft click, and as it did, it was as if a heavy weight disappeared from the air.
After their talk, Nyx had left, leaving Malakai alone with his thoughts.
But unlike what one might expect, as she left, Malakai suddenly exhaled heavily, trying hard to calm his trembling heart. He gazed down at his arm, still gripping the handle of his scythe tightly.
His grip was slippery, damp with sweat that had gathered from how tightly he’d been holding it.
Although he had spoken with Nyx calmly just seconds ago, only Malakai knew how much effort it had taken just to keep his composure.
She was the Red Eclipse. A Bloom. Her gaze alone, when it landed on him, had sent a shudder through his body.
‘I’m sure she felt it.’
Throughout the entire interaction, his heart had been beating out of control, and as a Bloom, there was no way she wouldn’t have sensed it.
‘I’m glad it went well…’ Malakai thought as he sat down on his bed. He was relieved everything had turned out for the best.
After their talk, after he’d accepted for Nyx to serve him, she had left the room to begin manning the manor. And as a Bloom, Malakai had no doubt his safety was assured.
Then, Valentine also “settled” onto the bed beside him, but since his body was made purely of vita, he phased through the bed and down to the floor.
“Ahhhh—Malakai!!!”
Malakai slapped a palm against his head, exasperated.
‘You’re. Not. Fucking. Real…’ he muttered in his head.
Now that Nyx was manning the manor, he had to be cautious with his actions. Just because she served him now didn’t mean he had any intention of telling her everything.
‘There’s still too many unanswered questions about her… until then…’
The life she had lived with him until now, it had all been a lie. And now, it felt like he was meeting someone completely new. Someone he knew nothing about. And that made him more wary than anything.
‘But I still need her.’
Malakai shook his head and turned to Valentine, who was now floating upward slowly, scratching the back of his head awkwardly with a sheepish look.
Malakai’s earlier words had clearly reminded him that, regardless of anything, he couldn’t actually be hurt.
Meeting Malakai’s cold stare, Valentine cleared his throat and said,
“See? I told you she could be trusted. I’m good with people, you should listen to me more.”
Malakai narrowed his eyes. ‘She can’t be trusted fully. I don’t know anything about her.’
“Yes, yes, that’s right,” Valentine said quickly, waving it off. “But it’s still great news! Now you have someone powerful to help you!”
Malakai didn’t answer.
Valentine floated closer. “Now all you have to do is treat her nicely so she’ll stay loyal to you.”
His eyes turned serious.
“You have to learn how to smile, Malakai.”
Malakai’s gaze sharpened. ‘Who says I can’t?’
Valentine chuckled. “Come on, stop with the jokes. I’m being serious here.”
Malakai stared at the insane spirit for a few long seconds, then shook his head and looked away.
But Valentine wasn’t done. “This is important, Malakai. If you keep treating everyone coldly… how do you expect them to stay?”
Malakai tuned him out completely and took a deep breath, steadying his nerves. He understood what Valentine was saying. But his current expression, his entire demeanor, had been forged through the hell he’d endured growing up in the Sanguine. It wasn’t something he could easily change.
He shifted his thoughts.
‘I should think about my next course of action.’
Malakai had different topics he needed to address immediately.
The first was the Sovereign’s condition.
‘The first in the Fresh Blood Ranking.’
To reach that height, he would have to surpass the other veins already in the rankings.
‘They’re all still below twenty.’
The Fresh Blood Ranking was only for youths between the ages of twelve and twenty. And currently, the oldest veins weren’t even twenty yet, yet from the bits Malakai had heard, they were already topping the charts.
‘I have to join as soon as possible.’
That brought him to his next step. If he wanted to enter the Fresh Blood Ranking, there was only one path.
‘The Hunt.’
The Hunt. It was tradition to the Sanguine Clan.
It was a region-wide event held every two years in the West, open to every youth from the various clans who had evolved between the ages of twelve and fifteen. They were placed in a massive forest and forced to battle darkness creatures.
The Hunt meant different things to different people. For most, it was an initiation, an introduction to the brutal reality of life under the dome.
But for the Sanguine youths, and for others, it was an opportunity. Participating in the Hunt granted the Sanguine the right to enter the Fresh Blood Ranking, and not only that, to amass blood points.
‘There’ll be a lot of targets present.’
To climb the ranking, one needed blood points. And there were several ways to gain them, killing darkness creatures, completing missions, and providing anything that would benefit the clan.
However, for the Sanguine who still qualified for the Hunt, there was an additional advantage. Depending on how high they ranked at the end, they could be awarded extra blood points.
Malakai intended to capitalize on that, and on the first method: killing darkness creatures.
‘I should be able to get a significant boost afterwards.’
Unfortunately, Malakai couldn’t access the Fresh Blood Rankings until he officially participated in the Hunt.
His eyes flicked toward the calendar on the wall.
‘Two months…’
He stood up, grabbed a pen, and circled a date. The current month was November, and the Hunt always took place at the start of the new year.
‘I have to get stronger to make the most of this.’
This had been Malakai’s goal all along. He had to prepare thoroughly for the Hunt to reap its full rewards. And there was only one method he knew.
Training.
That brought him to the second topic he wanted to address tonight.
His power.