I gave a thoughtful hum. It was rare to have news delivered faster than the Izanis messengers, the dragons, or the night elves. I glanced at Virossa, but he shook his head. Apparently he knew nothing about this. Was it merely a coincidence that one of Yavka’s men had come back early? So the Kingdom of Deftelos was finished...and the fifth princess was coming here? What for? I couldn’t think of a reason she would.
“Hmm. Quite interesting. I will keep that in mind. Thank you for your report.” After I offered her some praise, all she did was stare back at me silently. “Is something wrong?” I asked, but she didn’t respond, her almost feverish gaze still steady staring at me. And then...was that drool coming out of the corner of her mouth?
I looked down at myself for a moment, only to then finally realize that I was still drenched in my own blood from the friendly sparring session with Virossa. Even now, blood dripped from my fingers onto the ground.
“Ah...” Yavka all but moaned, as if she couldn’t bear to see such blood wasted.
“What’s wrong? Thirsty?” I joked, and she finally snapped back to her senses, wiping her mouth.
“M-My apologies! I just...” She reclaimed her usual collected demeanor, but the thirst in her eyes was unchanging.
“Is demon blood that good?”
“I...wouldn’t know. I have never tasted it. It is hardly something I could ask...” She gulped. “But...it looks exceptionally rich...so full of magic...!”
The eyes spoke as much as the mouth, huh? She was practically salivating over me here. I imagined you’d get the same reaction from a heavy drinker if you put a bottle of the highest grade distilled liquor in front of them.
And suddenly, a very mean-spirited idea came to me. Or I guess you could call it a stroke of curiosity.
“Want to try?” I held a hand out toward her. Yavka’s eyes went wide, like she was being offered the nectar of the gods.
“A-Are you sure?!”
“Of course. You vampires have done some pretty fine work, so I’ll share some of my blood with you. Consider it a reward for your efforts.” I had already spilled who knew how much blood all over the ground anyway. But above all, I was curious how a vampire would react to drinking demon blood.
“I-I cannot thank you enough!” Apparently deeply moved by my gift, as evidenced by the way she trembled, Yavka stepped forward and knelt before me. Then she opened her mouth, stuck out her tongue...and waited. It was like a baby bird awaiting its meal. Oh, was that how she was expecting we’d do this? I guess it was better than letting her bite me.
I clenched a fist, pushing blood out of one of my open arm wounds. It started to drip into her mouth...and then she jumped.
“Ah...”
“‘Ah?’”
“Ahhhhh!!!” Yavka’s eyes rolled back in her head as she dropped to the ground convulsing.
Huh. Was she dying? Her choked, spluttering sounds made it seem like she was fine enough. She was covering her mouth with her hands as she convulsed. Did my blood have so much magic that it was like poison to her? But her expression seemed quite a bit more...ecstatic...than I would have expected from that...
Liliana started to bark excitedly while trotting over toward us, as if asking if she should jump in to help. But if she touched Yavka, the vampire would probably be reduced to ash, so we would hold off on that. Instead, I had her heal my wounds. Then we waited.
“My apologies...for such a vulgar...display...” Yavka finally squeezed out, staggering back to her feet like a newborn fawn.
“How was it?”
“It was like tasting heaven itself... I never thought such a flavor even existed...” she moaned, cheeks flushed. She stared at me again with fervent eyes and took ragged breaths. And notably, she bared her fangs.
“I see...”
I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to being told my blood tasted good. And...was it just me, or was her magic a bit stronger than before? I supposed it made sense that vampires gained strength by drinking blood.
Meanwhile, there was no sign of Yavka calming down. If anything, her breathing was only becoming more erratic. To top it off, a dangerous look now took to her eyes. Was she okay?
“She looks very much like an addict who has just gotten a taste of their drug of choice...” Ante put my vague suspicions into concrete terms.
“Just for the record, if you attack me I will defend myself.”
“No! I would never do such a thing!” Yavka shook her head violently at my warning, seeming like she might drop to her knees as she started to regain her senses. “In fact, I can say with certainty that my loyalty toward you is stronger than ever! I swear to spare no effort in supporting you however I can!”
Really now? Is that your loyalty or hunger talking?
Either way, I could take on a hundred Yavkas at once as I was now, so it was no skin off of my back.
After thanking me profusely for the gift of my blood, Yavka took her leave, stepping with such exaggerated gracefulness which seemed like her attempt at making up for her episode just a moment earlier.
And then the next day, shortly after my training with Virossa, she showed up again.
“Um, Your Highness...about the blood you gave me yesterday...”
Already back for more?
“If at all possible...would you be willing to preserve the blood you shed during your training for my subordinates in Evaloti...?”
Oh? She wants it, but not for herself?
“What for?”
“After tasting your blood, I no longer feel my rationality challenged by the taste of human blood...” she said, a mournful expression on her face. “Actually...I partook of some human blood earlier, from one of the citizens of Evaloti. Compared to your blood, it tasted like it was absent of flavor entirely. I felt no desire to keep drinking.”
Huh. So it only took one taste to turn her into a gourmet, huh?
“All of the men I have brought to Evaloti are discerning and possess an abundance of self-control. But if they were to taste your blood even once, it would eliminate the possibility of an unfortunate accident altogether. I...am not sure whether or not that is truly a good thing for us, but...” she trailed off, turning hungry eyes on me again.
“It appears she is an addict after all...”
It sure does...but hey. Giving vampires a taste for demon blood?
“Sounds like a...potentially interesting development, don’t you think?” Ante said. I could hear the wicked grin in her voice. It took a lot of willpower to not make the same expression myself.
“Very well.” I accepted her request. It would help keep the people of Evaloti safe, but above all...vampires were always going to be vampires. They were beasts. It was impossible to tame their thirst for blood. So I’d show them there was better prey out there than humans.
Right now, I was sure they wouldn’t try anything. But once things started to unravel in the kingdom...who could say for sure? When the demons got pushed into a corner, when they were wounded and bleeding, how would the vampires react?