Chapter 67: Hello?

  As they reached the guard headquarters, Lily was relieved that Nathanel Veyth was already there. The former auctioneer carried a sigil of Tiara, which gave him an official role and enough authority to work with the captain and start restructuring the guard for the new situation.

  Nathanel introduced Lily, or rather Lysaria Greenwood, as the representative of the Princess now ruling over these lands. Lily used the opportunity to introduce Tessa as someone important as well, just in case, so the city guard captain would at least recognize her.

  The visit itself was short, but it gave Lily a few new details. Tiara had started with one hundred and forty guards, and now around one hundred were still serving after the takeover.

  The missing forty guards were a mix of problems she couldn’t undo. Some were casualties from the takeover itself, like the guard officer she’d killed in her first encounter with them. Some had been killed because Thirra hadn’t held back. Some had defected. And some were still injured and not fit for duty.

  About half of the remaining guards had already sworn loyalty to her on the marketplace. The rest were tied to the city more than they were tied to a distant kingdom. So, the guard, as a whole, chose to follow whoever ruled Tiara, because they still wanted to care for the people and their families living inside the city. For now, that was enough to keep them running.

  Lily still wasn’t fully sure what Nathanel was doing here, or why he’d ended up with the city sigil in the first place. But Gideon had called him competent, and Lily decided to trust that. She didn’t have the luxury to micromanage every part of Tiara while everything else kept moving.

  When they left, Lily had at least one thing confirmed. She had around one hundred guards inside Tiara right now. It was enough for public order, but it wasn’t enough to defend a city this size. Still, it was a starting point, and she needed as many starting points as she could get. Especially since she was trying to speed things up.

  She also knew she’d need an army later, or rather sooner. But for now, she didn’t want to conscript people unless it was absolutely necessary. She already had a few solutions in mind, and one of them involved tomorrow’s spending of another mithril crown. And for that, she’d need access to the Asara bank again, assuming they were already back from their shutdown.

  At the last stop of the day, she had planned to visit the guilds on Government Square and at least introduce herself there as Lysaria Greenwood. The sun was already starting to dip. The light turned warmer, stretching long shadows across the stone street, and the city slowly shifted into its late-day rhythm. Lily also noticed again that it was definitely colder than yesterday. Before long, the nights would turn freezing. It still surprised her how fast the weather was changing. It almost felt like summer had turned into winter within a week.

  They walked along the main street again, and Lily realized she’d seen more of Tiara today than on all the other days combined. She liked the city. She really did. It had that medieval charm that was nice to look at, and the layout made sense for a place that had grown over time instead of being planned on paper. But it was still tiring.

  Tiara was wide, and walking everywhere took time. And the longer they moved, the more Lily felt the sleepless night catching up with her.

  How long have I been awake now? she thought. Thirty-six hours? More?

  She wasn’t sure, because after a certain point it stopped being a number and started being a pressure behind her eyes. What annoyed her most was the simple fact that she could feel it at all.

  I am a High Blood Demon. Why do I even need sleep? What am I, the Demon of Sloth? No. Of course not… But this damn headache again… and this time I hadn’t even cast a new skill…

  Lily’s concentration started to slip in small ways. She noticed herself staring too long at irrelevant details, losing the thread of her own planning for a few seconds, then snapping back.

  By the time they reached the Golden Swan Inn on the main street, Lily slowed and stopped without thinking about it. The building was familiar enough that it felt like a landmark at this point.

  She looked at the direction of the Government Square, then at the sun, then back at the inn.

  The guilds can wait until tomorrow… The thought came with relief and irritation at the same time. I hate that it has to.

  Lily turned slightly toward Tessa.

  “Wait a moment,” she said, keeping her voice even. “We’ll adjust the plan.”

  Tessa looked up at her. In the dim light, her ruby eyes caught what little sun remained and reflected it back with a deep red shine. Lily could see a predatory hint in them, subtle but there. It was probably because night was coming and Tessa was a creature of the night now, Lily concluded.

  “Is everything okay?” Tessa asked, sounding worried. She was clearly picking up that Lily wasn’t fully on track.

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  Lily nodded. “Yes. I just…” She paused, and then decided it was better to be honest. “I’m tired. Since we’re already close to the suite, I think it’s better if we head back to the mansion.”

  “I see,” Tessa said. She hesitated, then looked up again. “But didn’t you say it’s important to tell Gideon about the underground tunnels?”

  Before Lily could answer, Tessa continued, a little faster, like she was trying to offer a solution before Lily dismissed the problem.

  “I can tell him. The nobles already know me, and you really look like you need sleep.”

  Lily didn’t answer immediately. Tessa was right. Gideon needed to know, and there was a good chance Vessikar was already back at the church by now. Lily could also feel the edge of a headache starting to build, the kind that didn’t go away by ignoring it.

  Could I send her alone?

  Tessa was a newly turned vampire who didn’t know her real strength yet, or rather couldn’t control more than a small portion of it. But she had also lived in Tiara her whole life. She knew the streets, the people, and the basic rules. This wasn’t a mission outside the city walls. This was just walking to Government Square and talking to people she’d already met.

  Another dull throb pressed behind Lily’s eyes, and her patience thinned.

  Lily nodded again. “Fine. Meet Vessikar in the church and take him with you. He should be done mapping the tunnels, and he can deliver the details.”

  Tessa’s posture eased a little, like she was relieved Lily accepted the idea. “Okay. I can do that.”

  Lily opened her inventory and pulled out five platinum crowns. She pressed them into Tessa’s hand before the girl could step away.

  “If anything happens, it’s better to have money,” Lily said.

  Tessa stared at the coins, then looked up with an exasperated expression. “Lilithia!”

  Lily already knew what was coming.

  “Can you please stop with the money?”

  “It’s fine,” Lily said, cutting the complaint off before it could become a full argument. “Just take it.”

  Tessa exhaled through her nose, clearly not satisfied, but she didn’t hand it back.

  Lily continued, keeping the instructions simple. “When you’re finished, use the teleportation circle in the suite. And for that…” She lifted her hand and pushed mana into the air, drawing a rune with a smooth motion. The symbol hovered faintly for a moment before fading. “Memorize this. Picture it and say, ‘Activate.’ That should trigger the circle.”

  Tessa focused on it immediately, like she was afraid it would disappear before she got it into her head. Her gaze narrowed with concentration.

  Lily allowed herself a faint smile. “Consider it your first real lesson. If I don’t see you tomorrow at the mansion because you forgot how to activate the circle, then we’ll do extra lessons.”

  Tessa’s lips twitched, halfway between a smile and a grimace. “Yes, Master.”

  “Good,” Lily said. “Go.”

  Tessa turned and started walking toward the Government Square alone.

  Lily watched Tessa go for a few seconds longer than she needed to.

  This isn’t a bad idea, she told herself. Why wouldn’t it be?

  With Vessikar nearby, the risk should be low. Tiara was also not foreign territory to Tessa. Lily forced herself to accept that and turned back toward the inn, walking inside and heading up to the suite.

  The moment she reached the teleportation circle, she activated it without hesitation. Light snapped around her, space folded, and the next heartbeat put her back inside the mansion’s teleportation chamber.

  She walked through the corridors toward her room on autopilot. Her body was heavy now, like it had remembered fatigue all at once. When she finally reached her bedroom, she didn’t bother being careful. She tossed her coat and boots aside, then pulled on a simple nightgown and let herself drop onto the bed.

  After a short while, when she had almost fallen asleep, she noticed how strangely comfortable the pillow felt, and that she was still in her elven form. Without horns, she could finally lie on her bed without awkward angles and without the constant reminder that there was extra anatomy on her head now.

  For a moment, she considered just sleeping like this. But there was a reason she hadn’t used [Transform] before to help her sleep. [Transform] was an active spell. If she fell asleep, it wouldn’t hold. She would shift back the moment she wasn’t conscious. And waking up with horns popping into existence against a pillow sounded like the kind of stupidity that would ruin her entire night.

  With a quiet sigh, Lily dismissed the spell. Mana flickered across her body, and Lilithia Nocturne returned, lying in her four-poster bed.

  She lay back down, and sleep hit her fast, almost instantly—almost.

  Because the image of Tessa’s eyes came back in her mind. Ruby red. Shining faintly from the inside. Predatory, because the day was ending.

  Lily’s eyes opened again.

  “Oh, fucking damn,” she muttered.

  It wasn’t fear of other people that suddenly bothered her. It was fear of what Tessa might do if her instincts surged at the wrong moment. Tessa had held it together all day, but the night was different for vampires, and Lily didn’t know how strong that pull would be for a newly turned demonic progenitor vampire. She had no experience with this kind of vampire, and when she thought back to yesterday, Tessa had killed her own boss and then gone hunting in the woods in a blood frenzy, with Vessikar encouraging it instead of stopping it. Those two together would be trouble, wouldn’t they?

  If she does something stupid, he’ll encourage it…

  She pushed herself up with a groan, irritation mixing with exhaustion.

  I missed that because too I’m tired. Great.

  Lily swung her legs off the bed and reached for her clothes again, already planning to go back to Tiara before things could escalate. She didn’t like it, but she liked the alternative even less. The last thing she needed was Tessa accidentally killing some child on a street corner because she hadn’t learned how to handle herself at night yet.

  She was halfway through pulling on her coat when she heard a sound.

  A ringing, and Lily froze in her movement. The ringing sounded like a phone. And for a second she stood still, scanning the room like she expected to find some hidden device in her room. The ringing didn’t come from a direction. It felt like it was everywhere, evenly present, like it had no source in the physical space.

  Am I hallucinating? Lily thought.

  The ringing continued, and Lily narrowed her eyes focusing, pushing her senses inward. Then she remembered the phone from this damn showcase mannequin. She pulled it out of her inventory, and it appeared in her hand. The old Nokia-style brick was vibrating slightly, and the screen was lit. A call was coming in.

  Lily stared at the phone and felt her annoyance rise. This little motherfucker. It’s not enough that it’s his fault I’m this tired in the first place. Now he’s probably mad because I didn’t use the phone the second I got it. I swear, if it’s him calling me right now…

  After a short moment, she pressed the green accept button and said, “Hello?”