I arrived at the hotel and stepped into the lobby. It was mostly empty—just a few people lingering about—so I headed straight for the reception desk. Two female receptionists stood there now.
"Where is the one who was here before?" I asked.
"If you mean Chinedu," one of them replied, "his shift is over."
"Okay." I nodded once. "Is everything taken care of?"
"Yes, ma'am," she said carefully. "Everything… has been taken care of."
I nodded again and turned to leave, then paused.
"Did either of you see my guest leave? Or did he come downstairs at any point?"
"Not that we noticed."
"Alright. Thank you."
I smiled politely and walked to the elevator. As it carried me upward, I already felt it—his heartbeat. Fast. Uneven. Panicked.
I sighed.
When I opened the door, he was there—shirtless, sitting rigidly on the arm of the couch, staring out the window as if the city might swallow him whole. The moment he saw me, he jumped to his feet.
"I've been waiting for you," he said quickly. "I—I need to get out of here."
"Daniel," I said calmly, stepping inside, "you need to slow down."
"No, you don't understand." His voice cracked. "I like someone."
Tears slid down his cheeks as realization finally crushed him.
"Oh my God," he whispered. "I killed someone."
I closed the door and walked toward him slowly, deliberately, until I was standing right in front of him. I took his trembling hands in mine.
"Listen to me," I said softly. "I have stood exactly where you are standing more times than I can count. I know this feeling—the horror, the guilt, the confusion. You feel like you've committed the most unforgivable sin… and the part that terrifies you most is that some part of you enjoyed it. That contradiction is tearing you apart."
He looked at me, broken.
"You are drowning in emotions right now," I continued, my voice firm but gentle. "Shock. Fear. Shame. Hunger. Grief. All of it crashing into you at once. But you are not lost, Daniel. You are not alone."
I tightened my grip on his hands.
"You have me. I will walk you through this pain, step by step. I will teach you how to live with it, how to control it, how to survive it. What you're feeling right now will not always be this sharp. It will dull. You will learn. And one day, you will breathe without feeling like your chest is about to tear open."
I leaned closer.
"I promise you… it does get easier."
I felt his breathing steady slightly.
"But Mark—" he started. "How do I go back to my life now? How do I—"
"Hey." I cut him off gently. "That life is over."
He froze.
"You are no longer human," I said quietly. "You can't pretend anymore. You have to cut off every human connection you still cling to. You are not like them now. You are an apex predator."
He shook his head. "I can't just—"
"No." My tone hardened. "Unless you want to lose control again. Unless you want to rip his head off."
Silence fell between us.
I released his hands and went to the bed, sliding under the sheets. A few minutes passed before he spoke again.
"So… what do I do now?"
I sat up slightly. "Whatever you want. You're free, remember? Just don't reach out to your loved ones. It never ends well."
I lay back.
"It's almost dawn," he said after a moment. "What am I supposed to do during the day?"
"Vampires sleep during the day."
"But I've been asleep all night."
I groaned and sat up, rubbing my face. "You have the blood of Asogun in you. The sun means nothing to you. Do you have any idea how rare that is?"
"So I can walk under the sun without getting burned?"
I laughed. "You watch too many vampire movies. Vampires don't burn under the sun. They explode. Like a bomb—enough force to take down three houses."
His eyes widened. "That's terrifying. But I don't have to worry about that, right?"
"No," I said simply. "Asogun lives in you."
"Who is Asogun?"
"The All-Father of our vampiric lineage," I replied. "People give up their wealth, their families, their entire lives just for a chance to belong to his bloodline."
A slow smile spread across his face. "Cool."
"So," I asked, "what have you always wanted to do?"
He stood from the bed, thinking for a moment.
"I want to travel the world," he said finally. "Meet every tribe. Go places no one dares to go."
Relief washed over me. He could finally go, and I could return to my own life—whatever was left of it.
"Oh, you'll get tired of that," I said lightly.
"But I'm immortal. I have infinite time."
"You'll get tired of that too."
He shrugged. "If I ever get tired of living… there's always a way out. Stake to the heart. Decapitation."
"Fire too," I added. "But if you master it—if you control it—it won't harm you."