Aria woke up feeling unusually unwell, like on the brink of getting sick. She felt incredibly thirsty. She rushed to the kitchen but couldn't quench her thirst, no matter how many glasses of water she drank. Henry, who was in the living room, glanced towards the kitchen and noticed her. When he saw her, his expression was not one of surprise — more like he had expected this to happen. Aria was about to turn eighteen in the coming months, and he knew that was when the changes in her, both physical and mental; this was when her unique abilities would begin to manifest.
Aria returned to her room, panting heavily from drinking so much water, but still, the thirst would not subside. She looked at herself in the mirror and was startled by her reflection. She looked pale, almost as if there was no blood left in her body. Her lips were cracked, and the dark circles under her eyes made her look like she hadn't slept in days.
'What's happening to me? Why do I feel this way?' she wondered aloud, her voice full of confusion as she touched her face, trying to make sense of the changes.
She thought to herself, 'This was exactly what Jackson looked like when I saw him in class the other day.'
Without realizing it, Henry entered her room and was holding a pitcher and a glass, seemingly filled with water. Aria grabbed the pitcher eagerly and drank directly from it, not bothering with the glass. She didn't care if she spilled it on her clothes or face, she just needed to drink, desperate for relief.
After finishing the entire pitcher, she looked at Henry. "Uncle Henry, what is this drink? I drank so much water earlier but it didn't quench my thirst like this. But this–this makes me feel so much better. I felt like I was coming down with something." She was amazed at the immediate relief.
"It is because that was not water," Henry said calmly.
Aria raised an eyebrow, puzzled, as it had certainly looked like water to her. She glanced at the mirror absentmindedly, and her heart sank when she saw her reflection. Her face and clothes were covered in blood. She was horrified and terrified. She couldn't comprehend what she was seeing, her face twisted with disgust, fear and confusion. She gasped in shock and noticed her fangs for the first time.
She opened her mouth to scream but Henry immediately covered her mouth.
"Let me explain," he whispered gently to her, afraid that they might wake up her aunt and cousins.
"The only thing that can quench your thirst is blood," he said calmly.
"But it was water earlier, wasn't it?' Aria asked, still in disbelief while wiping her mouth and cheeks. Her fangs had vanished, and her appearance had returned to normal. She no longer looked deathly pale, her lips weren't cracked, and the dark circles under her eyes had faded.
"It was blood." Henry confirmed. "But I altered your perception so you would not recognize it. If you knew it was blood, you wouldn't have drunk it, would you?' He continued.
Aria thought about it. Her uncle was right — if she had known it was blood, she would have never drunk it. "What do you mean by blood is the only thing that can quench my thirst?" she asked, fear creeping into her voice.
"The drink I gave you was animal blood. You can survive on it, and many of us do. It's better than killing humans. Others are even buying blood from a blood bank," he explained.
"W-what do you mean, human blood? No, why... what's happening?" Aria stuttered, overwhelmed by the flood of questions racing in her mind.
"What do you mean by 'some of us'? What are we, Uncle? Are we monsters? Are we not normal?" She began to tear up, her emotions starting to unravel.
"Yes, Aria," Henry said softly. "There are things we can do that ordinary people can't, and there are needs only we can understand. It's time for you to know that your father and I are Velmoryns, which makes you a Velmoryn too. It's hard to explain everything to you right now, but I'll be here to guide you,' he said, pulling her into an embrace as she began to cry, overwhelmed by the revelations.
As Aria stared at her reflection, a chilling sense of unfamiliarity washed over her. The blood on her skin, the strange sensation coursing through her veins—it was as if something deep within her was awakening, something ancient, something... hungry. But she couldn't explain it, couldn't grasp what was happening to her.
Her thoughts raced, but they were fragmented, as though she was unable to fully connect the pieces. She had felt different for days, maybe even weeks, but she had never anticipated this. Her body, once so familiar, felt like it was betraying her.
What is this? she thought, brushing her fingers over her lips, the taste of blood still lingering on her tongue. It wasn't just physical thirst she had been battling—it was something more primal, deeper. She had felt an urge before, an inexplicable craving for something she couldn't place, but now... it was undeniable.
The world around her seemed sharper, more vivid. Her senses, heightened to an unbearable degree, picked up every detail—the faint scent of wood, the sound of the wind rustling outside her window, and the quickened pulse of Uncle Henry's heartbeat. It was almost... intoxicating.
She quickly turned her gaze away from the mirror, trying to shake off the overwhelming feelings. No, this can't be real, she thought. 'I'm just imagining things.'
Henry, standing silently behind her, had already known she would feel this way. He was too calm, too composed in the face of it all. What is he not telling me? She wondered, her suspicions growing with every passing second.
"Why me?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "Why did this happen to me?" Her hands, still shaking slightly, clutched at the edges of her shirt as if trying to hold onto something normal. Something human.
Henry's gaze softened, but there was something unreadable in his eyes. "I wish I could explain it all to you, but remember the medallion that you saw a week ago? I have that so I will not feel this kind of urge that you felt right now. That helps me control my hunger and thirst. Only us Velmoryns have this. Just know this, there is more to you than you realize, Aria. You are part of something far older, far more powerful than anything you can imagine."
The words echoed in her mind, but they did little to ease her growing confusion. She looked at him, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't understand. If I'm… if I'm what you say I am, then why didn't you tell me sooner? Why didn't I know?"
Henry paused, a shadow crossing his face. "It wasn't safe," he replied softly. "There are things in this world you're not ready to face. I thought if I raised you as an ordinary human, surrounded by ordinary people, all will be different like we can hide from the enemies. That's why we went to this secluded place far from the town. But now, things are changing. And you have to be prepared, Aria. You're not just anyone. You've been —nevermind. Just remember, whether you're ready or not, you need to understand what this means," he explained.
Her heart skipped a beat. "Enemies? and...I've been what?" she replied, eyes widened and staring right into his uncle's eyes without blinking, waiting for his response.
Henry took a slow breath, his eyes filled with a mix of caution and sorrow. "I can't explain everything right now, Aria," he said, his voice low and measured, "but you have to trust me when I say this: you're part of something bigger than you can imagine. The truth is… it's dangerous. And you're not ready for all of it. I spent all my life protecting you just as I promised your father...and I can't break that promise."
He reached out, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, but his grip was firm, as if to anchor her to the present. "When the time comes, you'll understand. But right now, all you need to know is that you're not just anyone. You are a Velmoryn, you are the heiress to your father's legacy. You're different—and that difference is going to change everything."
His eyes darkened slightly, and he pulled his hand back. "For now, we are going to focus on keeping you safe but we will need some help. Running from who you are won't make the fear go away ."
She whispered, her voice breaking, "I just want to be normal."
"Normal?" Henry's voice softened, but there was a certain sadness in it. "Normal is a lie, Aria. The world doesn't need normal, it needs you. You've never been normal, and deep down, you've always known that."