Hey, Nance. I'm so sorry for ghosting, she typed. A family emergency came up out of nowhere. I'm okay, just dealing with some complicated stuff right now. Can't really talk about it yet. Miss you so much.
'Family emergency' sounded like a hollow excuse, yet her family was hundreds of miles away, blissfully unaware that their daughter had been claimed by the vampires.
Nancy replied so fast, as if she had been sitting with her phone waiting, the 'typing…' bubble appeared before Lilian even set the phone down.
LILIAN!!! I've been loosing my goddamn MIND!!! What kind of emergency?? Are you okay?? Where are you?? Can I help??
Lilian stared at the screen, trying to figure out how to respond without revealing the truth or worrying Nancy even more than she already was.
Can't get into details right now. I'm safe, I promise. Just need a few weeks to sort this out. I'll be back as soon as I can.
Weeks??? Lil, that's not like you. You're scaring me. At least call me to explain!
I can't right now. Tomorrow maybe? I'm exhausted and can barely think straight.
Okay but you BETTER call me. I need to know you're really okay.
I promise. Love you.
Love you too. Please be safe.
Lilian set the phone down after thinking she would call the only family she had, her mom also tomorrow. She couldn't think of anything right now, her vision was already blurring as the tears she had been holding back finally surfaced.
This was her reality now, lying to everyone she loved most, hiding the truth because telling it would put them in danger. Slowly cutting herself off from her old existence because soon, keeping those connections would be impossible once she transformed.
She lay back on the bed and stared up at the ornate ceiling and the crystal chandelier. She had less than four days to say goodbye to the sun, the simple pleasure of walking down a street without being hunted by supernatural creatures.
A soft knock sounded at the door made her wipe her eyes quickly before sitting up.
"Come in," she called, forcing her voice to stay steady.
Adrian came in carrying another tray, this one clearly meant for dinner. The sun was setting outside her windows, washing the room in warm orange and gold tones.
Lilian watched the light without meaning to, painfully aware that soon this time of day would no longer belong to her.
"I thought you might be hungry," he said as he placed the tray on the small table near the window. "Mrs. Hemsworth made roasted chicken. It's really good. You should try to eat."
She looked at the tray, her mind snagging on the name, grateful for something to focus on that wasn't her own funeral. "Who's Mrs. Hemsworth?"
"Our cook and housekeeper," Adrian explained with a slight smile tugging at his lips. "She's human, seventy-three years old, and the most terrifying person in this entire house. She's been with us for forty years and treats us like unruly children who need discipline."
Lilian felt a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. The idea of a grandmotherly figure ruling over these predators was highkey surreal. "A human cook who bosses around the literal vampire princess. That sounds ridiculous."
"It absolutely is," Adrian agreed. "But she's also the best cook I've met in three centuries, and she keeps everything from falling apart. We learned long ago not to get on her bad side. She once chased Lucien out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon for stealing bread before dinner. He hasn't dared to linger near the kitchen since."
The image of the arrogant, sharp-tongued Lucien fleeing from an elderly woman with the wooden spoon was too much and caught her off guard. A laugh slipped out of Lilian before she could stop it.
Adrian noticed and his expression softened when he heard it. "There. That's better," he said gently. "You look more like yourself when you laugh, Lilian."
The mention of 'herself' was like a bucket of ice water. The laughter faded just as quickly as it came. "Hard to laugh when I'm turning into a monster in four days," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"Three days now, actually," Adrian corrected gently. "Maybe less."
Lilian felt his heart stopped. "What do you mean, less?"
"Dante's been monitoring the blood samples he took," Adrian said as he sat in the chair across from her. "The transformation is accelerating. Your body is reacting strongly to venom, which actually speeds things up."
"So when?" she asked quietly.
"The fever will likely start tomorrow night," he said. "Dante wanted you to know ahead of time."
Tomorrow night.
The words echoed in her head over and over. She only had thirty hours left, maybe less, until her human life ended.
"What happens when the fever starts?" Lilian asked, needing to know what was coming once again, even though Dante had told her.
Adrian didn't sugarcoat it, though his voice remained calm and gentle. "Your temperature will rise to dangerous levels. You'll experience hallucinations, muscle spasms, and long stretches of delirium as the venom reworks your biology. One of us will stay with you the entire time, cooling you down, monitoring your vitals, making sure you don't hurt yourself during the worst of it."
"One of you will stay with me," Lilian repeated slowly. "You mean I won't be alone during the fever?"
"Never," Adrian promised. "The fever is painful and terrifying. No one should face it alone. Whoever stays with you will help however they can. Whatever you need to stay tethered."
The thought of being vulnerable in front of these vampires made her uncomfortable. Yet, the idea of enduring everything alone or trapped with her own pain and hallucinations, was far worse.
"Thank you." she said softly. "For being honest."
"You deserve the truth," Adrian replied simply. "Especially when it's frightening. You can't prepare for something you don't understand."
He rose from his chair, moving toward the door. "Try to eat. And sleep. Tomorrow will be your last normal day. You should use it well."
After he left, Lilian was alone again, sitting with a plate of dinner that was already cooling. Her thoughts spun and raced relentlessly. Tomorrow was the end of her human life, one way or another.
She picked at the roasted chicken forcing herself to eat. The food was excellent. It was perfectly cooked, well-seasoned, comforting in a way she hadn't realized she needed. Mrs. Hemsworth clearly knew exactly what she was doing.
After eating as much as she could, Lilian went to the window and stood there, watching the sun sink behind the gardens. The sky burned with layers of orange, pink, and deep purple, colors so vivid she had never appreciated before because she had always assumed there would be countless more sunsets ahead of her.
Now she was watching one of her last. Soon the fever would start, and three days after that she would wake up as a newborn vampire unable to ever see the sun again.
She lifted her hand and pressed it against the glass, holding it there while the last warmth lingered. She focused on the feeling, trying to carve it into memory. The simple pleasure of sunshine on her skin.
"Goodbye, sun," she whispered as the last sliver of orange disappeared below the horizon. "I guess I'll miss you."
As the horizon went dark, Lilian stood before the window for a long time, her hand still pressed to the glass, waiting for a morning that would bring the beginning of her end.