ALEJANDRO
“Leader… may I know the name of the woman you are looking for?”
I was taken aback and stared into the fire.
My followers… I made them all like me. A devil. A monster. A creature of the dark. I did this to...
Find her.
“Isadora,” I replied shortly. “Her name is Isadora.”
“That’s interesting, she has the same name as Victoria’s sister,” Tala, a newcomer to our group, said. “Her beautiful sister, but she is elusive and does not mingle with people. The leader’s son is infatuated with her.”
I was startled and faced Tala, who was smiling at me. “But you said the one you’re looking for was last seen in Italy, right? Sir, you’re in the Philippines.”
But… Isadora came from the Philippines.
“What does this Isadora you speak of look like?” I asked.
“She has long, jet-black hair,” Ligaya interjected, having just come from the forest. She sat beside Tala. “Her skin is very white, and her eyes are as dark as her hair. Men are infatuated with her, but as Tala said, she’s elusive and almost bites men.”
“And she’s slender,” Tala added. “She has a mark on her chest; they say she was born with it. It looks like a cross.”
I swallowed hard.
I didn’t say anything because of what they said.
Victoria had just died. She found out that we all lived on blood. She didn’t like it, but instead of returning to her family, she chose to end her life.
She said her sister would not accept her.
But that’s why I came here.
Two hundred years ago, I arrived in the Philippines… my only purpose was to find Isadora. Even though I knew she was dead, I never got tired of waiting for her.
That maybe this time, I would see her. Even though I knew it was impossible, I still waited for her return.
That maybe this time, I could right my wrongs.
But I no longer needed to search for her.
She came to me voluntarily. On a cold December night, I saw her. She wore a dress that reached her feet, and there was fear in her eyes. Her appearance hadn’t changed—she was still very beautiful. And to my senses, she smelled very sweet, permeating my lungs, tempting me to taste.
But there was a part of me that was disgusted.
I knew I still loved her. But the murder of my father, mother, siblings, and friends by her hand was something I couldn’t overlook. Especially now that she remembered nothing.
She remembered nothing. It was evident in her gaze that I was unfamiliar to her eyes.
“Where is she?” she asked me. She was referring to Victoria.
If so, her sister was important to her.
I scoured the entire Philippines just for revenge… but…
How could I take revenge? When my heart seemed to come alive at the sight of her again?
I couldn’t take revenge. Because all I wanted was to claim her as mine, and mine alone. I demanded a sacrifice from her; the blood of a virgin to stop myself from tasting her in a way only I knew.
But that wasn’t enough. In this time, our statuses had reversed. I was the devil, and she was an ordinary person.
I wanted her to do what she did the first time I saw her—to worship me. To give her devotion to me. But...
“You can’t give me your soul entirely,” I whispered firmly. Beneath me, I could feel the heat of her body. She stared at me, unable to speak.
I didn’t know why I expected her to recognize me.
I was a fool.
But I couldn’t help myself. I tasted her blood. Sweet. Very sweet. After I drank, I stared at her face. For a moment, I seemed to see that familiar emotion in her eyes.
But she didn’t speak. When I kissed her, she responded quickly. Along with the heat of the great fire was the warmth of her kisses. And that’s when I realized that I wasn’t looking for revenge—I was looking to worship her again.
“Isadora, my love,” I whispered against her parted lips. Tala and the others had left after witnessing that I had found what I had long been searching for.
I promised them that once I found that person, they would be free. For now, they couldn’t leave because I needed their help to find what I had been looking for for hundreds of years.
And now began their freedom… and my return to captivity.
“Isadora,” I called again to the woman clinging to my bare back. She didn’t answer. Instead, she looked at me in the way I was used to. And slowly, I began to move—virgin.
She gasped and clung tightly to me.
Just like before—just like before, she was mine.
I bent down to kiss her. The sweetness of her lips hadn’t changed. “This time…” I began, moving again. “…this time, you will be mine again…”
She clung to my neck. Her breaths came deep and fast.
“Do you understand?” I asked gently. “Do you understand, my love?”
She nodded slowly. Her long hair spread across the ground. Her angelic face was sweaty, but I had no intention of stopping—not now—I would never stop now.
The night deepened. She lost consciousness, so I quietly and carefully arranged her clothes.
“Giovanni,” I said, addressing the man who had arrived.
“You are doing something dangerous, brother,” he said in broken Tagalog. “In this place, bad things will happen. Do you remember what Old Huray said about your fate?”
“I don’t care.” I carefully lifted Isadora. “From now on, you don’t need to watch over me, Giovanni. I will be fine.”
********
PRESENT TIME
ISADORA
What are we going to do now?
I am worried. I am worried now and I feel cold.
And even if Alejandro doesn’t say it, I know he feels the same way.
The sun won’t rise until next month. But now, outside, the sun is shining… the sunlight is so bright today…
“Alejandro…” I called to him while our child was in my arms. “We’re leaving tonight, aren’t we?”
He looked at me and smiled tenderly. “Yes, Isadora. We will leave at sunset.”
I bit my upper lip. “But I’m scared.”
“Of the sun?”
I shook my head. “No… not that… in the place we’re going… is there no sun?”
He nodded and tightly tied the cloth containing our belongings. “There is only snow there, Isadora. You don’t need to worry.”
I felt the warmth of the sun outside… it seemed to penetrate the roof of our home, and I felt it… I didn’t know if my skin had become sensitive to heat.
“Isadora, you need to eat later to have strength for the long journey,” Alejandro said. “Giovanni will accompany you while I prepare our things. I will take care of Rafael for now.”
I smiled. When I saw that the child had fallen asleep, I gently laid him down on his bed.
I turned my attention to Alejandro, who was at the end of the bed, folding some of his clothes. I moved to his position and brushed his long hair away from his back.
I kissed the nape of his neck. “I know you’re worried too, Alejandro,” I whispered. “You don’t have to hide it from me.”
He laughed and shook his head. “I’m just worried that you’re not used to the train and might get sick.”
I quietly smelled his skin. I just wanted to cuddle because I didn’t feel well today. I was scared. Anxious. But Alejandro calmed me—his presence calmed me.
“My love, don’t do that,” he whispered and let go of the clothes he was folding. He immediately faced me and laid me down on the bed. He lay on top of me and smiled as he looked at me. “I didn’t know you could seduce.”
“I’m not seducing you,” I replied, frowning.
He bent down and grinned. “You’re right, Isadora. You don’t have to seduce me.”
And he kissed me completely.
The sun set, and it was six o’clock in the evening. As discussed, Giovanni arrived. He fetched me, and even though he ignored me the first time we met, I knew he wouldn’t abandon me.
We walked through the dark forest. He was ahead of me, and I just followed him.
“Isadora,” Giovanni suddenly called to me. I stopped and immediately looked at his back.
“What is it?”
“Do you love my brother?” he asked. I didn’t know, but his tone was different when he spoke my language.
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “I love him and our child very much.”
He exhaled. “If so, let’s hurry.”
I obeyed. When we finished and I was full, I immediately informed Giovanni.
But… before everything…
“Can you wait for me for a moment?”
He nodded, and I quickly ran to the back of a tree. I changed out of my dirty clothes. I dressed quickly.
This was the outfit Alejandro gave me. He told me before to wear it when we leave.
I smiled.
When I was done, I quickly returned to Giovanni. I saw his faint smile when he saw what I was wearing.
From the forest, we ran quickly back.
We were only gone for a moment, maybe not even thirty minutes.
But Giovanni and I stopped. He pulled
me back into the darkness when we found chaos… outside our home.
Andres.
Andres!
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