Raina sensed the agitation growing inside her, and, afraid the violence in her would surface once again, she started shouting Howard's name and turned away from the image in the mirror. In just a few seconds, the door opened, and a beautiful man entered.
"What's wrong, your majesty?", Howard asked as soon as he entered. Then he looked at her and realized the problem. "Oh, seems like you have a problem with following instructions. I told you to call if you are ready for the next step, but you took it on your own. Good thing you called me before destroying another room," he said with a teasing tone.
"What the hell happened to me?", Raina shouted, not caring about the tone he used. "Why do I look like a goddamn seductress from hell? How is my son going to recognize me like this? And why are my eyes red?"
"Temper, temper, your majesty. The questions will be answered at the right time. But for now, I can only assure you that your eyes will return to their original color, more or less, in a week or so. It's a temporary aftereffect of your transformation. As your transformation will be completed, their original color will return. In fact, as you have already spent 4 days being mostly unconscious, it should only take 3 to 5 days at most. That shouldn't be your focus right now. How do you feel? Still wanting to go on a rampage?"
"Frankly, yes," Raina answered without hesitation. "And at this moment the only thing I can think of is rearing you apart," she added.
"Ah, my dearest majesty, please spare your humble subject. Why would you want to kill a handsome subject like myself?", Howard added with an amused look. Raina realized at that moment that she didn't even look at his appearance. The rage in her seemed to shut away all her senses and she figured this is a hurdle she had to conquer in order to be in control. She forced herself to look at Howard. He was indeed a handsome man. He had dark blonde wavy hair, his bangs being cut above his ears, brown eyes, a straight nose and semi-full lips. His features were those of a flower boy, but his eyes were telling her he was no weakling. His stance was upright, and his body was seemed well-built, but not brawny. He was a feast for the eyes indeed. The arrogance he exuded added to his charm. Any woman would be charmed.
"Fine, if you serve me right, you shall be spared," Raina's tone changed. She suddenly went into seductive mode and she felt her voice becoming enticing and sensual. Damn, was she really a succubus? She couldn't help asking herself because of the sudden change in her attitude after she took in his appearance.
"Oh, no seducing me, your majesty. Eric might get upset," Howard said with a smile on his face.
"What has Eric has to do with anything?", Raina retorted. "I'm a grown woman and I can choose whomever I want."
"Of course you are, but the choosing part… well, let's not talk about this now," Howard said in a pensive tone. "Let's get back to the problem at hand now. Why did you call me?"
"This… I almost lost my cool again. I was about to go on a rampage and thought I might distract myself with your presence," she replied in a low voice.
"You did good. Now tell me, why have you lost your focus again? Was it because you took of the blindfold?"
"No, it was because of my mind, it was as if all I have ever known tried to fight to get my attention and I couldn't focus on just one thing."
"Hmmm… your transformation is faster than others. Well, it should have been expected, in fact. Then, you must start feeling thirsty by now. But…," a conflicted look appeared on his face.
"What? What's this about my thirst? Is something wrong?", she started panicking.
"Well, we didn't get to the part where you were told what you have transformed into, have we? I was hoping Eric would do this part", Howard tried to sooth her.
"Why don't you tell me now? What have I transformed into?", Raina was on the verge of ripping this man's throat for keeping her guessing all this time.
He paused in confusion for a second, but then his face lighted up as if salvation was on its way. "Ah, Eric is here, I will leave this in his care," Howard said with a sigh of relief and quickly turned toward the door.
"Wait, you bastard! Where do you think you're going?", Raina said irritated trying to grab him by his arm. He swiftly dodged her grip and hurriedly left through the door, without even looking back.
She heard him going down some stairs and through another door.
"Eric," she heard him saying in a hurry, "her majesty is ready for 'the talk'," Howard added.
"Already?", Raina heard Eric's beautiful voice questioning in disbelief.
"Yes, I think it's time," Howard replied. "I think her transformation is quicker than others', probably because of her origin," he added.
"I understand," Eric replied.
She didn't hear anything more after that. She turned her look to the door, waiting for Eric to come in. She felt agitated from the anticipation, and she reached her hand on the stool in front of the dressing table to calm herself down. She griped the back of the chair in the process, but her grip cracked the wood in an instant.
"What the…?", she couldn't quite register what just happened when she was distracted by the footsteps outside the door. She turned her look back at the door as it was opening. And then she saw him. The man in front of her looked like an archangel descended from heaven. His black hair with bangs covering his forehead until his eyebrows, his dark blue eyes that seemed to look deep in your soul, his straight nose, his slightly full lips, his perfect jaw… it was like a painting that came to live. His neck was long and his arms well proportioned. His body was well build, with well-defined muscles, but he didn't look bulky and his legs seemed very long and straight. She almost drooled at the sight, but she kept herself in place.
"Damn, where did this hunk come from?", she thought, and her imagination started to run wild imagining different naughty things.
She realized that she got sidetracked again and she did her best to come back to the matter at hand. "Eric was it?", she asked him with uneasiness.
"Yes," he confirmed, and her mind started running wild again with only one word. "Raina, I am glad you are feeling better," he kept his voice low and monotone, afraid he will agitate her again. "We should continue our discussion from earlier", he added.
"It's about time you answer my questions, mister," Raina snorted with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Eric sensed her hostility, and he became wary, expecting another wave of violence coming from her. He forced himself to continue in the same calm tone.
"As I have told you before, you have transformed into a superior being. We are called by the humans vampires."
"What? Vampires? Are you f*cking kidding me? Where did your imagination go to?", Raina said in disbelief.
"Well, as I said, humans call us vampires, we call ourselves demi-gods," Eric repeated.
"Ha! That's even more ridiculous!", Raina snorted again.
"Listen, Raina, we are demi-gods. We are hybrids that resulted from gods mating with humans. I know you will find it hard to believe, but this is the truth. The gods really exist, but their presence was long forgotten by the humans. All the supernatural beings that still live on Earth are hybrids between gods and humans. They are different because of the god that fathered or mothered them first. The gods have long left the Earth, disgusted by the humankind, but we were left here, forgotten and abandoned children, to live our lives in the shadows. We, vampires, are descendants of Hera. You might know the legends about her. Zeus's wife… she is a beautiful but vicious woman, so we, the vampires have her characteristics. We look beautiful, but we are vicious creatures inside, we are violent and vengeful like she is. We call ourselves demi-gods because she was the mother of the first ones of our kind."
Raina looked absolutely dumbfounded. Was he seriously thinking she would believe so much bullshit? She watched him with mockery in her eyes. What the hell? She did read the legends about the ancient gods, but that was what they were, legends, myths. Nothing was true about them. She even remembered that the characteristics of Hera were indeed her beauty and her viciousness, but so what? Those were just made-up stories, right?
"How can I even begin to believe you?", Raina looked at him with contempt.
"You are one of us, whether you believe the story about our origins or not it's not important. What is important right now is for you to accept what you are. And that is a demi-goddess, a vampire."
"How could I believe that?", she asked.
"If you complete your transformation, your powers will be in full force. You will understand then the full extent of your abilities. Maybe that way it will be easier for you to accept even your origin," Eric said while looking directly in her eyes. "Raina, believe it or not, this is the truth. I am not trying to lie to you. There are other things that you must find out, but first your full transformation is the priority. Can you think about what happened since you woke up? Maybe it will be easier for you to accept everything. Please, Raina, it's extremely important," Eric's voice pleaded her.