The next morning was quiet. Neither Alice nor Kara had the courage to open the window and let the light in. Both of them felt the weight of the decision hanging over the house like a shadow that wouldn't leave, even when they tried to distract themselves.
Alice was restless, pacing back and forth in the living room, while Kara sat on the couch, staring at her phone.
"I… I need to call Natalie," Kara finally said, her voice shaky but determined.
Alice nodded silently, holding back her own anxiety.
When the call connected, Natalie's cheerful voice came through.
"Kara? Wow, it's been forever! How are you?"
Kara took a deep breath, like the words were too heavy to carry.
"Not great, Nat. Something… big happened."
She hesitated, then explained, in careful fragments, about Alice, about vampires, about the impossible choice they were being forced to make.
On the other end, Natalie went silent for a few seconds, trying to process everything.
"Kara, I honestly don't even know what to say… but I do know one thing.
You've always been honest about your feelings, even when you tried to hide them.
If you love this girl… don't ignore that. Not even out of fear."
Natalie's words gave Kara a small moment of relief, as if she had spoken aloud something that Kara had been too afraid to admit to herself.
Later, alone in her room, Kara decided to call her parents. She didn't mention vampires, trials, or danger, but she talked for a long time about childhood memories, about missing them, about little everyday things. Just hearing their voices grounded her, reminded her that she still had human roots, still had a home.
Meanwhile, Alice kept herself busy in silence, making tea, setting the table, doing anything to stay present. But behind every small gesture, she looked at Kara with a mix of tenderness and fear.
That same night, elsewhere in the city, Baroness Crowell walked through the dark corridors of the council's main hall. She found Vlad sitting in his chair, quietly reading an old book.
"You were far too merciful, Vlad," she said, her voice cold as ice.
"Giving them two days? For what? It's a simple choice. She stays, or she forgets."
Vlad lifted his eyes, calm and unbothered.
"Don't underestimate the human heart, Baroness. Or Kara's.
What they have could bring more than danger… it could bring balance."
Crowell clenched her fists, fury flashing in her eyes.
"Balance? Love between a human and a vampire has never brought balance, only tragedy.
And you know that better than anyone."
She didn't wait for an answer. She left the hall, her mind sinking into a memory she hadn't revisited in centuries.
Paris, 1793.
The streets smelled like blood and smoke. The terror of the Revolution swept through every alley. Crowell had still been Élise back then a young aristocrat from a small noble family. She remembered the night revolutionaries stormed her home. Her parents were executed before her eyes. She had been stabbed and left bleeding on the cold stone road.
As her life slipped away, she saw a shadow approach. Vlad Tepes. His expression was stern, almost indifferent, yet something in him softened at the sight of the dying girl.
"Death already holds your hand… but I can offer you another choice," he murmured.
In that moment, Élise died. Crowell, the vampire, was born. And with eternal life came the scar of hatred. She never forgot that humans had destroyed her life, had stained her innocence forever.
Back in the present, Crowell stared at her pale reflection in the mirror.
"Mercy for humans… never again."
Her voice was pure venom.
And as the moon rose in the sky, she was already planning how to end this whole situation long before the two days were up.