“Lick my shoes.”
“W-what?”
Vero arched an eyebrow. Her eyes stared intently and condescendingly at the blonde-haired girl, who was kneeling in front of her. Loud music filled the nightclub, to the rhythm of the colorful lights swirling across the dance floor.
“Are you deaf?!” Now Vero shouted. She chuckled and rolled her eyes before slinging one leg wrapped in black pump shoes close to the girl’s mouth. “You spilled a drink on my clothes and shoes! Clean it up!”
The blonde-haired girl looked pale. Her eyes widened, and she spontaneously grabbed the hem of Vero’s mini dress. “I didn’t mean to do it! I’m sorry, Vee! Didn’t you promise you wouldn’t bother me if I became a waitress at your birthday party?!”
“Hey, get your hands off her!” snapped one of Vero’s friends sitting next to her. Her friend hit the blonde-haired girl’s hand until the girl screamed and pulled it away. “You ruined Vero’s birthday party! Don’t you realize she is the queen of tonight’s party?! How could you mess up her appearance?!”
The blonde-haired girl looked down, still on her knees, and her hands gripped the hem of the knee-length skirt she was wearing tightly. “I-I’m sorry, Vee. I really didn’t mean—”
“If you really want to be forgiven,” Vero interrupted, “clean my shoes with your tongue.”
Vero smiled as her friends around her laughed in satisfaction and took turns urging the girl to do it.
“You remember what happened to you the last time you ignored me, don’t you?” asked Vero.
The music thumped wildly. The visitors of The Queen’s Secret Palace went crazy on the dance floor. Vero glanced over there, wanting to join the crowd.
She did plan to dance with her friends after they toasted Vero’s twentieth birthday. But when she was about to head to the dance floor, this girl named Katy spilled a drink on Vero’s clothes and shoes, and she spoiled Vero’s mood in an instant.
Katy’s jaw twitched, as did her trembling eyes. She must remember the times when Vero tied her to a chair and left her all night in one of the unused classrooms on campus. Katy, who was afraid of the dark, passed the night in horror. The next day, when Vero came, Katy passed out and wet her pants.
Katy knew Vero didn’t hesitate to bully her and teach her a lesson so that she wouldn’t act again, and Vero didn’t do that for no reason. Everything She did was because she wanted revenge.
Vero arched a mocking smile and swung one leg that crossed over the other. “Quick. I don’t have all night just to wait for you.”
Katy slowly lowered her head, bringing her face closer to the tip of Vero’s shoes. As she stuck out her tongue, all of Vero’s friends took out their phones and started recording.
Vero looked satisfied at the girl, who was now carrying out her orders.
Yes, people like them should be taught a lesson.
About half a minute Katy did that and Vero told her to stop. She moved the toe of her shoe to push Katy’s face away.
“Enough,” she said. “Now get out of my sight. And keep in mind that I won’t be this nice if you get into trouble with me again.”
Katy rushed away from there, almost falling when someone stuck out a leg to block her way.
“Wasn’t the punishment too much?” asked one of Vero’s friends after Katy disappeared from their sight.
Vero glanced sharply at the questioner. “You have no idea what she did to me in the past.”
Before Vero could continue her words, her other friend cut off the conversation. “Let’s play!” she shouted. “Truth or Dare!”
Moans and bored exclamations came from some people, but they did it anyway in the end. Until it was time for Vero to take her turn.
“Dare,” said Vero.
“Flirt a man in ten minutes!” said one of her friends.
“It’s better if you can get his number,” said another.
“I’ll sleep with him,” responded Vero, and cheers erupted from Vero’s friends.
They looked around the club, scanning for some interesting-looking men until they agreed to point to a man with short hair sitting at the bar. The man did steal glances at the place where Vero and her friends were sitting, and Vero was sure that the man was interested in her.
This will be easy. There is no man who is not tempted by Vero.
“Have fun,” Vero said as she stood up from her seat. “Don’t wait for me and enjoy the party.”
Cheers from her friends accompanied Vero’s steps towards the bar.
The man was much more handsome when seen up close, and it seemed that he had come to this place alone. A perfect match for Vero’s goals tonight.
Vero sat in the empty chair next to him. After telling the bartender her order, the man spoke to her.
“Throw a birthday party?” he asked.
Vero smiled and turned to him. “How did you know?”
“Because you look so beautiful.”
Vero’s smile disappeared for a moment. She hates when people tell her how beautiful she is. But Vero didn’t want her birthday night to be ruined again, so she put away her annoyance for a moment and smiled again.
Her order came, and the man asked her to toast.
“Are you a regular here? I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” Vero asked after they had sipped their respective drinks.
“No. I was just visiting this town.”
“Oh? You’re not from here?”
The man shook his head. He stole a glance at Vero’s shoulder, which was not covered by her one-shoulder mini dress.
“No,” said the man later. “I come from a small town… and I hope to have a pleasant experience in this big city.”
Vera smirked. “What kind of experience?” she asked. She deliberately provoked the man and shifted her position to face the man while showing her thighs.
The man glanced at Vero’s thighs before looking back at her face. “An experience you can only get in a big city. And it has something to do with the girls.” The man tilted his head and grinned, then propped his head up with his hands. “In my place, there is no girl who wears beautiful clothes like you.”
Honestly, this man’s seduction sounds cheap and ridiculous, but Vero doesn’t care. After all, this man would not be her lover. Vero just had to make love to him and show it to her friends.
And the man wasn’t from the same city as Vero, so she didn’t have to meet him again.
The perfect man for a one-night stand.
Vero again changed the sitting position and made her dress, even more, lifted high. “You know it’s my birthday, right? I was expecting a gift.”
The man snorted a laugh. “A gift?” he asked. He leaned forward, their faces so close. “Say. What do you want?”
“Things we can’t do here.”
*
An hour later, they were in a five-star hotel room. Vero was so drunk and didn’t really understand what was going on. All she knew was that the man in her arms was a good kisser and knew which points could arouse Vero’s passion.
It was Vero’s first time making love to someone, and she was happy because her first experience was so great.
They just finished kissing and Vero’s hands were busy removing the man’s clothes. The man buried his lips into the curve of Vero’s neck and shoulders. Then Vero felt a sting that made her back arch. She felt pleasure and pain at the same time, and all she could do was dig her fingers into the man’s back, under his half-open black shirt.
Vero tried to hold back a sigh and when the pain she felt was getting stronger, Vero tried to escape from the man’s embrace.
When Vero tried to push the man away, the man suddenly jerked her body backward. Vero’s waist hit the edge of the television table and she groaned. Her drunkenness and passion immediately subsided. Vero was about to scold the man, but how shocked she was when the man fell to the floor and convulsed.
Vero glared and walked back to the door. She fell to the ground when her foot tripped over her pump shoes. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the man whose body was now curving in an odd position. Blood spurted from his lips and wet his face, neck, and chest.
“Hey!” Vero screamed in panic. “Hey! What happened?!”
Then, the terrifying movement just stopped. Now, the man lay quietly on the floor. He’s not breathing.
Vero swallowed. What should she do now?
Vero waited and waited, and the man didn’t move.
She bravely crawled over to the man. She crouched down next to him and reached out, searching for the pulse in the man’s neck. But Vero did not find it.
The smell of blood filled the room, making Vero dizzy and nauseous.
Vero’s hands trembled in fear. Is this man dead?
Then Vero remembered that, it could be, this was how her friends pranked her.
Yes, of course!
Vero often pranks her friends on their birthdays, and maybe they are getting back at her now. Weren’t they the ones who pointed at this man and told Vero to flirt with him? They also knew that Vero intended to do a one-night stand on her birthday, so they planned all of this.
Vero grabbed her small bag lying on the table and took out her cell phone. Then she took a picture of the man and sent it to one of her friends.
I’m impressed. Where did you get the actor from?
Not long after, Vero’s friend called. Vero picked it up and shouted, “You scared me to death!”
But her friend didn’t laugh or mock her, which made Vero’s recently subsided fear paralyze her again.
“What happened, Vee?! Where are you now?!” Her friend’s voice sounded panicked. “Are you okay?!”
At first, Vero didn’t believe it. “Stop your acting! I know this is what you and the others did, right?!”
“For God’s sake, Verona! I don’t know what you’re saying!” Her friend’s tone rose, filled with horror. “Tell me, where are you now?! If you survive, seek help! Is the man dead?! Why is there so much blood?!”
The series of questions sent chills down Vero’s body. She glanced at the lifeless body covered in blood.
This is real. She thought. There’s someone dead beside me right now, and I could be the cause.
Without thinking, Vero grabbed her bag and shoes and hurried away from there.
*
Vero had nothing to cover the blood on her body. She didn’t know how there was blood on her shoulders and the top of her dress, which was now drying and sticky.All Vero could do was run as fast as she could out of the hotel and called a taxi, then ask the driver to take her to her house, twenty minutes from the hotel.Arriving at the house, two guards intercepted Vero at the gate.“Ms. Windward!” called one of the guards as soon as he saw Vero getting out of the taxi and covered in blood. “Why did you take a taxi home? Where’s your car, Miss?! Did something happen?!”Vero glared at the guard and snapped at him. “Shut your mouth and open the gate!”The guard flinched and immediately ran into the guard post to press the gate unlock button.Vero rushed in, half ran up the stairs, and nearly sprained her ankle. Her parents woke up as soon as Vero burst into their room, crying. Mr. Winward turned on the lamp sitting on the nightstand while Mrs. Winward got up and greeted her only daughter
Vero’s journey was long. The night almost didn’t pass, and not even a second Vero could close her eyes. The figure of a man covered in blood flashed through her mind, and she covered her mouth every time she remembered the incident.The sun formed a faint orange line across the horizon, making Vero realize where she was. The road the car passed was so winding, flanked by mountains full of pointed pines.For a moment, Vero forgot her problem and was stunned at the sight. She pressed the button to open the window and the cool air caressed her, causing Vero to close her eyes for a moment while taking a deep breath.“We’re almost there, Miss,” said the driver who escorted her, Elijah, as the car swerved down and over a bridge.The bridge spans over a ravine. At the bottom of the cliff, there is a river and beside the bridge, there is a waterfall that is so high and flowing fast.“I’ve seen no buildings at all,” said Vero after being satisfied with looking at the waterfall, whose voices we
“What do you mean??”“Don’t trust anyone. Keep your room locked, especially at night.”“Why-““Good morning.”Vero and Elijah jumped until they screamed when they heard the voice of someone saying good morning.Vero jumped beside Elijah and turned to look at the figure that startled them.A woman of unusual height stood tall with a smile. Her eyes were blue as ice, hidden behind square glasses, and her red hair was in a tight bun.“Are you a freshman?” she asked. She glanced at the sheet of paper clutched in Vero’s hand.“Ah… yes,” Vero replied, nervously.The woman held out her hand and moved her head slightly. She glanced at the paper one more time before looking at Vero. Vero immediately understood what the woman meant. She handed over the papers, and the woman accepted it.“Verona Windward,” read the woman aloud. “Welcome,” she said, looking at Vero. “I’m the head of the dormitory building B, Caroline. You can call me Ms. Carol.”Vero tried to smile back at Ms. Carol, but the musc
He’s the guy Vero met on her birthday. She was so sure about it. Vero would never forget that face anywhere. A handsome young man with a distant, cold impression, his pale face was so easy for Vero to recognize. As soon as she saw him, two things happened simultaneously within her. Her memory of the young man covered in blood in the hotel room gave her chills. Then an unstoppable curiosity welled up within her. How could he be here when Vero had to hide and leave her life because she thought he was dead? With no hesitation, Vero stood up from the chair. The sound of her chair creaking caught the attention of her new friends. They stopped chatting and followed Vero with their gazes while she walked towards Lev’s table. “You,” Vero said as soon as she arrived in front of Lev’s desk. She stood straight and folded her arms in front of her chest. “How could you be here?” Lev, who was sitting facing to the side, listening to his friends chatting, glanced at Vero with an expressionless
Duradel may not be Vero’s domain, but she believes she can make her new friends bow to her, just as she did back home.After making sure Lev was no longer on the 4th floor, Vero entered her room and took the cell phone she kept in the nightstand drawer. She turned on the phone and waited for the main screen to appear and the signal was established.For a moment, she expected notifications of messages or missed calls, either from her parents or from her friends who wanted to know her whereabouts and current condition.But none appeared.Vero pursed her lips, and her shoulders slumped in disappointment. She put her phone on silent mode and put it in her bag. It is a violation to carry a cell phone to class and Vero didn’t want to lose it on her first day here. So she had to be careful.The long lunch hour was still going on when Vero returned to the campus. She headed to the cafeteria and looked around for her new friends amidst the crowd of students having their lunch.Mia’s red hair a
Vero found her cell phone, and she was pulling it out of her bag when someone crossed the side hall and stopped when he saw them.“What are you doing here? Isn’t the lecture over?”A tall, thin man like a dry tree in winter appeared and gave Vero goosebumps. Looks like it’s one of the campus staff. His appearance and face reminded Vero of Ms. Caroline. Both were pale-faced and seemed to have no feelings.All the girls were shocked and the arrogant attitude they had shown to Vero just now disappeared.“We’re taking Vero for a walk, introducing her to the campus area,” said Mia. The lies she told were so smooth that Vero wanted to compliment her.“You can do it tomorrow, at lunchtime,” the man said in an even tone. He barely even opened his mouth as he said it.“Okay, Mr. James,” said Ava.Mr. James glanced at Vero. “You’re the new student? Verona Windward?” he asked.“Yes, sir,” Vero answered, nodding.Mr. James gave Vero an appraising look from head to toe.“I hope you’ve read and mem
“What?” Vero thought she was misheard. There’s no way her father said that she couldn’t come back. “Dad, what are you saying?”“You can’t go back here.”“Why?!” Vero almost screamed when she asked that. This was the worst news she had heard after moving here. “Dad, don’t pull my leg! Are you not listening to me? The person is still alive! He is here!”“Vero, we’ll talk about that later, ok? Now, you must—” Her father’s next voice faltered. Only in the form of fragments of words that Vero could not hear.Once again, Vero took the phone away from her ear and looked at the signal indicator on the screen. The signal was very weak.“Dammit.” She put the phone to her ear as she walked out of the room. “Daddy! I can’t hear you! The signal is terrible,” Vero said in a hurry. She opened the door to the verandah and stood there, hoping for a better signal. “I was walking out to find a better signal. Don’t hang up the phone just yet.”No answer.“Dad?” Vero took the phone away and looked at the
It’s cold tonight. Just like any other night in Duradel. At least that’s what the locals have been saying for a long time. The same complaints about Duradel that never let go of the bone-chilling cold at night, even in summer.But whatever the weather that hit Duradel, it didn’t affect Lev and dozens of other vampires who lived in Noblebranch, the area where the vampire nobles of Duradel lived, which consisted of large mansions that attracted the attention of tourists in this little town.Although many seasoned tourists are willing to pay whatever it takes to visit Noblebranch, this place is not accessible to just anyone. Of all the Duradel areas, Noblebranch and the surrounding forest areas are forbidden places for tourists and residents who do not have permission to enter.Lev was sitting on the domed roof of the tower of his mansion. The moon tonight shone brightly in its perfectly round shape. And no matter what impulse moved him, Lev wante