"You met her?" Emerald asked, wiping the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand.
"You're crying, what for, kid?" Eva countered, her expression softening only slightly.
"Men do cry. We're human, after all."
"Philosophical as ever. Hmm, I met her."
"Where?"
"A college near her home. She's taking the teacher's exam."
"Hmm, everybody is doing better in life. I guess I'm the one in the dump."
"Why the long face?"
"You know, I always wanted to meet vampires in my life. I knew they weren't real. Meet one, win her over, and live happily, all away from this stupid life as a slave to this human life system."
"What changed?"
"Knowing and dreaming has two different meanings. I dreamt to be what I'm now, but knowing the truth, and the acceptance I need to put myself upon me to ensure that I don't break, that hits hard, harder than you ever know."
"It's not your fault that Zinan chose you."
Emerald's composure shattered. "You knew all about the First Emperor?"
"I overheard your conversation with Runa," Eva admitted honestly.
Emerald's eyes snapped to an ethereal blue, the color of Zinan's presence. He strode toward Eva, looking her dead in the eye, getting so close that every shared breath counted. He whispered in a voice that was clearly not Emerald's: "Eavesdropping isn't a good thing, you know, sweetheart."
The vessel's new host, Zinan, spoke. Emerald gracefully moved, stepping onto the bonnet of the XC90 while watching the sun glaze the saltwater.
"I'm not intending to kill you, Eva Brown, or should I say, Eva Lascrea."
Eva did not flinch, speaking directly to the consciousness occupying Emerald's body. "As expected, you're already back in the game, Zinan, or should I say, the First Emperor, Zinan Lascrea."
"I'm not back in the game, young lady. There's a year-long contract between me and this young lad you're seeing. And with my utmost sincerity, I apologize for eavesdropping on your entire conversation. Can't help it since we are two souls in one body."
"Jokes aside, what is it that you desire in this modern era?"
"A life. A life with my sweetheart Lascrea, something I never had."
"What about the great Emperor's era?"
"It was a forty-year-old battlefield. I don't really call it a life. Lascrea was too overwhelmed by the blood and backstabbing from the duty of wearing the crown."
"Blood, you say? It was you who massacred the billions of life forms!" Eva became enraged over his casual response.
"You can read the book, I see, which truthfully says I, the First Emperor, massacred billions just to narrow down my reign over the world."
"How could you say that? Don't you have any shame?"
"You're a vampire, Eva Brown. You don't know the truth, other than what I wrote in that book."
"You never stated your reasons. Why?"
"A man's problems die with him. I learned that from a friend. I never wanted the future to know its past, but it's better than nothing, so I wrote some."
"Who am I to you?"
"For me, you're my blood. You're the reason I can assure that the Lascrean blood has been passed down, even after my family was massacred. A millennium ago, for generations, the Lascrean blood never had a girl in birth. One day, the king that ruled the land heard a news: his wife was pregnant. He was overjoyed as any man would be. She gave birth to a girl. It brought the entire vampire world's attention. Some said it's a bad omen. The king gave her the name Lascrea—nothing else. The king wanted her to be honored throughout the history of vampires. That girl grew up to be a fine woman. She started stalking a young boy who used to go on hunting for his daily need of surviving. As expected of any vampire, she won him over. They lived happily until the crown befell on Lascrea. We had four children: three girls and a boy. The Lascrean blood line comes from the bastard child that my son fathered without anybody's knowledge."
"Why are you trying to hide the reason for your actions, Zinan?"
"As I said, a man's problems die with him. I don't want to burden another soul again for my inconvenience."
They stood in silence for a few minutes, admiring the dark beauty of the ocean.
"Am I going to die now?" Eva asked Zinan.
"Emerald doesn't want that, and since he doesn't, the same goes for me."
"You're a diligent man."
"I'm flattered, but the king who rules now is soft and kindred-hearted. He even let the Lascrean blood be crossed out to another family."
"You say it like it's wrong for it to happen."
"Hmm. The Lascreans know the truth about everything. It's been passed down inside the family not to forget their root and cause. By crossing over to the Brown family, they left a hole in that sacred trust of generations. You're the only one who knows this, am I right?"
"I have a brother. He's the first one to know."
"Ah, Dietrich. Don't worry, he knows what's wrong and right. It's not a problem for me."
"I guess the saying isn't wrong after all."
"What saying?"
"The First Emperor Zinan could know everything about a person just by looking at their eyes." Zinan let out a sharp, amused laugh.
The blue light vanished. Emerald sat down, rubbing his temples.
"Man, I'm just too happy that I could die, you know," Emerald mumbled, the weight of Zinan's reality settling back on him.
"What's with the yapping all of a sudden?" Eva asked, trying to adjust to the whiplash of personality.
"You know, now we're partners in crime."
"What are you babbling, kid?"
"Two souls in one body, remember?"
Eva gave him a disappointed look, got into the car, and Emerald followed.
"So, can I ask you something?" Emerald asked as they pulled away from the beach.
"What is it?"
"It's about Lenya. What changed your mind?"
"She had a pure heart for a human."
Emerald looked back at the sea as they drove away and sighed. He had killed his inner enemies—the lingering guilt and the crushing weight of dreams—just there, on the cold sand. The year had begun.
(To be continued)