As expected, Kisaya was completely against it. She wanted me to cancel the oath, have Lureh swear a new one to keep everything secret, and then let her go.
I tried to make her understand.
It did not work. Kisaya argued for a long time. It did not matter what I said or how much sense my reasons made. To her, everything came down to one thing.
It was unfair.
No one deserved to belong to another person. And maybe she was right. But Lureh was too useful. Her first rune could heal, though that was not too unusual for someone chosen by Enki. Her second rune, however, was different.
That was the reason I could not let her go. I rubbed the bridge of my nose without realizing it.
For a brief moment, I thought I heard a laugh. I looked at Lureh, and she straightened immediately, like someone caught doing something she should not.
Wasn't she terrified a moment ago?
I raised a hand before Kisaya could keep arguing.
"I'm not going to free her from the contract…"
Kisaya opened her mouth. "…not yet."
"We'll take her with us, and I'll protect her" I said. "I won't ask her to do anything she doesn't want to do."
I glanced at Lureh for a moment before continuing. "When I take the throne, I'll free her."
Kisaya did not answer right away.
"That's not enough."
"Then set conditions."
Her eyes narrowed.
"You will never give her an order" she said. "If you need her help, you won't just ask. You'll be completely honest with her. You'll tell her everything, including how dangerous it is."
"Agreed."
Kisaya turned to Lureh.
"Is that acceptable to you?"
Lureh looked surprised that anyone had asked her opinion at all. Her gaze dropped to her hands.
"I…" She swallowed. "Yes. That is acceptable."
She did not sound confident. But it was enough.
Kisaya looked back at me. Her expression was still tense, but at least she was not arguing anymore.
"And the night before last" she said. "When you disappeared…"
"I was testing something," I admitted. "I wanted to see if I could drink blood without taking the memories, as long as I didn't kill them."
Kisaya's face changed slightly.
"Did it work?" she asked, nervous despite herself.
I nodded.
I explained the rest to Lureh after that.
I told her that ordinary food did nothing for me. That what kept me alive, was blood. I had been using animals until then, and it worked. But human blood lasted longer.
"That is what the criminals are for" I said. "Practice."
…
Later, I sat in front of the fire, watching the quiet around me.
Lureh and Kisaya were asleep, their chests rising and falling steadily. Even the two criminals had stopped shifting in their ropes and drifted off.
The conversation had gone better than I expected.
Not perfectly. I still would have preferred to use Lureh more freely, but Kisaya would not allow that. And even though she was strong, she was still innocent.
I could not blame her for that.
She was twenty-one. She lacked the kind of experience that twisted simple answers into ugly ones.
If I had not lived Liraya's life, I probably would have reacted the same way. My hand moved toward the bag at my belt. I opened it, took out the spatial ring, and slipped it onto my finger.
Then I looked back at the fire.
…
The wood had burned down hours ago, leaving only pale ash and a weak orange glow buried beneath it.
A short while ago, the itch in my throat had returned.
By morning, everyone woke up, and we continued the journey. A few hours later, it had become harder to ignore.
'So that was the limit... About three days.'
I stopped the cart in the middle of the road. Before Kisaya or Lureh could ask anything, I spoke.
"I need to drink."
Both of them went silent. After a few seconds, Kisaya turned to me.
"Do you need help with anything?"
"Actually" I said, "I'll need both of you."
If I lost control, someone would have to pull me away. I did not want to live through his memories. Lureh would handle the wounds afterward.
I climbed down from the cart and walked to the back.
The two criminals were still there, their hands and legs bound. One was thin and sunburned, with several scars across his arms. He sat with his head lowered, silent. The other had broad shoulders, a broken nose, and old marks from beatings across his face. He looked irritated even before I reached him. The moment he saw me looking at him, he clicked his tongue.
I grabbed him without warning. "What are you doing? Let go of me!"
He tried to struggle, twisting against my grip. I struck the side of his neck, hard enough to knock him unconscious, then lifted him over my shoulder like a sack of grain.
The other criminal did not say a word. He only sat there, perfectly still. I carried the unconscious man away from the cart.
Kisaya and Lureh followed behind me in silence.
I did not have to move far from the cart. The other criminal had not even tried to move.
Still, I sharpened my hearing and listened. We were getting close to Kish. For a few moments, I heard only the river, the rustle of leaves, branches shifting in the wind, and animals moving somewhere in the distance.
Nothing else.
Once I was sure it was safe, I held the criminal's body in front of me. His head hung loosely to one side.
I swallowed.
I could not stop looking at the vein in his neck, rising and falling with each beat of his heart.
"The speed at which I drink blood is… fast" I said to the two women behind me. "Last time, I could barely control myself. Count three seconds, then pull me away by force."
I closed my eyes. I have to learn to control it.
To drink slower.
Less.
Only what I need.
I opened my eyes again and leaned closer.
Slow.
My fangs came out, and I bit down carefully. The moment they pierced his skin, that pleasure rushed through me again.
I tried to hold back. I tried to drink slowly, to take only a little.
But once again, I could not.
The blood touched my tongue, and my body stopped listening.
After a few seconds, two arms wrapped in purple spiritual energy forced themselves between us. Kisaya grabbed both the criminal and me, then tore us apart.
We both fell.
I hit the ground and blinked, the taste of blood still thick in my mouth.
Kisaya was already beside me, helping me stand while I wiped some of the blood from my lips with my tongue.
My eyes went back to the criminal's neck. Blood was still running from the bite.
I wanted more.
The thirst had already calmed, so I knew I did not need it. I simply wanted to.
Lureh stood a few steps behind us, watching everything. I could not tell if she was surprised, scared, or both.
"Can you heal him when he wakes up?"
Lureh nodded.
I forced myself to look away and started walking back toward the cart.
"Can you bandage his neck?" I asked Kisaya. "Lureh can't heal him until he regains consciousness. It shouldn't take long. I didn't drink that much."
Kisaya said nothing, but she moved immediately. Once she finished wrapping the wound, we lifted him back into the cart. The other criminal did not react at all.
A couple of hours later, the man woke up.
"What the fu…" His hand moved to his neck.
Lureh looked at me, and I nodded. She moved to the back, crouched near him, and asked the question.
"Do you wish to be healed?"
The criminal glared at her. "Of course I do, you fucking whore."
Lureh went still. For a moment, I thought she might not do it. Her fingers tightened around the stopper, and she took a slow breath. Without saying anything, she poured water into the hollow stopper and traced her rune over it.
The criminal barely managed to drink properly, spilling some down his chin in the process. Soon after, his hand went back to his neck. The pain had disappeared. He pulled at the bandage, and when it came loose, the wound beneath was gone.
Completely healed.
Kisaya grabbed the rope and began tying him again.
"What do you think you're doin—"
"Shut up, or I'll put you back to sleep" she said coldly. The man closed his mouth.