Aero didn't return home until late in the night. Nazmi was fast asleep on the couch, and only briefly noticed that he had gotten back before rolling over into unconsciousness again.
Her dreams were chaotic and difficult to decipher, most of them consisting of an impenetrable darkness with distraught voices echoing in its depths. She couldn't make out what any of the voices were saying, but she was certain they were scared. Nazmi couldn't figure out how to help, and ended up waking herself repeatedly throughout the night in frustration.
When the sun had finally risen, casting a gentle golden light into the room, she was roused properly. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The nymph was sitting cross-legged on the soft sofa, her curious sage eyes half-lidded while she continued to wake up.
Shortly after she woke, Shea and Aero entered the large living area together.
The two blonde twins both had matching furrowed brows and puzzled blue eyes. Nazmi could practically feel their distress from across the room. She wasn't sure whether she should ask what was wrong, or allow them their private matters without prying.
Aero glanced over and seemingly noticed her for the first time. "Ah, good morning Nazmi."
"Good morning," she replied with an unsure smile. "Are you two okay? The atmosphere is…"
"Awful." Shea stated, her face sour with anger.
"I wasn't going to say that but sure," the nymph said with a confused chuckle. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay–"
"It's not that," Aero said. He frowned and continued speaking, "The council asked us to go and collect vampire blood samples at one of the recently 'abandoned' battle locations on the border."
Nazmi's eyes widened. "Isn't that incredibly dangerous? What could they possibly be thinking?!"
"We aren't sure," he replied.
She looked between the two for a moment before apprehensively elaborating on the subject. "There's rumors that vampire blood can be used to strengthen humans, sort of like a stimulant drug or something. There isn't any evidence for this yet, though."
Nazmi's face stilled and her eyes turned cold. Wasn't that nearly the exact same rumor that brought ruin to her people? She wasn't sure how to articulate all of the thoughts that were running through her head, but her puzzled expression gave most of it away.
"Don't worry," Aero said quickly, "it's just for actual scientific testing. But it's like you said, the journey will be incredibly dangerous. Even though the location is supposedly vacated, in all likelihood there are still vampires on the prowl."
Nazmi hummed in understanding. "But the integrity of vampire blood depends a lot on how fresh it is. It eventually just evaporates. They're not sending you to a 'vacated' site, it's likely still completely active."
Shea looked surprised at her knowledge on the subject. "I didn't think that was very widely known information. I'm impressed that you already know that."
Nazmi's lips thinned into a line. If she were being honest, she couldn't quite recall when or how she learned that. She had read book after book about vampires trying to understand their weaknesses so that she could exact her revenge one day – but she couldn't remember which book the fact had come from.
"I read a lot about vampires," she said simply. "Anyway, it's dangerous but the two of you must go. I'm assuming you're mostly worried about leaving me alone? You both seem more than strong enough to escape dangerous situations on your own."
Aero and Shea looked at each other as though they'd been caught red-handed. Neither of them seemed to want to agree with her.
"You only met me within the last few days, naturally you can't leave me in the Mirage unattended – but you would feel guilty having to bring me along to somewhere so perilous," Nazmi continued. "No need to stress, I'd want to come along even if you could leave me behind."
"Do you have a deathwish?" Shea asked dejectedly. "You have no means of protecting yourself!"
"You'd be surprised," Nazmi said. "In any case, I have to learn about vampires and there's no better way than to deal with them directly."
Aero looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Is it true? That vampires can't bite nymphs without permission?"
Nazmi brushed her gray hair out of her eyes and looked at him with an amused smile. "As far as I know, yeah. Haven't exactly had the chance to try it out yet, but there's no time like the present!"
"Couldn't they just kill you and then drink your blood?" Shea asked.
"Yeah. I think there's at least a few natural preventative instincts that our bodies have, though. There's some kind of poison we permeate when in danger," she said. "I also have a weapon on me."
Aero looked her up and down. "A weapon?"
"Yeah."
It was clear she wasn't going to elaborate, so they dropped the conversation there.
The twins were terribly conflicted. It was obvious that they were terrified of what the outcome of their 'task' would be… but in the end, there was no other choice.
They agreed to take her along for lack of literally any other option.
After they packed their necessities, to which Nazmi left nothing behind, they returned to the stables. Nazmi opted to ride on a horse with Aero instead of by herself this time, having gotten tired of riding alone after last time.
Abu was excited to see her again, albeit a little disappointed that she wouldn't be on his back this time. Petra remained relatively indifferent, but she definitely wasn't displeased to see Nazmi again.
They set on their journey out of the Mirage. She was disappointed that she hadn't gotten the chance to explore, but something told her she wouldn't have found any valuable information anyway.
"We've got so much to worry about…" Shea muttered. She was looking down at a mission debriefing scroll. "It seems that the princes have been active on the frontlines again lately… namely the General Samir."
Nazmi could feel Aero stiffen, since she was sat in front of him with his arms around her holding the reins. She felt like the name Samir was incredibly familiar, and not just because he was vampire royalty.
"Maybe you should run away," Aero said after a moment. "It might be safer than this. Samir is ruthless. He slaughters a hundred men without thinking, and doesn't bother to discern whether they're man, woman, child, or anything."
"His name sounds familiar," she said, ignoring the man's suggestion completely. "Was he involved in the nymph genocide?"
"He was an adolescent vampire at the time, but I think that those battles are the ones where he started gaining his reputation…" Shea replied hesitantly. "So, yes."
Nazmi frowned. She wanted to kill him. After hearing that, the rest of the ride was spent surfing the memories her father had shared with her, and trying to memorize the faces of each vampire that he had seen. Killing him would be such a pivotal step in her plan for revenge, there's no way she could pass up such an opportunity.
Now, how exactly would a weak young girl with no control of her powers be able to achieve that?
She had no idea. Nazmi hoped her raw, unadulterated hatred would be enough to guide the way.