"Tensions are high between vampires right now, particularly between old families and newer vampires. I fear that if a fight broke out between one of those groups, it would be the spark that ignites outright war between almost all vampires".
This time, Damian understood the dangers. If vampires all around the world fought, his family wouldn't be safe, particularly his human mother.
Then there was an African proverb that stated that whenever there was a fight between two elephants, the grass beneath them suffers. It was only a matter of time before the fight would spill over and affect humans.
"Hmmm," he said simply.
"Your mother told you you start school tomorrow, right?" Dracula asked, his attention now reverted to the newspaper.
"Yeah, she did," Damian replied.
"She'll drive you to school. Max will follow her to protect the two of you."
Damian nodded, and his father's eyes flicked up to his face.
"Damian," he said. "I want you to remember that even though you're half vampire, you're not a weakling. You're not some vulnerable target that needs to be protected by anyone else. You're a Vlad, and you're strong."
Damian nodded, understanding. His father wanted him to be safe, but he would not deploy a bodyguard for him, like he did for his mom. He expected Damian to be able to guard himself.
When Damian woke up the next morning, he looked up at the sky through his window. The moon had begun to wane, but it was still there.
This meant it was still early in the morning. However, he could hear movement downstairs, so he went to investigate.
When he reached downstairs, his father was sitting at the dining table, dressed in a suit and looking cleaned up.
He had a magazine in front of him and a glass of wine in his hand. Every now and then, he took a sip from the glass.
His mother was in the kitchen, dressed in an apron and making food.
"Oh, sweetie, you're up early today," she exclaimed when she saw him.
"Yeah, I don't even know why," he replied as he took a seat at the table. "Are you going somewhere, Dad?"
Dracula looked up from the table. "Yes. I need to be in Rome by 10 a.m. today."
Damian didn't bother to ask why he needed to be in Rome. He figured if he was supposed to know, he would have been told.
Mrs. Vlad soon finished cooking and dished the food for all of them.
Damian ate the food, half relishing the taste and half terrified of what was going to happen when he got to school later today.
When he was done having a shower, he dried himself and then looked through the wardrobe to pick his clothes for the day.
He ended up putting on a black top that clung to his body, showing off his muscles, and a pair of blue jeans.
Pretty basic stuff, but on him, it seemed like clothing designed for a supermodel.
His mother had gotten ready and was waiting for him downstairs.
Damian wondered if her superpower was the ability to never tire.
"I'm ready, Mom," he called as he descended the stairs.
"Okay, son," she said as she looked up from her phone.
She got up, and they both headed outside.
Max was a tall man. For context, Damian was now 6'2" tall, and still Max towered over him at 6'9".
In addition to his insane height, he was incredibly muscular with huge shoulders, huge arms, and a wide chest.
He was basically a giant and commanded attention anywhere he stepped.
He was standing outside the door, and when Mrs. and Master Vlad stepped out, he immediately shadowed them.
As she walked ahead of him, Damian realized his mother was one of those rich housewives who lived a life of luxury and didn't have to do anything or worry about anything.
She stepped into the car and honked for him to hurry up.
Damian decided to test how fast his speed was anyway. He ran as fast as he could to the door.
He was shocked to reach there in around two seconds.
It had taken him exactly two steps to cover the distance and stand in front of the door.
"Woah," he thought in amazement. That was insane. No human could move at such speed.
Because he had been doing it from almost zero acceleration, he wondered how fast he could accelerate once he was running.
He opened the door and entered the car.
"Why did you do that?!" his mom exclaimed as he entered the car.
"Huh? You mean run here?" Damian replied, slightly confused.
"Yes, I mean that. Why did you?" she replied angrily. "Don't you know someone could have seen you?"
Damian flashed back to his father's words the previous day. He didn't think he wanted to live his life in fear of showing his real abilities.
At the same time, he wouldn't want to put an unnecessary target on his back, especially since his mother was human.
Besides, if humans learned about vampires, there was no imagining the extent of damage it would cause.
"I'm sorry, Ma," he said simply. "I'm just trying to see how much I have."
"It's fine, sweetie," she replied and strapped the seatbelt on.
As they entered the school compound, his mother parked and looked at him expectantly.
It took him a split second to realize he was supposed to get down from the car and enter the building.
Somehow, he had expected his mom to follow him to register and all that, especially since it was his first day and his parents seemed like the kind that fussed over their kid.
Apparently not.
"Bye, Mom. Thanks for the ride," he said and opened the door.
"Bye, sweetie. Don't worry, we've talked with the principal already. Just head to the administration office, and everything will be sorted out."
Damian nodded and climbed out of the car. He supposed they had fussed over him in some way.