While Kaito was off heading somewhere else, probably talking to the concierge or poking around the snack tables again, I had been working my way through some strange candy the staff set out as a complimentary treat. They called them Vamp Drips.
Each one was shaped like a neck—pale candy skin with two tiny puncture holes molded into the top, resting in a silver tray lined with dark satin. Elegant, eerie, and just the right amount of too-much. It fit the place. Everything here looked like it belonged to some high-fashion cult that worshipped cocktails and velvet lighting.
Tav picked one up first. He held it like a wine glass, tilted his head, and bared his teeth. The canines flashed—real ones, by the look of them. Then he sank them in with a slow, deliberate motion, lips sealing around the neck as the red syrup pulled up the candy in a lazy crawl. June let out a slow, amused breath. I just grabbed one and gave it a shot.
Didn't have the teeth for drama, but I pierced it anyway. The syrup hit me like warm cider mixed with spiced honey. A little tartness at the end, something electric that made my jaw tickle. I laughed. Couldn't help it.
"I feel like a discount vampire," I said, wiping my lip with a napkin. "Someone give me a cape and a fake accent."
June tried one too, but struggled. Couldn't get the seal right. Her tongue darted out once, then she gave up with a quiet curse. Tav flagged down one of the servers, and the staff brought over a black pouch with gold trim. Inside was a set of fake canines, glossy and too-perfect.
"I still have some manna lift," June muttered. "I can do it."
"You're struggling with candy," I said, half-laughing. "Just take the assist."
June stared at the teeth like they were trying to insult her intelligence. She poked them, then looked away, arms crossed.
"These aren't the standard issue kind," she said flatly. "The curvature's wrong. Bite radius is too smooth. Someone modeled these off cartoons."
I raised a brow and took another sip from my Drip. The syrup buzzed at the roof of my mouth. That's when it settled on me.
This place... this whole situation... It was too clean. Too casual. Everyone else was laughing, relaxing, drinking weird things without asking what's in them. Even June, who usually had edge for days, looked more sulky than suspicious. And me? I was still trying to convince myself I belonged at this table.
Back home, things stayed tight. Traditions rooted in blood. Everything sacred had a rule. You followed the ritual, you married your kind, and you stayed in the lane your ancestors carved for you. And me? I broke that rule. Thought I was being brave. And I was, I guess. But I'd been so focused on surviving it, on building something real with Kaito, on dancing hard enough to matter, that I never stopped to look wider.
The universe didn't just stretch. It multiplied. And I'd been clinging to my little branch like that was all the tree there was.
Tav reached across and gently tilted June's face up with a hand at her chin. He was careful with her, like she might melt if he held too hard. She didn't pull away. He picked up the fake canines, bent them just slightly between his fingers like he knew exactly how they needed to sit, then eased them into her mouth with both hands. The fit landed perfect. June blinked, then smiled around the fangs, a blush just starting to warm her face.
"There we go," he said, voice lower now. "They say when it comes in a gold pouch, you get to keep 'em. Use them however you want." He leaned in, lips tilted. "If you're feelin' creative later, I volunteer."
I was still sipping the last of the Vamp Drip when Kaito came striding back to the table like he hadn't vanished for twenty minutes. He looked calm and casual, snacks in one hand and a glitter-dusted fruit stick in the other. Without missing a beat, he leaned over, kissed the side of my neck, and let his hand drift down to give my ass a quick, confident squeeze.
I flinched more from surprise than anything, heat rising up the back of my neck. Then he dipped closer and whispered, voice low enough to crawl down my spine, "I'm getting to that ass later."
I could feel my face go warm. I didn't even look at June or Tav—I just focused on the drink in my hand and pretended that syrupy candy still deserved my attention. Kaito slid into the booth beside me, dropped his snacks on the table like nothing had happened, and said, as casually as if he were announcing dessert, "We're visiting my mother."
The whole table went quiet. June blinked mid-chew, Tav sat up straighter, and I just stared at him, trying to process whether I'd heard right.
"You have parents?" I asked, blinking slowly.
He looked at me with something softer in his eyes than usual and said, "I know you asked before. I'm grateful you didn't press."
I sat back, arms folding tight, and shook my head. "Don't act like I didn't try. I brought them up. You always brushed me off, always changed the subject. What—were you ashamed?"
Kaito sighed and glanced at the others. "Tav. June. Give us a minute."
They didn't ask questions. June gave me a light pat on the shoulder as she slid out of the booth, Tav right behind her. Once they were gone, Kaito didn't say anything right away. His eyes flicked to the tray of candy bites, then back to me.
"How'd you like those Vamp Drips?" he asked.
I slammed my fist against the table—not hard enough to break anything, but enough to make the glasses rattle. "Start talking."
He didn't flinch. Instead, he leaned over and pulled me into a hug like he had every right to, like we hadn't just hit something sharp. His arms were warm and familiar, and he still smelled like peaches and sun-warmed sugar and that strange, humming magic that always made me go soft no matter how mad I got.
I muttered into his shoulder, "Damn it, Kaito. Why you gotta do that?"
"My family and I are close," he said, his voice lower now. "There's no falling out, no big argument. It's just hard to reach them. Every time we try to meet up, something happens. A job. A situation. Like when we visited your folks, and I kept ducking away on the mirror phone."
My jaw tightened. "You were supposed to be there."
"I was there."
"You weren't really."
The memory still stung. My parents and a few close friends had thrown a whole celebration when Kaito officially joined the farm. There was music, firelight, food stacked to the ceiling, and a letter from his family that got read out loud like it was a blessing. I remember Kaito saying his parents had called last minute and couldn't make it, and I didn't push because he looked tired and frayed at the edges. My dad pulled him aside for a long conversation that I wasn't invited to, and afterward nobody said much else. We all pretended it was fine.
But it wasn't just the party that stuck with me. It was what came after.
That week, I started having dreams—strange ones I couldn't explain. Faces I didn't recognize whispering things that made my skin crawl and glow. Names I'd never heard before being spoken in voices I somehow knew. Golden shapes burning behind my eyes when I woke up in the middle of the night, heart pounding and breath stuck in my throat.
I looked at him hard, the weight of it all pressing just beneath my ribs. "Is this why you wouldn't take it to the next level?" I asked, the words sharp but steady. "After all this time?"
Kaito's mouth parted like he had something halfway ready, something that probably started with his mother's name. "My mo—"
I held up my hand. "Don't."
He stopped cold.
"I mean," I said, tone dipping but not letting up, "we've taken steps. Real ones. I can understand why you wouldn't want to rush things now, not if you've been lying to me this whole time and finally started thinking about the truth. And maybe I'm starting to get it… a little. But that doesn't let you off the damn hook."
Kaito didn't interrupt. His jaw worked slightly like he wanted to say something, but for once, he stayed quiet.
"I'm going to bed," I said, pushing myself up from the booth. "I'm going to take a long, scalding shower. I'm wearing my satin cap. Then I'm going to use the detachable shower head on my lady bits until I feel like a brand new bitch. After that, I'm going to sleep naked. Alone. You are not invited."
He raised an eyebrow, eyes dark with something amused and fond, but smart enough to keep his mouth shut.
"And tomorrow," I continued, pointing a finger right at him, "we're going shopping. I want new clothes, a new bag, and a ride that doesn't feel like it came out of a fever dream. Then—maybe—we can talk about your mother. After we figure out whatever weird thing we're supposed to ride to get there. 'Cause it's clearly not a portal."
I waved vaguely toward the windows. "I've been seeing stuff flying around all day. Cars with wings, rockets shaped like teardrops, little bubble things that float like they're thinking about leaving without you. I don't even know what counts as public transport on this planet. But I swear, if I have to ride in something alive again, I'm walking."
Before I could make my grand exit, Kaito reached for me, pulled me in close, and kissed me like he meant it. Not a soft apology kiss. No, this one was deep and slow and full of heat, like he was anchoring himself to me before I disappeared into the next room. I melted into it before I could even tell myself to resist, hands gripping his shirt like I needed something solid.
Damn it. I couldn't stay mad at this man for long.
By the time I pulled away, Tav and June came strolling back in like they hadn't been listening from the hallway. June had a leash clipped around Tav's neck and strutted like she was closing a show. Tav didn't look embarrassed at all—in fact, he looked smug as hell.
"We're going to bed," June said lightly. "Don't wait up."
Kaito looked them over and laughed. "I'm glad you're accepting all this weirdness with ease," he said, then turned that look back on me, slow and teasing. "But come on, sugar. A little sweetness for me? I'll even shapeshift into that form you like."
I crossed my arms and raised a brow. "What, the tall, glowing, ruin-your-life form?"
He grinned. "That's the one."
I shrugged, lips twitching. "Yes. What can I say? I'm what you'd call a god fucker."
Kaito's smile curled like fire licking up dry wood. "Say less."