Inside the carriage, silence lingered heavily between the four of us as the wheels rolled steadily along the stone roads.
Only the soft rattling of the carriage and the distant sounds of horses filled the air.
After several moments, I finally broke the silence.
"Back at your palace, Helexia, no one must know that I became a vampire," I said calmly.
Sera tilted her head slightly. "Why?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
I leaned back against my seat before continuing more seriously.
"If humans discover that an actual vampire exists, not one from stories or myths, but a real one. What do you think they would do?" My gaze darkened slightly. "Would they welcome me?"
The carriage fell quiet again.
"Or execute me on the spot?" I finished softly.
"You're right," Sera and Cassian answered simultaneously.
For a brief second, the two of them glanced at each other before quickly looking away again.
"And if they discover what you truly are," Lorenzo added calmly, "they may ban you from existing in the human world."
"Exactly," I sighed.
I relaxed against the velvet seat, letting my eyes drift toward the passing scenery outside the carriage window.
But somehow…
Something about Sera continued bothering me.
It was strange.
Unfamiliar.
There was an energy surrounding her that I had never sensed from anyone else before. It was subtle, almost hidden beneath layers upon layers of control, yet it lingered at the edge of my senses like a whisper.
As though something inside her was quietly waiting to awaken.
My gaze slowly shifted toward her.
To my surprise, she was already looking at me.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I looked away.
But what happened afterward…
Was something none of us could have possibly expected.